I'm back again! But by no means back due to popular demand.. I'm just available to scribble a few words.. Ina is on-call tonight, so she will not be home until late tomorrow.. I will be on-call tomorrow, but fortunately enough for me, I don't have to stay over the hospice during the call.. But I will be on-call for the whole weekend, off-site, but as close as a mobile-phone-call away.. Hopefully, it will be quiet like the last time..
Exam Is Finally Over (For Now)
It was not the most pleasant of experience having to take the MRCP exam.. For the lay person, the MRCP exam is a general professional exam.. MRCP stands for Membership of Royal College of Physicians.. I took the Irish exam, hence MRCPI.. There are three massive parts of the exam.. Part 1 consists of 100 mutiple choice questions on basic medical science - may sound easy, but believe me, it is far from it! I know a few people (in fact, a large number of people) who are still stuck at the first part.. Part 2 consists of another written exam, even harder, but I was told the questions are more clinical in nature.. And the last part (the second part of Part 2), is the actual clinical examination..
The exam took place in Dublin last Tuesday.. Ina took two days of holidays to accompany me down to Dublin.. We stayed in Abberley Court Hotel, about 10 minutes drive from the exam hall.. Of course, I went to the exam alone and I left Ina in Tallaght Square Shopping Centre in the meantime..
Anyway, I am in a way glad that this exam is over - for now.. If I pass this exam, alhamdulillah.. If not, I'll have to attempt the paper again sometime next year.. Maybe I'll consider sitting for the MRCPUK exam too.. I don't really know how I did.. It felt ok-ish.. But I have to admit, I didn't really give myself the best preparation.. I did study and did quite some questions, but maybe I could have done a lot more.. But I really didn't want to stress myself too much as I know from before that I perform worse when under stress.. So I tried to keep a manageable level of stress just enough to push me with the studies but just under the 'cracking' point..
Well, no point wondering how I did in the exam.. I will just wait patiently and calmly for the results.. I will update through this blog.. Do pray for me..Train This Lazy Old Brain!
Yes, it was a MAJOR SURPRISE! Ina bought me a Nintendo DS Lite.. It was never on my wishlist.. Of course, I did dream of having one before, but that was long gone.. So, to be greeted with brand new Nintendo DS Lite with Dr Kawashima Brain Training was just so out of the blue and surprising.. Ina bought that and gave it to me when I met her at the Square.. She went shopping there while I was squeezing every glucose molecule in my body to stimulate my brain during the exam..
Oh, in case you didn't know, our brain does regress over time.. Some studies have suggested that we are actually using at most 5% of our brain capacity.. And that 5% was thought to be achieved by El Primero de Brainiac Albert Einstein himself! So, the general population are using even less of that.. Hundreds of thousands of our brain cells die everyday, hence the quite common appearance of general cerebral atrophy in the elderly population on CT imaging.. It is not a disease-related condition, but largely a natural process.. It is then very important to remember that the more we use our brain (or what remains of it), the more active the cells are.. In very easy term, the more we use, the more the cells need their fuel, ie. glucose, hence the more healthy they are.. Some researches have shown that people with higher education level have is less associated with dementia later in life..
I have now spent some time with Dr Kawashima.. A little bit of loud reading, a little bit of maths and a little bit of sudoku.. Badly for me, my brain age is currently at 70 years! I have to do something about this.. Maybe I'll improve over time.. I might get Ina to join me in this strive for brain youth too.. Honestly, I have my reservations on how this might effectively improve my brain, but I'm doing it for the fun.. And it is FUN! So, even if my brain continues to age, I will still have fun at the very least.. Maybe I will add several other games in my collection too, just to spice up the gadget a little bit more than just the brain training.. Hey, why not, right? I just don't intend to be a forever-geek, but nor would I like to be a Homer-brainer!It is then a matter of balancing the work for the brain and the rest for the brain.. For those who watch a lot of television, that's too much rest.. For those who squeeze every last bit of their brain reserves, that's too much work.. Find the balance for yourself.. As for me, I am still trying to find the right amount of both to put on my plate..
Well, I guess I have scribbled too much for the night.. I thank Ina for the nice DS gift.. And I hope you folks enjoyed this entry.. I will drop in again sometime soon and write a little bit more on some other thoughts I have.. Watch out for my next (hopefully) exciting entry.. Till then..
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