An update on primary exams
As my journey through the primary exams continues I have made some choices/realisations:
-So far I have scrapped the idea of a second blog with content of the primary exams. It would be a fairly dry read and It will take up time I could be using for actually studying.
-The timing of the orientation course is too late in the year. It really only gives time from end of July to end of November to prepare for exams or wait till the next year round. My suggestion would be to find someone who has done the primaries before and get the lecture notes from them so at least you can have a head start of things.
-Focussing on study is difficult but not impossible. It is best to remove distractions and structure your study times and breaks well. I have found that working to a timer is useful. have it counting down e.g in 30 minute blocks and every time it goes off you can have a short break. Make sure you stick to these!
-Studying hard core and denying yourself reasonable breaks and days off is counterproductive. So is studying when you aren't concentrating. If you are losing efficiency as you have been going too long, take a break or call it a day.
-Stop trying to be the best at everything you do; the stress isn't worth it. It is good to be ambitious but not at the cost of your mental health. For these exams, recently when I started to focus more on passing and less on winning a medal I found it easier to focus without stress.
-Learning is the most fantastic thing and I would suggest it to anyone. From a dentistry point of view, the primaries won't make you a better clinician but it will make you a better health professional. It is great to know why we treat people a certain way not just how to treat them. The body is an extremely complex bit of machinery and there is still so much more to discover.
-There are different ways in approaching the same scenario. When learning about the human body you can see things on the macro, micro and molecular level. They are all intertwined and reliant on each other. You can see things as an engineer, biologist, doctor. They are all valid points of view.
I will continue on this journey for now... Wish me luck!
-So far I have scrapped the idea of a second blog with content of the primary exams. It would be a fairly dry read and It will take up time I could be using for actually studying.
-The timing of the orientation course is too late in the year. It really only gives time from end of July to end of November to prepare for exams or wait till the next year round. My suggestion would be to find someone who has done the primaries before and get the lecture notes from them so at least you can have a head start of things.
-Focussing on study is difficult but not impossible. It is best to remove distractions and structure your study times and breaks well. I have found that working to a timer is useful. have it counting down e.g in 30 minute blocks and every time it goes off you can have a short break. Make sure you stick to these!
-Studying hard core and denying yourself reasonable breaks and days off is counterproductive. So is studying when you aren't concentrating. If you are losing efficiency as you have been going too long, take a break or call it a day.
-Stop trying to be the best at everything you do; the stress isn't worth it. It is good to be ambitious but not at the cost of your mental health. For these exams, recently when I started to focus more on passing and less on winning a medal I found it easier to focus without stress.
-Learning is the most fantastic thing and I would suggest it to anyone. From a dentistry point of view, the primaries won't make you a better clinician but it will make you a better health professional. It is great to know why we treat people a certain way not just how to treat them. The body is an extremely complex bit of machinery and there is still so much more to discover.
-There are different ways in approaching the same scenario. When learning about the human body you can see things on the macro, micro and molecular level. They are all intertwined and reliant on each other. You can see things as an engineer, biologist, doctor. They are all valid points of view.
I will continue on this journey for now... Wish me luck!
Good luck and hang in there!
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