Med school testing to Madison: Step2 CS and crossing another state border

I took Step 2 CS (Clinical Skills) today at this new testing center thingie near my Marriott in Chicago. It was, literally, a 2 minute walk across the street to the building-- can't beat that for a commute!

There were a ton of "rules" that needed to be abided by-- i.e. no talking in foreign languages, no testing of the official "pens," no cell phones nearby, etc..., but the administrators were really nice and obviously knew what they were doing. It ran very efficiently.

We had 12 patient "encounters," where there would be a standardized patient in the room from which you had to obtain a problem-specific history, do a relevant physical exam, then discuss with the patient your plans for further "workup." It was actually quite fun :) I like all patients, even though these were fake. They sometimes try to throw in "difficulties" such as "the angry patient," "the anxious patient," "the depressed patient," etc., but, for the most part, it's not very different from what we encounter in our clinical rotations anyway. It didn't use to be a requirement for U.S. medical grads but, starting 2 or 3 years ago, they made not only foreign medical grads as well as U.S. med students take this test prior to graduation.

We got 15 minutes with each patient and then had 10 min. to write a clinical note on that encounter. What was nice about this was that we got to type them (if we wanted-- we also could handwrite them. I couldn't believe that people chose to do this! I think I'm pretty traditional/"old school," but I definitely prefer to type!)

The test was done around 3:15 or so, and then I took my complimentary (it better have been! I was surely paying enough :)) shuttle to O'Hare, where I caught a bus (NOT SKETCHY, don't worry! I remember that, on med school interviews, I definitely took some sketchy buses i.e. leaving Richmond or other Greyhound stations at 2 a.m. to get to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, or other city of my choice...) to Madison, WI.

I'm now in the Student Union at the University of WI playing on the computers. Felix, a friend of Molly's from college, is still in lab, so I'm just waiting for him to call so we can meet up. It's so nice to know people in so many places! I've stayed with Felix a couple of times when Mols and I have come out here to visit, so I don't feel too much like I'm imposing by staying with him for a night. People are so gracious to host me on their couches! :)

I get to hang out in Madison tomorrow and go to a resident dinner in the evening. Then I stay with a resident and then have the interview Wednesday. To tell you the truth, I was getting a bit burned out from interviewing after my three back-to-back-to-back last week, but I think I'm rejuvenated again after a fun weekend and lots of bus-sleeping :).