The Calm Before the Storm

This OKAP thing is finally here. Tomorrow morning I will have to sit through four hours of answering rapid fire questions about things I am supposed to know. I am really not very nervous about the test, hence the calm. I just hope all the effort doesn't end up being a waste of time.

The Upside: There's nothing riding on this test like there was with the MCAT and the USMLE Step I. This is supposed to just be a self assessment test. Also, the questions are generally one-line questions instead of the gruelling clinical scenarios to weed through like on the USMLE exams. There will be a reason to celebrate tomorrow evening - every year we do so at one of the resident's house. It's an excuse to get together and booze and schmooze.

The Downside: First and foremost it's taking up my Saturday morning/afternoon this weekend. It's a written multiple choice test on a Scantron - it's been a while since I've done that and computerized tests have grown on me. One could argue shorter questions are more difficult since if given several lines of vignette, the diagnosis may become more narrowed down. Also the department is literally threatening to stamp a label on our backs if remediation is necessary. Okay, not literally, but this has never been the case in previous years.