Y3S2W14-16: We made it.

I'm pleased to announce that we all survived the examination period... some of us more worse for wear. Here's a look at how these last couple of weeks went for me.

On day one, the very first day of  the examination period (Monday) I had my practical exam for PHTY354. This was split between cardiopulmonary (CVP) and integrated studies (IS). Stress and anxiety has some weird and not-so-wonderful effects. I spent the afternoon of Sunday and Monday morning avoiding all study related material and trying to quieten my inner voice. Deep breathing, relaxation exercises and distractions were only somewhat useful. The stress upset my stomach a bit too, and although I felt like vomiting on Monday morning, I couldn't... probably because I skipped lunch on Sunday and could only bring myself to eat soup on Sunday evening (and even a bowl of that took over an hour to eat). It's fair to say, I was stressed. Why are these exams so stressful? It's because we've got a whole lot of knowledge to regurgitate, adapt and apply to practical settings with examiners whom we highly respect observing us. Furthermore we're expected to have the competence and knowledge because it's exactly what could arise in our physiotherapy careers. It's important to get it right. After a quick prayer to whomever was listening to my thoughts, I rocked up a little bit early to the practical exam. 

The exam was set out between two rooms, the first room for CVP and then we progress to the second room for IS. We've got 15min in each room to read, prepare and complete the tasks. CVP had both a written question component and the practical component whereas IS only had a practical component. I think the physio gods were listening because my questions were straightforward. The examiners also ask additional questions regarding the case to find the extent of our knowledge - I won't list these questions though...

Here were my questions:

Written: late stage pregnancy, restricted or obstructed lungs?
CVP: Person with diabetes is referred to you for PVD programme. Perform tolerance test and prescribe exercises.
IS: Person with an unknown chronic condition needs exercise pacing to help them achieve their goals (e.g. walking to supermarket, making bed, mowing the lawns). Then give positive feedback to this patient.

My peers had written questions where they were given values and they had to determine whether the profile given was type 1 or type 2 respiratory failure; read PEFR graphs and decide what condition it is consistent with; Or state the respiratory capacity for the selected respiratory volumes. On the practical side of CVP they had a good variation which included suctioning procedures, treating shortness of breath whether it be atelectasis or children with asthma, and mobilising people after various surgeries. Integrated was even more varied! My peers had to assess hand and do a differential diagnosis (thank goodness we studied that last week in our prep... see last week's blog post), interpret questionnaires we may use e.g. the McGill Pain Questionnaire, assess and treat injured nerves, oh and there were some return to work programmes, pelvic floor training and pregnancy related questions too.

Later that week (Thursday) we had our PHTY355 written exam. Okay, so I had plenty of prep time for this exam - except my stomach/absent appetite hadn't changed at all and I ended up sleeping through most of Tuesday and the morning of Wednesday. Thursday morning came around fairly quickly. That morning I resorted to a liquid breakfast from the supermarket along the way as I walked to the examination. I was in Castle 1 lecture theatre... comfortable seats, plenty of leg room, good ergonomic set-up, a recipe for comfort (and success)! The exam was two hours. It covered content on business, legislation, discharge assessment, Health & Disability Commission processes, evidence based practice... a real mixed bag. After this exam I took off to Waitati to relax until the sun went down... so not a lot of study has happened this week yet.

To our disgust (although we're over it now), we had a Saturday afternoon exam to finish the week. This was PHTY354 Part A written exam covering IS and CVP. I arrived early (as I usually do) to the exam, it was a sunny day and I was prepared having stopped via Subway for lunch... my eating habits seemed to have resolved themselves. For a three hour exam, the time went very fast! I didn't even notice my hands getting tired... maybe I didn't write as much as I thought I had, ha! Just joking - the exam consisted of 16 pages of short answer questions (no essays! Yay!!). I won't give away any of the questions details away, other than to say if you studied well or if you engaged in the content throughout the year then you would do alright. It's a day off tomorrow, starting with the Rugby World Cup All Black versus France quarter final (wait... have I had a day of study since my practical exam at the start of the week... ummmm).

Our last exam was the following Tuesday afternoon. It was PHTY354 (everything examinable). Apparently that was the last external exam of our BPHTY degree. Woohoo!! So this exam was based on two case studies and covered major components of MSK, Cardio and Neuro. I found this exam was a real squeeze to fit in two hours - I rushed it a little. It was the only exam where everybody stayed in the exam until the last minute! So now, I'm done for the year! Woohoo!! A couple of mates and I went for a burger after the exam. The exec organised an end of year piss-up too - nothing has changed there.

Lab group C got together for a group photo as evidence that we survived our third year of undergraduate physiotherapy.

On a different note... last year I made up my own neuro test. This year (during my cardiorespiratory placement) I dreamed up a product that doesn't yet exist (to the best of my knowledge) for people with COPD. It's a chest compression device that is synergistic / coordinated with the patients breathing mechanics. The device would take neurophysiological input (EMG) and be perhaps offer different levels of assistance through a micro-computer. Sounds pretty good right! Well, how about if it could read blood saturation and adjust breathing mechanics too? How has this not been invented already? So, if you see something like this in the clinical field in the future, then you'll know that it wasn't me who did the hard job of putting it together and the research determining its effectiveness!

If you read my blog from the beginning of the year, you'd know that I grew a mango tree from a pit (having eaten the mango flesh in January). The final update on it's growth is, that it is no longer growing. Around August I changed its position to a sunnier spot in the kitchen and I think the sun burnt its leaves (suspected cause of death)... so the message for summer is to be sun smart. Slip, slop, slap & wrap... and if you've got a seedling, find out what optimal conditions are for its growth.

Provided I pass the exams, I'm set to complete my final year of physiotherapy in Nelson in 2016. Nelson is known for its warm climate, stunning beaches and photogenic surrounds.  It isn't a main centre, so it's unlikely that I'll get any specialisation experience (spinal care units etc) rather I'll get a good grounding in the basics.

 

I'd like to thank my place of work, the team at Knox Rehabilitation Clinic, for their support over the year. I've learned a lot working as a massage therapist. Furthermore it was good to have access to a MSK clinic for weekend group preparation for our individual practical exam.

Surviving physiotherapy has largely been about the social support of your peers and teaching staff (as much as it is your own study and self-directed learning). Thus, a big thank you to them - I'll miss you all next year. I'll even miss Graeme and the sport injury clinic... between Graeme and Helen, the sport injury clinic is an amazing place to volunteer. Anyway, I don't doubt that I'll see everyone around graduation in a years time (after we pass our placement and research year).

Physiotherapy Undergraduate Year Three Done!!
Year four begins early February 2016

Catch you all next year!