Hello and greetings from the post-practical world!
Nearly two hours ago, I finished my first practical of optometry school, and, after several days of sporatic studying, minor stressing, and slightly less than adequate amounts of sleep, it feels great to be done.
So how was it?
Coming from an undergraduate institution that had very few practicals and none involving tissue identification, I wasn’t entirely sure how to prepare for a test in which we had less than a minute to identify a structure/tissue. The professors and upperclassmen suggested just simply looking at slides until the images began to make sense.
Well, I guess that’s sort of obvious.
And so that’s what I did.
I’m not one to study excessively as a rule, so I only looked over the slides once or twice before the week of the practical. During the in-class review (thank Dr. Earley!), I realized that there were still several slides that I was unable to identify. Thankfully, several powerpoints of slides had been compiled by other members of the class, which provided the perfect supplement to my own time spent in the lab. Around 5 hours of studying and a mock practical (created by the second years) later, I felt ready.
Well, mostly ready anyway. As with most tests, I began to question my knowledge of the material about two hours before the start of the material. By that time though, the test was coming whether I was ready or not. Huzzah..right?
During the practical itself, I admittedly panicked slightly. After looking at the first slide 4 times, I still wasn’t sure what it was, but I wrote down an answer and continued on anyway. About halfway through, I calmed down and finally settled into my groove. Fifteen minutes later, the practical was over and we were free to either stay and check our answers or get out of there as fast as possible. I chose to stay, and was admittedly pretty pleased with how I did. To celebrate? Naturally, I went outside to study and enjoy the beautiful almost 80 degree weather.
Which is where I currently find myself.
Good day? I think yes.
‘Til the next time!
-Hannah
Note: For those of you who were wondering, listening to lecture recordings during long drives works excellently! Just be careful trying to verify your identity electronically while driving…