Law and Medicine

Here we are "all happy" and celebrating D's graduation from Law School on Sunday 6/15/08. Less than 24 hours later, D, embroiled in a gruesome 5 week marathon Bar Review course, says that it is nothing less than an all out exhausting study fest. He learned at the first session yesterday that not only is this a lecture hall review course for 4-5 hours Monday through Friday on the U.W. campus but participants are expected to study at home for an additional 7-8 hours; writing and reading. Five days a week would be tough enough but this insanity is 7 days a week from what D heard at orientation yesterday. Oy. That's harder than Law School in full session.

I've learned that the Bar Exam is unique to each U.S. state; in Washington it is entirely essays written over three days. Hence, the emphasis on take home writing assignments that are reviewed and critiqued. D says they were told that if they "do" all this writing, reading, and studying they are basically guaranteed to pass the exam in late July. That's important.

I remember our medical school days. We passed through basic science classes and clinical rotations, and on to the stage to receive our diplomas, the degree M.D. conferred after three years (we were the last 3 year curriculum for U.T. Houston). Then, it was on to internship and residency which were exercises in practical, paid, on the job learning; grueling and long but essential. Gaining experience, we faced a looming, distant qualifying exam in our specialty but there was no "review course" (although there may be now). We studied on our own, took another exam (no essays) and waited a few months for the envelope to arrive with our scores and hopefully our "board certification". For those of us who went on to sub-specialize, another qualifying exam provided a second piece of paper "suitable for framing". This was all over 20 years ago for me.

Of all these framed documents (medical diploma, residency and internship certificates, and two board certifications), the one that means the most to me is the board certification in Internal Medicine. The exam was grueling; 2 days, but no essays. Fill in the dots (a, b, c, d, e and worse yet the a/c, b/d, all of the above, or none of the above potential answers). It was the toughest exam I ever took and made the Nephrology boards seem easy by comparison. Fortunately, I took these exams in the dark ages of the 1980s before the time when board certification came with an expiration date. Nowadays, certification expires in 10 years and a re qualifying exam is required. This is a sensible idea and certainly one that encourages physicians to keep current. But, I'm thankful not to be taking fill in the dot exams (ever again, I hope). Grandfathered (or grand-mothered) in, I don't have to sit for any more of these rites of passage. Mine lasts forever.

I've resigned myself to not seeing D except in passing until after the Bar Exam is over. There are three huge paperback books (like phone books) that sit on our family room table. He's got to get through all these and worse yet, remember all that information. Or, at least remember the concepts and be able to recall from there, the logical progression of thought. I don't envy this process and am thankful that my obligations are entirely different right now. These things, I can do grumbling all the way but they are do-able to be sure.