How I Study for the Most Important Exam of My Life ⚖️

LIFE ON URTH - Episode 090

I am now in the intense phase of my preparation for the board certification exam in March. For me, this marks the formal completion of my academic training, which has lasted two decades!
(8 years of secondary school, 6 years of medical school, 6 years as a resident.)

The practical part of the state exam at the end of medical school was very open-ended and therefore felt quite arbitrary, which made preparation difficult. Only on the evening before the exam did I find out where it would take place—in my case, at a children’s hospital.

Suddenly, years of study and months of intensive preparation felt in vain, since I had always focused on adult medicine. And as our pediatrics teachers used to say: children are not just small adults!

My patient for the exam was an infant, only a few months old, who resisted my examination with hands and feet. The accompanying father was not much help either—he didn’t speak English and wouldn’t engage with my attempts to communicate in broken Latvian.

I passed the exam by presenting the examinations I would have liked to perform, along with their possible findings—including a middle ear infection, which the child apparently had.

The board certification exam will be even more open: a 30-minute conversation about specialist topics in psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy. No detailed content guidelines, no curriculum, no catalog of questions.

This time as well, at the beginning of my preparation, the automatic thought appeared: “I have to answer everything perfectly!” It created considerable inner pressure. That isn’t helpful, since the questions are outside my control—just like the patient selection in the state exam.

To avoid spending months chasing an impossible task again, I adjusted my goal and expectations for this exam.

It took a while, but I found a kinder goal that I now repeat to myself whenever stress and nervousness arise: I simply want to have a good conversation with my examiners.

Of course, in the context of an exam, having a good conversation means bringing knowledge and being able to answer questions. Still, this new goal shifts my attention away from performance pressure and toward connection.

How many people get the opportunity to spend half an hour discussing their favorite topics with three medical experts in psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy? What a privilege!

And in the best case, at the end of the conversation, those experts will confirm my admission into their community of specialists. Seeing it this way fills me with anticipation and positive excitement—an energy for learning that feels far more pleasant than fear or guilt.

Preparing for the state exam was marked by frustration and stress over never being able to know everything. But now, for exactly that reason, learning is actually fun.

With this new goal, I allow myself to follow my curiosity while studying and to dive deeper into topics that genuinely interest me. Often, this creates more energy than it consumes. That makes it easier to study the topics that are “just” important.

Exams (or similar situations that feel like them) consist largely of preparation. Shortly before it begins, I will certainly still be very nervous. Nevertheless, it is worth shaping the path toward it as kindly as possible.

What stressful situations are approaching in your life?
What is your current goal for them?
How could you reframe your expectations to create more room for curiosity and anticipation? ⚖️

✒️ Quote of the Week: Whatever inspiration is, it's born from a continuous "I don't know" -Wisława Szymborska

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📺 Video of the Week: The Final Days of Louis XIV

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All the best,

Adrian / Urth

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