Overcoming Test Anxiety
Where do I even begin?
I’ve never been a great test taker, and one of the main reasons was due to having test anxiety. I suffered for years because I thought I was stupid and didn’t know how to take tests— not realizing that my hands trembling, being short of breathe, and feeling an impending sense of doom were all signs of test anxiety & panic attack. The second time I took the MCAT, feelings of imposter syndrome, anxiety, and pressure that I was letting my family and myself down compounded this feeling and I almost voided my exam once I finished! Thank god I didn’t, because that year I got into medical school, some with scholarships 😅. It took 4 years of high school, 4 years undergrad, and 4 yrs of med school, but I have FINALLY found my method of reducing my test anxiety. So much so I’ve been able to honor almost all my rotations as a 3rd year, and my last board exam of medical school I got over a score that put me in the 75th percentile, something I’ve never been able to accomplish! I’m not saying this to brag. I am saying this to be transparent and show you that I’ve never been good at tests, but once I got a grip of my testing anxiety; my true knowledge showed and I’ve been able to score well ever since.
So, how did I do it?
I identified this was real and not just me thinking I’m stupid, or a “sign” that I can’t handle medical school.
Realizing that approaching test anxiety is very similar to any other anxiety based disorders- panic attacks, phobias, etc.
Using exposure method (mad questions and practice tests), test day routines, grounding techniques for abortive purposes
Exposure method by doing QUESTION BASED STUDYING. a common method used in other anxiety disorders to come to terms with your reality. By exposing yourself to you’re literal fear (failing exams) I use questions as my main method of studying until I stopped having a visceral reaction to the thing I was most scared of. I used to avoid question banks and practice test. I thought rewatching videos and highlighting my lecture notes would help...! Especially in medical school where board exams will never go away. Once I started doing 20-40 questions a day & practice tests ever week I saw my grades literally sky rocket from this technique alone 📈
Test day routines- I am actually not a person who likes routines on a daily basis. I don’t identify with the type A personality that describes a lot of ppl in medicine, but one thing I’ve started to really adopt is test day routines. Basically anything that makes YOU feel good about taking your test. It can be a specific meal, getting your nails done, stop studying at a certain time, etc. I even started realizing I had my fav test day hoodie and Starbucks order I would always get before each test. It makes the weird feeling of “test day” more familiar with your favorite items and things to look forward too.
Grounding techniques- now what happens if you already in a test and starting to panic? I always use the 5 things technique. Go to the bathroom and take a few min to do this—
Always seek help from a therapist as well! This is a very real condition and there are options beyond what I have mentioned to help, normalize this option!
Anyone else have any cool tips for testing anxiety? comment below!
I hope being transparent about the steps I’ve taken can help you in any way. Let me know if this helped you!
Happy holidays fam,
MedSchoolMilah