Throughout my whole 5 years in medical school, I was lucky enough to come across the best study group in my life – The Impostors
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HOW IT STARTED?
The Impostors was formed during the 4th Year of my medical school journey.
We were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic when Year 4 began. Hence, it was a mixture of online & physical classes.
Year 4 was the year where we were introduced to such thing as Interactive OSCE (I-OSCE). Back in Year 3, we only heard of long case examination whereby we had to clerk the patients history, perform a focused physical examination as well as discuss the management with the examiners.
As you can imagine, being exposed for the very first time even though we’ve technically had multiple practices during pre-clinicals, can still seem rather daunting.
Hence, a dear friend from The Impostors, Selashini, reached out to me to just “run through” quickly on what is needed for the exam and I agreed.
From there, she roped in 3 more members. So, The Impostors consisted of 5 members, 4 girls and 1 guy.
HOW WE WORKED TOGETHER DURING END-OF-POSTING EXAMINATIONS?
Every time before our end-posting examination, we would all come together on Google Meet to discuss the common topics or targeted topics. Our usual meeting time would be around 7-7:30p.m. and lasts till around 9-10p.m, it varies of course.
It was really nice whenever we came together on Google Meet as we were scattered all over Malaysia, some were in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Selangor and Kedah.
Our End-Posting Exam usually consists of Single Best Answers (SBAs), Interactive-OSCEs (I-OSCEs) and Digital OSCEs or Modified Essay Questions.
A few minutes before the exam begins, we would all go on a conference call on WhatsApp. For SBAs, we would set aside around 15 minutes to 30 minutes to answer on our own followed by group discussion before the timer is up.
Similarly, for Modified Essay Question / D-OSCEs, each of us would be handling a question each and answering what we know followed by sending the answers in the group chat. Well, it was efficient and saved our time as we usually will be rushing to complete our tasks.
During IOSCEs, it used to be a 1-on-1 session on Google Meet or Zoom. Yes, we had to switch on our cameras. I remembered, we would be on another Zoom or Google Meet and the person going for the exam would share their tab or screen and half the screen on their end would be on WhatsApp and the other half would be the call with the examiner. So, of course, when a question is asked or we have a fellow member who is stuck or in need of help, the messages would be on the screen without needing the person to turn sideways.
OUR FIRST HANGOUT
We first officially hung out in 2022, after our final end-posting examination, somewhere before the study week began.
We all went for tea time / dinner at “Thosai Cafe”, located at The Curve, Damansara.
PREPARATION FOR PRO EXAM (FINALS)
Our preparation for Pro Exam was scattered, most days, it involved only me and Selashini.
We would usually start in the morning and each would be studying at our own pace. The Google Meet was merely a booster or encouragement to keep us going.
We did not do it everyday as most of the time, I was busy or occupied with other stuffs.
On certain days, we would come together to practice I-OSCEs or even Modified Long Cases together.
Most of the time, Selashini would list out certain topics for us to have a discussion on. I owe my love towards teaching to her. There was a time when I was considering dropping out of medical school and never in my wildest dream would I imagine myself helping out a dear friend for the examination.
In between the theory exam and practical exam, we all came together at Selashini’s, Baviethra’s, Angela’s and Ummu’s place of residence at Titiwangsa.
HANGING OUT TOGETHER POST-PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATION
Two nights before our Graduation / Convocation Ceremony, which happened to be the day of our Graduation Rehearsal, we went for dinner together at Beetle Leaf, Kuala Lumpur, which was an impromptu one.
2 nights after our Graduation / Convocation Ceremony, Selashini’s parents treated us to a lovely and amazing dinner at Namaste India.
Her parents are one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met and I caught a glimpse of how this lovely person was brought up by her parents and how she turned out to be gracious.
FIREWORKS
This took place after the dinner with Selashini’s parents.
After dinner, we all travelled to Subang Jaya and I played firecrackers for the first time.
It was rather fun and although I was rather fearful initially.
So far, that was the time we all came together…
I never thought that I would even have a proper study group in medical school. It didn’t matter even if we separated into different groups the following academic year.
I’m thankful for the lovely people who made the best of my years in medical school. Our memories together be it having fun, studying or helping each other out a.k.a “cheating” during exam is something I will miss dearly.
Being with all of you made me feel as if I’m back in my schooling days in Johor Bahru, which is my hometown.
Thankfully, all of us passed our Final Professional Examination and are Doctors now, awaiting our place of internship.
Related posts:
- I’ve Completed My Finals in MBBS
- MBBS Final Professional Exam Overview Batch 9 (2017-2022) – Theory & Clinicals
- 6 Ways To Study In Final Year Of Medical School
The Theoretical Doctor 