Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Post-COMLEX Step 1

Well, that was a long test, that's for sure. So, I took COMLEX on Monday, it is a 400 question test, separated into sections of 50, no real theme to the sections, they feel like pretty much random collections of topics, and you get 60 minutes per section and a 40 minute break for lunch after the first 200 questions. Took BART into San Francisco, arrived at the Prometric testing center at 7:30am, started the exam around 8:15am after everyone got checked in, pockets checked, scanned with metal detectors... at least cheaters have a difficult time. They also do rounds in the testing area every 10 minutes.

Anyhow, there were quite a few repeat questions - what bug is causing this infection, what does this slide indicate, it's all a bit of a blur right now. I kept tabs of how many I was "guessing" on, and by the end it felt like maybe 40% of the test was my best estimate? But the questions are each weighted between 0.5 and 5 points, so it's really hard to know about how many you need to get right to pass or get a proper score. My practice COMLEX exam had me at slightly above average, and my question bank percentages were fairly respectable, so I almost certainly passed and most likely have a score acceptable to most Family Medicine, maybe some Internal Medicine, residencies.

I also got some information about my General Surgery rotation which I am starting on 7/18/11 - clinic days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - where he will have me practice taking patient histories and then we will do physical exams together; Tuesday and Thursday are surgery days.
The surgeries I can expect to see performed include:
Inguinal hernia
Umbilical hernia
Lap Chole (Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy)
Excisional breast biopsy
Appendectomy
Injecting hemorrhoids with a sclerocing agent
Port a cath placements
Pilonidal cyst excisions

So... lots of stuff in the future! I'm glad the clinic days are so short, as it'll leave me a lot of extra time for studying and personal time =)

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