One of my Professors used to say "Examination is a botheration to the population of the Indian nation whose main occupation is cultivation." I would like to make a correction - they are so for all nations irrespective of the occupation!
The most horrible examination I faced was the first sessional exam after 6 months after joining the I MBBS. It was important to be in the top 40 of the class. It meant an entry into the Anatomy Club which almost ensured a pass in the final exam. I felt this should be a cakewalk, for I was the 13 th in the state in PUC to qualify for an almost free merit seat. The books were bigger, the subjects vaster, but the overconfidence brushed it aside. I worked just as I had worked for PUC. I never realised that was not enough. When the results came, I was in for a rude shock. I had scored just 37! Faced with defeat, humiliation I accepted the result and went to the teachers for advice. One of them encouraged me . He said "You can still try. If you score 105 together in the first and the second sessionals, you will get a direct entry to the Anatomy Club and you will become a Prosector which means you can teach the juniors the dissection ( you will get one more chance for some dissections) and also get paid for it. It was a win - win situation and I tried really hard. I learent to draw really god diagrams copying from my friend's uncle's diagrams. I did really well and got 69 out of 100 - just crossing the magic figure of 105 by 1 ( a total of 106). I understood what hard work was.
The final examinations were considered to be necessary evil. All appeared, only about 30% passed. Going to the exam hall was like going to the slaughterhouse. No one could predict the outcome. When the son of the Principal of Mangalore college appeared fro Physiology at Manipal, where the Dean was the examiner he promptly failed. Neither the Principal (his father ) influenced not the Dean thought of passing him on terms other than on merit.
That reminds me of my own Physiology exam. "Effect of Atropine on the Vagus nerve and the Heart" was the task It needed to dissect the tiny Vagus nerve and study the effect of Atropine and get a cardiac muscle curve as the proof. It was an examiner's delight and the student's nightmare. With my limited knowledge of finding the Vagus nerve (a white , smooth, glistening hairlike structure), hampered by my astigmatism, I could never locate it. After the stipulated 60 minutes one had to face the" firing squad" I mean the examiners! I realized at the end of 55 minutes that I had only 1 option.To kill the poor frog! I had to commit the crime in 5 minutes and that too without leaving a trace. I had to think fast. The only weapon I had was the Atropine.I emptied the bottle of atropine on the heart of the frog. After a series if twitches, the frog promptly died and the curve became flat. I washed up the scene of crime and no trace of atropine was left. The army of examiners came to me. I was so scared. I was sure I would fail. They asked for the graph. I said "The frog died!" The senior most among them said" I have seen these kind of things happen. I fail to understand how the frog died at the correct moment? How on earth did you kill it? I put up a brave front and said "Sir, it must have had a heart attack!"
I answered all the questions. I just passed. Anything was better than failing!
Anatomy was another issue altogether. Dissections were the toughest party of the examination. Each got 1 part of the body to dissect - selected by lots. The stipulated time was 3 hours. The one who got to dissect the sole of the foot usually went home straight away - that was better than failing after a 3 hour struggle. Luckily I did not get that!
Histology though a difficult subject to master, was the easiest exam. There was one George, who trained the students in a unique style. He was very good at drawing and anyone who attended his classes would learn to draw well. He would tell us how to recognise each slide without error. Cover slip broken on the right side - Heart; Cover slip broken on the left side - Lung; Excess stain on the back of the slide - Testes; Slide broken in the right corner - Prostate..... the list would go on. He would show us these peculiarities repeatedly. He had only one request - "Please do not break a slide!" With this 'foolproof'' training,almost everyone passed!
Lastly there was Biochemistry - a part of Physiology. It would boil down to 2 questions in Physiology out of which 1 would be a cycle. There would be a 'titration' experiment in the practicals. One had to carefully neutralise something (usually an alkali to an acid). End point was important. The professor always said "add half a drop more"! I never understood how to add half a drop. The smallest is one drop! Once when I asked this doubt the professor said " Only a vigilant student can do it well". May be I was not vigilant enough. I never understood the half drop concept anyway.
I did pass tee first MBBS exam in the first attempt! I even scored well! Looking back, that looks incredible!
The most horrible examination I faced was the first sessional exam after 6 months after joining the I MBBS. It was important to be in the top 40 of the class. It meant an entry into the Anatomy Club which almost ensured a pass in the final exam. I felt this should be a cakewalk, for I was the 13 th in the state in PUC to qualify for an almost free merit seat. The books were bigger, the subjects vaster, but the overconfidence brushed it aside. I worked just as I had worked for PUC. I never realised that was not enough. When the results came, I was in for a rude shock. I had scored just 37! Faced with defeat, humiliation I accepted the result and went to the teachers for advice. One of them encouraged me . He said "You can still try. If you score 105 together in the first and the second sessionals, you will get a direct entry to the Anatomy Club and you will become a Prosector which means you can teach the juniors the dissection ( you will get one more chance for some dissections) and also get paid for it. It was a win - win situation and I tried really hard. I learent to draw really god diagrams copying from my friend's uncle's diagrams. I did really well and got 69 out of 100 - just crossing the magic figure of 105 by 1 ( a total of 106). I understood what hard work was.
The final examinations were considered to be necessary evil. All appeared, only about 30% passed. Going to the exam hall was like going to the slaughterhouse. No one could predict the outcome. When the son of the Principal of Mangalore college appeared fro Physiology at Manipal, where the Dean was the examiner he promptly failed. Neither the Principal (his father ) influenced not the Dean thought of passing him on terms other than on merit.
That reminds me of my own Physiology exam. "Effect of Atropine on the Vagus nerve and the Heart" was the task It needed to dissect the tiny Vagus nerve and study the effect of Atropine and get a cardiac muscle curve as the proof. It was an examiner's delight and the student's nightmare. With my limited knowledge of finding the Vagus nerve (a white , smooth, glistening hairlike structure), hampered by my astigmatism, I could never locate it. After the stipulated 60 minutes one had to face the" firing squad" I mean the examiners! I realized at the end of 55 minutes that I had only 1 option.To kill the poor frog! I had to commit the crime in 5 minutes and that too without leaving a trace. I had to think fast. The only weapon I had was the Atropine.I emptied the bottle of atropine on the heart of the frog. After a series if twitches, the frog promptly died and the curve became flat. I washed up the scene of crime and no trace of atropine was left. The army of examiners came to me. I was so scared. I was sure I would fail. They asked for the graph. I said "The frog died!" The senior most among them said" I have seen these kind of things happen. I fail to understand how the frog died at the correct moment? How on earth did you kill it? I put up a brave front and said "Sir, it must have had a heart attack!"
I answered all the questions. I just passed. Anything was better than failing!
Anatomy was another issue altogether. Dissections were the toughest party of the examination. Each got 1 part of the body to dissect - selected by lots. The stipulated time was 3 hours. The one who got to dissect the sole of the foot usually went home straight away - that was better than failing after a 3 hour struggle. Luckily I did not get that!
Histology though a difficult subject to master, was the easiest exam. There was one George, who trained the students in a unique style. He was very good at drawing and anyone who attended his classes would learn to draw well. He would tell us how to recognise each slide without error. Cover slip broken on the right side - Heart; Cover slip broken on the left side - Lung; Excess stain on the back of the slide - Testes; Slide broken in the right corner - Prostate..... the list would go on. He would show us these peculiarities repeatedly. He had only one request - "Please do not break a slide!" With this 'foolproof'' training,almost everyone passed!
Lastly there was Biochemistry - a part of Physiology. It would boil down to 2 questions in Physiology out of which 1 would be a cycle. There would be a 'titration' experiment in the practicals. One had to carefully neutralise something (usually an alkali to an acid). End point was important. The professor always said "add half a drop more"! I never understood how to add half a drop. The smallest is one drop! Once when I asked this doubt the professor said " Only a vigilant student can do it well". May be I was not vigilant enough. I never understood the half drop concept anyway.
I did pass tee first MBBS exam in the first attempt! I even scored well! Looking back, that looks incredible!
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