Antidote to Post-Test Freakouts?

[NightOwly]

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Yesterday I read on Medscape that after a big test many med students leave the room feeling "exhausted and likely think that you failed" though they do just fine!

Most? Really? Here I thought it was my little secret.

In the past I try to prevent this by studying more, and by preparing myself better. That is - until recently when I had to take the TOEFL (don't ask) which is silly since I grew up in the San Francisco bay and I did my undergrad at the University of California, Davis.

But I agreed and I was laughing my way to the testing center. English fluency? Okay! I can do this. Ahm. No. After the long exam I left the testing center just as exhausted as I've felt with other tests and feeling as if I'd failed. Of course, the results came in and I did just fine!

That's when I realized that it doesn't matter what the material is... maybe I need to approach tests differently, or maybe this is just the way it is!

 

[vc7777]

That's when I realized that it doesn't matter what the material is... maybe I need to approach tests differently, or maybe this is just the way it is!

My family has scheduled vacation to avoid me post-USMLE Step 1. It is built right in to my strategy for taking the exam:

Day 0 TEST DAY
Day 1 post-test: Rage
Day 2 post-test: Fury
Day 3 post-test: Rage-Fury sublimating into despair/regret
Day 4 post-test: Acceptance
Day 5 post-test: Back to pre-test ambivalence.

 

[NightOwly]

Ha!

That sounds likeThe Kübler-Ross Model right there.

 

[thlaxer]

My family has scheduled vacation to avoid me post-USMLE Step 1. It is built right in to my strategy for taking the exam:

Day 0 TEST DAY
Day 1 post-test: Rage
Day 2 post-test: Fury
Day 3 post-test: Rage-Fury sublimating into despair/regret
Day 4 post-test: Acceptance
Day 5 post-test: Back to pre-test ambivalence.

👍 Good strategy

I usually feel like crap after taking a big test, so you're not alone OP. 🙂

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

The TOEFL is a tough test no matter what, so you shouldn't feel bad about it. As part of an informal scientific study I took it a few years ago even though I grew up speaking only English and my family has been in the US speaking English for at least five generations. There were still plenty of questions that were difficult, and some that I had to guess on. Mastery of a language isn't the same as knowing all the linguistic rules, which the TOEFL requires.

 

[poppie910]

If you prepare yourself well enough and are familiar w all the material being covered, it virtually eliminates the post-test stress (for me any way.) Granted, I've never taken anything like the usmle though.

 

[NightOwly]

You shouldn't feel bad about it. ...Mastery of a language isn't the same as knowing all the linguistic rules, which the TOEFL requires.

But.... Ahm... The thing is... I've taken linguistics courses.
I work translating medical documents between 3 languages for clients in Europe and North America. 😳

Never mind. I'm going to go bury my head back in the books now.

 

[pkwraith]

At my med school, the computer just spits out the grade immediately after you submit the test.

GRE does it too. MCAT really should do that too, especially since there's a preset curve. It's kind of silly to make you wait, honestly (no one cares about writing section).

 

[mauberley]

I don't think of exhaustion or feelings of failure as freaking out. To me, freaking out means things like obsessively comparing responses with others, trying to debate correct/incorrect answers, and otherwise expending energy uselessly on things you can't change.

 

[ejw5075]

I don't think of exhaustion or feelings of failure as freaking out. To me, freaking out means things like obsessively comparing responses with others, trying to debate correct/incorrect answers, and otherwise expending energy uselessly on things you can't change.

You've just described my entire class after EVERY exam. So, I get to watch 100+ med students "freaking out".... And my school facilitates the "freaking out" by giving us the chance to take Group Exams. They combine the most missed questions and have us discus in small groups for 5% of our grades. Then people really start to freak out, it's a sight 🙂

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

I don't think of exhaustion or feelings of failure as freaking out. To me, freaking out means things like obsessively comparing responses with others, trying to debate correct/incorrect answers, and otherwise expending energy uselessly on things you can't change.

I agree! I try not to debate answers and worry about the test as we're walking out the door. Seems to be common among premeds.

 

[NightOwly]

I don't think of exhaustion or feelings of failure as freaking out. To me, freaking out means things like obsessively comparing responses with others, trying to debate correct/incorrect answers, and otherwise expending energy uselessly on things you can't change.

Meh. To me freaking out is more like an overwhelming feeling of "What just happened? I can do better than that!"

I took 3 tests within a couple months, because the medical school I chose requires them:

• TOEFL English fluency, which lasted about 4 hours.
• Professional Level Italian at the Dante Alighieri Society, which lasted about 5 hours.
• Spanish certification that also lasted about 4 hours.

Like I said, I'm a US citizen, educated in the US, and my English competency is not an issue. I'm also a polyglot, currently volunteering abroad, and I did very well on all the tests, but I still left feeling exhausted, thinking I blew it, and expecting more from myself.

Maybe it's just me and I need to work on that.

Note to self: from now on, just keep it to yourself! 🙄