Wednesday, September 27, 2006

The Mockingbirds

My deep, sincere loathing ( and deep-seated fear ) of exams should be quite apparent by now from my previous posts. Quite obvious also that the wily ancient Chinese must have invented this as a subtle form of mental punishment centuries ago - possibly in a bid to drive all the poor deluded barbarian infidels insane.

Ever since we took our first tentative steps into primary school, we have been practically snowed in with neverending tests, evaluations and exams. Barely a month went by without a stern teacher shoving a stack of blank sheets in our astonished faces demanding answers. With the sheer volume of exams questions thrown at us, is it any wonder that we're heartily sick of the system by the time we're in our late teens?

On the last day of medical school, I finally heaved a sigh of relief - and after the ritual burning of all my horrific lecture notes, I naively assumed that I'd never see the door of the examination hall ever again.

Obviously I was a little premature in that hope.

And now they have to introduce mock exams for us poor buggers over here. Why the hell do we need mock exams? Seriously. Isn't the killing stress at work enough to drive us to drink?

Lost!
Exams. Sigh.
Hyperactive, obsessive doctors would surely enjoy the challenge ( and the hidden threat of young hypertension ) but for me, I never could see the point of mock exams. If there's an excellent pass with flying colours, it certainly doesn't mean a definite pass in the real exams - while a fail would only make us all dispirited prior to the real event ( and prompt aspiring physicians to attempt possibly fatal bungee jumps without the safety cords ).

Maybe they just enjoy mocking us. :)

11 comments:

nyonyapenang said...

mock/trial exams are suppose to be something like a 'preview', i guess.

Sue said...

I usually choke on exams. So now I allow myself a chunk of time for that, then I get to the exam. Works pretty well for me. :)

ZEYN, THE PERPETUAL STRANGER said...

you have a point, paul.

for me, mock exams will not relect what you'd get for the REAL ones. one thing for sure, if you really strive for it, you'll get it.

ikanbilis said...

i've flunked my trial exam. for real. and guess what? the BIG one is just around the corner..

Charles Wong said...

Yeah, exams are bummers. Nothing worse to torment (& insult) those in your noble profession than with mock exams. Not sure if it's relevant but in martial arts, we better get our techniques right or we might end up dead when we meet the real deal...

Musang said...

every single time. i feel like packing up my stuff and run out of the exam hall screaming...

"I feel like dying!!!"

Just like what Jay would do.

LOL. :)

Annie said...

I think exams are a evil tool for society to use to humiliate you and catagorize you as a loser or a winner. I find them really about how well you can memorize details. Real tests are the hands-on. I prefer those. :D

Las montaƱas said...

As a result of those exams dished out in cold methodical fashion on the island south of you, I now have permanent recurrent nightmares on them.

Anonymous said...

Enough stress already thinking about the exams .....

All the best dude

Annie said...

Speaking of exams, when was your last prostate exam doctor?

William said...

Mock exams are there for you to brush up on your cheating skills. During my time, mock exams and trials are also the season on leaked skema jawapan and unconfirmed 'tips'.

Do well and you become overconfident. Do badly and your morale is destroyed. Heh.