This past week was my Slit Lamp proficiency, as I mentioned in my last blog. It went really well after all that hard work. After going through that proficiency, I just want to say a few words on how proficiencies are graded. First off, if you didn't already know, proficiencies are subjectively graded, i.e. an instructor grades your performance. The grading is based on points, where you get docked off a certain amount of points if you forget to do a particular step on the grading sheet. There is an inherent problem with the grading of proficiencies - and this is true for subjective exams in general: grading is inconsistent. This is true because (1) you are randomly assigned a proctor, and (2) the grading sheet is designed to keep grading consistent, but interpretation of the criteria will always vary, since proctors varying grading philosophies.

So even though your grade depends most heavily on your skill, there is always that unpredictable factor of who will be grading you! So the best thing to do is to practice as if you're going to have the strictest proctor grading you...so practice as if you're expecting the worst. And besides, even if you do fail, just remember that your ability is not measured by your grade, but it is measured based on how you feel about your abilities (see this old blog post for a great poem that relates to this issue).

Here is an example that pretty much sums up what I'm trying to emphasize: if you know you forgot to do a step but the proctor didn't catch it, and you got a perfect score - would you feel that you really know your stuff???

This week is going to be one thing after another...here's an overview:

Monday = OHP lab quiz
Tuesday = Binocular Vision and Space Perception midterm (this one's going to be a tough one!)
Wednesday = Slit Lamp proficiency (I've been practicing for this one a lot!)
Thursday = Clinic proficiency (aka "Do every procedure you've learned so far as fast as you can" proficiency)
Friday = Pharmacology midterm

This is going to be one of the busiest weeks I've had yet this quarter, so I can't really update much right now...please keep posted for more details later on!

P.S. Wicked was awesome and you have GOT to see it if you can...I really didn't expect much coming in, but afterwards - WOW I was amazed!!! I especially liked the talented performers' singing and the twist at the end of the story! I hear that they won't be in LA for long so if you're in the socal area definitely buy tickets ASAP!

Nothing really special happened this week since we didn't have any tests (phew!) so it was pretty laid back. We got back to school this past Wednesday so it was a short week. I basically just spent the last couple of nights doing some light studying, finishing up my second hard contact lens fabrication, and practicing Slit Lamp. What's troublesome is that since we've been so busy practicing all sorts of new skills, some of the old skills we've learned gets pretty rusty. I'm talking about refraction, particularly. I took my girfriend's sister and cousin in the pre-clinic lab last night to get a quick refresher on refraction and I was going really slow!!! That's one of the things you'll find in optometry school...you'll learn all sorts of techniques then you'll get rusty at them because there are a whole bunch of other new techniques you'll have to learn and get tested on. But I'm not too worried overall because I know that in clinic, we'll get to integrate all of these skills that we've learned in one whole exam, and that will give us plenty of practice.

Next week will get somewhat busy, with our Ocular Health Procedures lecture exam on Tuesday and Opthalmic Optics lecture exam on Friday. I am also planning to see Wicked next week - it's a very popular musical based on The Wizard of Oz. So even though I'm busy at school, of course I still make time to have fun!!!