I just took the most challenging test I’ve taken at PCOM so far and I’m actually really grateful for it. To be perfectly honest, so far, school hasn’t been all that challenging. It hasn’t been a walk in the park and there have been plenty of stressful moments, but it also hasn’t pushed me to my limits. I like being pushed to my limits – because that’s when I learn how to break through them. I like being asked questions that make me think and apply my knowledge,and not just regurgitate information that I’ve memorized, this was a test that asked me to think.
This was a test that really engages you with the material, giving us mini-case-studies and asking us which herb(s) we would use, asking us to recall commonalities between herbs, differences between herbs, when should one be used over the other. It was a great test, the kind of test I’ve been waiting for since I came back to school, and guess, what… I don’t think I did all that well. I think I did okay, and that’s okay because I’m learning and the grades are here to guide me, to help me understand how I’m doing and if there’s anything I need to be doing differently. Now I know there is.
Here’s to being challenged, and being in a place where we respect the challenges and appreciate them as ways to grow.
Earthly Acupuncture 
Noah, you were the type of student I loved when I taught Clinical Pharmacology. Many of my students were shocked that my exams asked them to make choices about medicines based on a clinical scenario and that there was not necessarily a correct answer. They were forced to think through the rationale for choosing a treatment and then, harder still for many, support and defend that choice on challenge.
Tests such as the one you took require critical thinking – a lost art and skill in our current educational milieu. Memorizing the book and/or parroting the teacher have became the the path of least resistance in all too many venues.
Learn, stretch, grow.
Love,
Abba