A third of M.D. is over

During both semesters, we wrote a total of 31 tests from chemistry and 28 tests from physiology. If we count only these subjects, we wrote approximately 2,18 tests weekly. This is why it´s fair to say that our knowledge was tested on almost daily basis, nevertheless, the exams were a test of a much bigger magnitude. An obstacle in the way to the third year we had to overcome. Apart from testing our knowledge, they tested our patience as well as will to study medicine, once again.

The first exam was chemistry, which had 152 questions in total. This exam was more difficult than physiology, as there was not much logic in the studied questions. One had to simply memorize it. I decided to try and finish the second year as soon as possible, attempting to pass on one of the earliest exam dates, on the 27th of May. The exam was far from easy. Not only did I pick difficult questions, but I also later found out that I picked a question, which my professor loved and studied in research for many years. I managed to pass the exam and wanted to celebrate, nevertheless, physiology exam was just behind the corner.

The second exam was physiology, which had 228 questions in total. One third of the exam was focused on the central nervous system, which was not good news for the majority of students. I think that the most painful realization of the second year was the fact that what one learned in the first year as if he found in the second. When you study, you simply cannot memorize everything. There are some topics which we like, and memorize perfectly, however, there are also topics that we hate, and just „read through“ or skip completely, wishing not to pick the question during the exam. The physiology exam consisted of an ECG test, a practical test and the exam itself. One of the questions that I picked was sleep and wakefulness, which was quite ironic because prior to the exam I did not get much sleep and was overcaffeinated. I also passed this exam and was officially done with the second year. I was one of the first students in the year to finish all my exams, however, it was extremely difficult and exhausting, as I spent close to a month closed in my room, studying from the morning to late night, but it was worth it. On 18th of June I was done and had the whole summer to relax before the upcoming third year.

One of the things that I will not miss during the holidays is reading. For the chemistry exam, I studied from two sets of scripts, one consisting of 800 pages, second consisting of 250 pages, which I read twice. This gives a total of 1300 pages, which I read in approximately 10 days. Regarding the physiology exam, I studied from two textbooks, consisting of 700 and 200 pages, as well as scripts, consisting of 250 pages, which I read twice. This gives a total of 1400 pages, again in approximately 10 days.

During the year, I had the opportunity to be an English teacher to 4 children, which not only maintained my English, but it also improved my communication skills. Another teaching experience were anatomy dissections, where I showed younger students the basics to dissecting as well as anatomy. Worthy of mentioning is also the time I spent training my classmates in the gym, which was both entertaining as well as educational.

Studying medicine is an addiction. Blood, sweat and tears are exchanged for success during the exam. Before the exam a person is grumpy, doesn’t sleep much and doesn’t think about anything else but the exam and possible success. If you pass an exam, the feeling is incomparable to anything else. After the initial happiness, one really starts to enjoy their free time, because of medicine there is not much of it, compared to other universities. I have more than 3 months of holidays ahead of me, and I will try to enjoy it as much as I can because I know that there won´t be much of it during the third year.