Step II - Clinical Knowledge

done! Drew took it last Wednesday (so as long as God-willing, he passed) he is officially done with all big medical school exams. (He might have a few for his clerkships this year but nothing major). We went out that night to celebrate the big milestone. Overall Drew said he felt like he did the best he could have. He felt more confident in his answers than he did on Step I, but based on the reasoning the questions still could have gone another way. So we'll just have to wait and see - it should be about four weeks before we get the results.

Tomorrow is the big day...

Drew takes Step II (Clinical Knowledge) tomorrow, Wednesday July 29th - wish him luck, or better yet please say a prayer if you think of it! He has been studying hard so I'm just hoping and praying that he does his best. I'm sure he'll do fine but it is still a little nerve wracking (who am I to talk though - I am not taking the test) because he needs to do reasonably well... it would look bad if his score (as compared to Step I) dropped significantly. So here is to trusting God and hoping that Drew performs as well as he needs to in order to match wherever we are meant to be (and to asking God for enough peace and understanding and peace to accept wherever that may be). May His will be done.

Step II - Clinical Skills

Check. Drew completed the first part of Step Two (the clinical skills portion) Tuesday, in Chicago. For those of you taking it next year, there are only five clinical skills test locations, nationwide. The other (written) portion (clinical knowledge) of the exam can be taken at the same locations that Step One is offered. Drew will be taking that portion of the exam next Wednesday (again prayers are very much appreciated it). The clinical skills portion is pass/fail, and he feels pretty good about it, so we're hoping he passed. From my understanding he "saw" 12 different patients (15 minutes each) and then had time (10 minutes) to do write-ups on the patients.
Here was the schedule: he saw 5 patients in the morning. Then they fed them lunch over a half hour break. Then he saw 4 more patients and got a fifteen minute break and finished up with the final three patients. I think he was finished around three-ish in the afternoon.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Step II is expensive. I don't know off hand exactly how much it is (I need to have my husband look up the credit card bill, but he is too busy studying for the clinical knowledge portion of the test), but I'll be sure to post the cost in the future. We took out a special loan to pay for it, and luckily with the clinical skills portion being in Chicago we were able to save some money because he didn't have to fly and he was able to stay with his sister.

In other news my darling Drew has also started his personal statement for his residency application. This seems to be a daunting task. I had to do something similar in applying for law school and it was absolutely dreadful. Having the option to write anything is often more difficult than being assigned a topic. From what I have heard...

1. They don't read too much into the personal statement.
2. It is more read to make sure that you can write competently.
3. Generally it doesn't help you but it can hurt you (meaning if it is terrible or you say the wrong thing).

Any residents, doctors or spouses want to confirm/deny any of these rumors I've heard?

The beginning of Test Season

I'm marking today as the start of "test season." Drew left for Chicago for the clinical skills portion of Step II. They only offer this part of the test in five locations all around the country. Fortunately, Chicago is one of those locations so that we don't have to pay for plane tickets or hotel rooms! He is actually taking the clinical skills portion on Tuesday - so if you think of it sometime before then please say a prayer for him. This portion of the exam is pass/fail. Drew should be back Tuesday night which will give him Wednesday to unwind and study for senior CCX which is both Friday and Saturday. Senior CCX is similar to the clinical skills portion of Step II, but it is for medical school. Then next Wednesday, Drew will take the written portion of Step II, this portion of the exam is a little more important because it isn't pass/fail and the score he receives will be looked at when he is applying to residency programs. So needless to say, with all these tests coming up, we'd greatly appreciate all your prayers!