How to study

Studying for exams is a nightmare. There is no easy way of doing it--it is a relentless grind. Two of the worst things about medical school are the frequency and enormity of the exams. No sooner have you finished one and had a breather for a couple of months when another looms forebodingly on the horizon, with its whispered threats of doom in the form of resits, or being “booted” out should you fail.

When I was a student there seemed to be people who could breeze effortlessly through all their exams with minimal effort. Some of these people boasted about how they had barely picked up a textbook, and bragged about nights spent in the pub instead of studying. These individuals were telling huge porkies. It's impossible to make it through medical school without working hard--the sheer volume of facts to be learnt mitigates against luck or brains as passports to exam success. Any successful medical student who pretends that they have never studied in their life deserves an Oscar. I think that their motivation for spinning these webs of fiction is, firstly, a wish to be seen as a genius who never needs to study; secondly, a wish to be viewed as a life and soul type who rarely stops partying, and, thirdly, it is a desperate insurance scheme. So if they fail, despite their secretive hours of cramming, they can swagger in and drawl that it is no surprise they failed since they did no work, and exclaim about what miserable swots everyone else is.

Once you have accepted that, sadly, your desk is not just somewhere …