The Pre-reg out there are nearing the end, and after 7-9 months of combining work and study, are now banished to the books, revising for the Final Assessment.
After two degrees and two sets of professional exams, I sympathise thoroughly with you all - we have all been through it.
Be reassured though.
The exams are stressful, and although some people say it's a myth, most examiners do want you to pass.
I'm sure you have found that the year to date seems very variable when talking to your friends.
Some will have found the quarterly assessments a breeze with little work involved, whilst others will have been asked a barrage of questions every 3 months that appeared never ending and the questions getting exponentially harder.
For the Final Assessment though, the playing field is level and my experience is that the examiners are fairly even throughout.
The final assessment is about making sure you are fit to practice.
Yes, you are expected to be knowledgeable, but the deepest theories about the hardest subjects should have been covered in the quarterly assessments.
It is not physically possible in the short amount of time for each exam to cover the whole syllabus.
So target your revision.
Look at the core competencies.
These are what are been examined.
Can you take a good case history? Can you refract accurately? Can you recognise a suspicious optic disc.
? Take each exam as a separate entity.
When that section is completed, forget about it.
You cannot change the results.
Thinking about errors will only distract you from the next exam.
Unlike me, hopefully most of you will have been on some kind of revision program or preparation course.
These are run mainly by examiners, and give you an accurate guide to the exam style and this inside knowledge is the best armour you can have.
After all, they will be sitting the other side of the table.
After two degrees and two sets of professional exams, I sympathise thoroughly with you all - we have all been through it.
Be reassured though.
The exams are stressful, and although some people say it's a myth, most examiners do want you to pass.
I'm sure you have found that the year to date seems very variable when talking to your friends.
Some will have found the quarterly assessments a breeze with little work involved, whilst others will have been asked a barrage of questions every 3 months that appeared never ending and the questions getting exponentially harder.
For the Final Assessment though, the playing field is level and my experience is that the examiners are fairly even throughout.
The final assessment is about making sure you are fit to practice.
Yes, you are expected to be knowledgeable, but the deepest theories about the hardest subjects should have been covered in the quarterly assessments.
It is not physically possible in the short amount of time for each exam to cover the whole syllabus.
So target your revision.
Look at the core competencies.
These are what are been examined.
Can you take a good case history? Can you refract accurately? Can you recognise a suspicious optic disc.
? Take each exam as a separate entity.
When that section is completed, forget about it.
You cannot change the results.
Thinking about errors will only distract you from the next exam.
Unlike me, hopefully most of you will have been on some kind of revision program or preparation course.
These are run mainly by examiners, and give you an accurate guide to the exam style and this inside knowledge is the best armour you can have.
After all, they will be sitting the other side of the table.