Chika Abalahin Minute: SAMPLEX- Philippine Medical Schools

Hello again mga future dok welcome sa Chika Abalahin Minute: where a post may lead into a controversial post 

Disclaimer

1. This post is an honest opinion about samplexes in the Philippine Medical Schools

2. This Dok AbalaBlog is not intended to invalidate or to mention that your learning method is wrong, but rather this is a guide and to emphasize the advantages of active learning in medical school in using practice exams. Also highlights the importance of fighting fairly

INTRODUCTION

SAMPLEX- or sample exams are the sets of questions that was already given in the past exams by the professors of a particular department in a medical school, the goal is to familiarize the students about how a particular topic or a particular professor of a topic in a department gives the exam or the methods he/she use to ask questions from the students

DISCUSSION PROPER

Now I will discuss the Samplex into two parts

I. Advantage of SAMPLEX --> also in terms of Active Learning

II. When SAMPLEX becomes a poison for a medical student and possible proper intervention or remedies for it

I. Advantage of using SAMPLEX

 

Advantages of SAMPLEX include 

1. As I had mentioned, the use of SAMPLEX will familiarize with how the test is given and to emphasize especially those unfamiliar words which may be seen and defined

2. ACTIVE Learning --> Here is the following terms I modified again from Melbourne University

• Test your understanding- via Pre/Post test - without notes, this will help you learn your weaknesses, also for us medical students we may also practice to correlate, simplify, and use our mother tongue as if talking to a patient
• Create an Immersion Environment- such as flashcards, anki decks, sticky notes or Manila paper all over the room

This active learning is when you are rationalize a UNANSWERED learning since you write, you make diagrams, immersions, which will have impact your own active learning. And this to check where is your weak part in that subject

3. Testing blank exam can increase your stamina in the exam, according to the universities in America, it is proven already that practice exam increases endurance and also practices your testmanship skills which is another important part to be practiced for the exam 

II. Disadvantages of SAMPLEX:

 

 On the other hand there will be a time that SAMPLEX may cause harm instead of learning new things 

1. When a SAMPLEX given has already an answer and rationalize, the student may just highlight it, giving it into a PASSIVE Learning state which increases the risk for the student to forget the subject

2. THIS ARE PRACTICED IN SOME MEDICAL SCHOOLS: When a Professor repeat the same question from the previous exam, it is understandable that on the part of the professor they have to tend patients and students to be inside the curve so that they can pass the subject: applying Charles Darwin's "Survival of the fittest", however with this it can turn into this picture below

Poison Apple to Snowhite by the witch

As in the story, Snowhite was tempted to eat the apple given by the witch, then it turns out to be a poison; same analogy to the given repeated SAMPLEX by the professors due to following reasons

1. Students may just rely on samplex and not so much on other materials that they review, since they need to review the samplex to pass the subject thus increasing the tendency to forget what they need to learn for other subjects.

2. Since there is answer already again, this is a form of PASSIVE LEARNING which again since student will just read and possible highlight it especially the time it can consume to study them and many samplexes to study sometimes even without double checking or rationalizing it. Thus leading to a sub-par foundation which needed not just for major exams but also in the board exam (discussed below)

3. This is a major poison for studying for the Philippine Physician Licensure Examinations, since majority of the questions in the Board Exam does not repeat, also given nowadays examiners tend to change questions and especially when there is a new board member which can make the Board Exam unstable due to new type of questioning used by the new examiner which makes it relatively new and unfamiliar type and topics again

INTERVENTIONS that can be done

In terms of disadvantage, i may suggest some interventions that can be done, however the medical schools importantly must cooperate while doing this intervention, students can also do the same.

1. Shift to active learning, that is why I promote textbook reading, since they are raw materials for your learning which can be converted to active learning

2. Simple teaching of Professors ----> they can also do activities or teach mnemnonics for the students so that they can remember, also case studies SGDs can also be done as part of active learning strategies

3. Avoid repeating questions from the SAMPLEXES since as I mentioned they are poisons and also human lives are not samplex