MB examinations

The exams finally came after 18 months of intensive reading and playing. At the time, i felt i hadnt read enough but i was at least confident in myself and placed my trust in Allah. We started the exams with physiology practical where we were asked to identify apparatus used in the physiology laboratory - apparatus most of us had never used before but had just seen like a week before and whose names we had committed to memory together with their functions. Most of us had no problem with this part of the exam. Two weeks later, precisely on the 1st of December, we had our first written paper-anatomy. The exam had started proper. The exam came in two papers-1&2, each of three hours duration. Paper 2(multiple choice) was written in the morning between 9 and 12 and paper 1 later in the day between 2 and 5. The paper wasnt too difficult but it wasnt an easy walkover-at least not for me. The multiple choice questions set by one of the lecturers- Dr Salami were so difficult to understand and decipher correctly that you had to wonder if it was your knowledge of anatomy that was being tested or your mastery of English. We had the 'whole weekend' to ourselves. I was always reading in Obafemi Awolowo Hall during the time so after my paper i went back. i got my hands on some old biochemistry note and read it cover to cover during the weekend. i also read a bit of physiology knowing fully well that i would be having only one day of grace after my biochemistry paper. The night before the biochemistry exam(sunday night) happened to be Emem's birthday(Emem was Bimbo Kotti's roommate at the time.). A lot of boys graced the occasion including me although i left early. Other boys included Prince, OJ, virus, Malik and some other Awo boys. All the guys named are medical students and we all had a paper the next day so i was surprised when i found out they were drinking and ofcourse you know what happened next. They slept like logs. I ended up burning the midnight oil cos biochemistry used to be my most dreaded subject during my preclinical years. Early the next morning, i left for my room in tedder hall together with my friend, Jeje who had slept almost through the night. When i got to my room, i think i took my bath and left for the venue of the exam. The first paper of the biochemistry exam essentially comprised of short answer questions(SAQ) where essentially, you were required to fill in the gaps. Apparently, i was the first to finish in my examination hall. One of my friends wanted me to supply answers so i quickly finished and slept off. The supervisor then came to meet me and asked why i was sleeping and then i told her i had finished and then she asked for my id card to be sure i wasnt impersonating anyone. She then asked me if i was ready to submit my answer script which i gladly did and left.The second paper, just like the anatomy exam, comprised of long essays. It was however more tasking than the morning paper. We were asked to answer 4 out of 8 questions. The biochemistry paper also contained a question on medical biostatistics(chi square). The final written exam was physiology. It also came in two papers with the first one being multiple choice and the second being long essays. The second paper also contained a question on psychology which asked us to write about conditioning principles. I gave a funny definition and explained shoddily cos i had only a vague idea what was required of me. The oral part of the exam was held the following week on monday and tuesday, the 11th and 12th of December,2006. I had physiology first. Luckily, i met an external examiner from Ilorin. He asked me what part of physiology i felt i knew best and i told him renals, he asked me a few questions, most of which i got. When i got back to my room, i gisted for hours on end and then played a game of cards with my friends- Ben and Teni until very late around 2am in the morning. On tuesday morning, i got to the venue of the interview early but it didnt start early. for the first time, i saw Professor Caston Martins. I was however asked to meet with Mr. Imoseme who was asking hyperstuff questions almost all of which i flunked. I was already becoming scared that i would flunk the exam. Early next morning, i left for home.A week later, my brother called me and told me over the phone that he had checked my result and that i had a RESIT in physiology. i was shocked. He later told me he was joking. i was happy but i couldnt really rejoice bcos many of my friends flunked the exam including my best friend. I cried that night when i got the breakdown of the results. About 6 student were asked to leave the College of Medicine after the exams while about 40 people were asked to repeat and 18 students were asked to sit for resit examinations out of which only one person failed.Preclinical schoool was fun. I'll forever remember those days. And to my friends who were asked to repeat-- a 1yr long bridge is not long enough to keep us apart cos we are close at heart. Keep it real.