It seems like no matter how far along you get in life, you always have to take a test of some sort. I’m a teaching assistant in my university, and today my class took a patho exam.

Of course they all come in fear stricken, hair askew, stressed, and tired. I tried to allay their fears through a thorough study review but I just wonder…could I go through all that testing again? I mean, renewing my certifications, taking ACLS and PALS tests; they all provoke feelings of anxiety and stress me out a little bit. Which begs the question, do we ever feel competent and at ease taking tests?

There are always little tricks. Get lots of sleep, eat breakfast, exercise, don’t stay up all night studying. But when that number two pencil hits your hand and the scantron sheet is in front of you, palpitations are sure to ensue. Even just a little bit. The good thing about graduate school and post graduate school is that you don’t have tests anymore, just papers. Wait, is that a better thing? I’m not so sure now!

I took the tests to get scored, and overall, the students did pretty well. A nice bell curve, with more on the As and Bs side. I hope that when the students get their grades, they feel good about all their studying! Because they have A LOT more studying ahead of them!!!!