Wednesday, December 12, 2007

OSCE's, FINALS, and then a break. God is good.

It's that time again. Time for me to crawl into my office cave and only come out for food, a little cuddle time with the wife, and to go take a final. Tomorrow is my last final. WHEW!

This week of finals started with a BANG. Monday afternoon I had to take a set of exams called OSCE's. I have no idea what OSCE stands for, but I know what it means to us students. It means long hours of studying everything we have learned up until this point. Anything was free game on this test. There were 20 stations, I had 5 minutes to complete each station. This year the test ranged from performing exam procedures on real people while a clinician watched and graded (beleive me, lot's of writing was a bad thing), to multiple choice questions, to interpreting X-rays. Chalk another one up to God coming through for me. He is so faithful.

Before the exam we were sequestered for one hour. We had that hour to sit and wait while the group before us took the exam. There we were, 20 or so students in our white coats cramming more information into any available space in our brains. Some crammed, some sat around and joked, but everyone was really really nervous. That was the longest most nerve racking hour of my life. I did A LOT of praying, not that I would pass, but that I would simply remember what I knew and that He would quiet my nerves.

He did, and I did. I passed, thank GOD! I was talking with one of the graders today, she said at my 2nd station I gave 4 answers to one question, all of them were wrong! Naturally I have no idea what I said or what question was asked, I was in a nervous haze at that point. But after the 3rd station, God took control and calmed me. We now joke about how much of a nut I was at first.

OSCE's ended at 3:15. I had to take another written final at 4:00. Whoever planned that at my school is just plain mean. I did well on that one too. See, God is faithful regardless of how I act or how little faith (in Him or in me) I show.

So after a few more finals, I sit here writing this instead of studying for my last final tomorrow. God is good, true. But I know I gotta do some work too. Time to hit the books, one last time this quarter.

Josh