Friday, April 23, 2010

Failing Final Professional Exam: So What?

Haha senang aku cakap tapi sebenarnye takut gak fail.

Despite the low prevalence of failures in the past (avg 2 tho I don't have the exact numbers), its amazing how we translate this as us being one of the 1% (failing) instead of the 99% (passing).

What does failure actually means in that overall general perception?

  • Starting work later by 6 months?
  • Going through more years as a student? without our colleagues.
  • Humiliation as others pass?
  • Not achieving parent's / teacher's expectations?
  • Sitting in the AGD while everyone else celebrate their graduation?
  • More time staying in Kuantan?

Really why do we fear of failure for exams?


Can there be a different perception? Could failing means:

  • We are not good enough, safe enough and need more time to improve.
  • We get to enjoy more of student life for an additional 6 months before the hellish slave work of housemanship we have all heard.
  • We get more attention from teachers to better focus on us and teach us more.
  • Going through student life again without the trouble of going through seminars, logbooks and all that other burden that we get in addition to studies during usual postings.
  • Getting to see more cases and more experience that we might have not come across during the course of our education.
  • We get to have more time to share our knowledge and experience with our juniors (provided they trust you).
  • We can to spend more time with whoever before being posted to wherever the hell we get.


When looking at a different perspective, failing isn't so bad. It just might make us better. Failures might just need a little more time to mature and grow and that catch-up growth might just help make us better doctors.

But it might not be fair of me to write this as although I've only had a push-up borderline pass for O&G during my 3rd year, I've never actually failed. Only others who have failed and repeated may better understand how it feels.

Having said that am I ready to eat my own words?

I hope we all will do our best for the upcoming exams. It's certainly not the end.

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