Part 1

Say the word "Part 1" to most anaesthetists and u're likely to get the response "URGH! worst exam i've ever taken!"

It was truly a formidable exam. Never have i studied soooo damn hard for an exam! Stripped of my love life, social life, healthy lifestyle, training time, family life for the past few months, goodness... do u even call this alive? This is also the first time where at every stage of the exam, i had this feeling i'm gonna fail! Whether it's the day i started studying, 1 day before the exam, after written papers, during viva or the second before i get the results, i thought i was gonna fail.

After so much sacrifice, i made it! and the best thing is, my fellow study groupmates made it too!

There are soooo many ppl who made this feat possible!

Dear huiliang has been an extremely supportive boyfriend during this difficult period. Having to tolerate the numerous rantings i had and the frequent bouts of low self-esteem is no joke, especially when they start increasing in frequency nearing the exam. Not to mention having an almost non-existent girlfren who only remembers "pharmacokinetics of morphine" rather than things pertaining to him.

My family, who has had to live with an extremely messy girl with notes and stuff strewn all over the house. My dad and mom who, although din quite understand why i need to study soooo hard, have been really encouraging!

My study group! Having a good study group to motivate me to study was so important! I studied most often with yy and if not for her, i definitely wouldn't have passed! we ploughed through all the notes and past yr questions together, going through essay outlines after essay outlines, viva-ing each other again and again. I'm really happee we passed it together!

There were many tutors who took time off to give us vivas and i'm really thankful to them! this exam is all about practice and their viva tutorials were really precious to us! every opportunity to practise answering viva questions made us a step more prepared for the exam.

My frens who have not met up with me or even heard from me cos of this horrible exam have also been really understanding and even sent me many well-wishes before the exam.

Debbie, yy's maid, cooked really yummy and nutritious food for us during the intensive study periods at her house. Lightning and Sidney, yy's dogs, who entertained us during our breaks from studying and kept us sane and loved at the same time.

Feel that I've grown up a bit after this exam. Learnt a lot during this exam... on top of the academic material which may or may not be useful to my clinical practice. Every challenge in life serves to make u a better person i suppose. i've always believed in: What doesn't kill u will just make u stronger. of course this statement usually only pops up retrospectively... haha! (if i had written a blog entry 1 week ago, the mood would've been absolutely bleak and hopeless-sounding.)