How to manage FMGE Exam Stress?

How to manage FMGE Exam Stress?

• Exam stress one of the key factors that determine your accuracy & confidence in decision-making while choosing the best option in the FMGE MCQ.
• It’s estimated that more than 70% of the FMGE aspirants struggle when it comes to “How to manage FMGE Exam Stress?”

Educational self-efficacy: “the extent to which students believe that they can control the outcomes of their attempts at learning”

Causes of transitory FMGE/exam anxiety:

• Engaging in any activities that imply evaluation can result in performance anxiety (healthy exam anxiety is good for the performance called the Eustress).
• Little anxiety can be a productive motivator, but too much-unrelieved anxiety can lead to stress (distress).

Causes of FMGE/exam stress: Poor study habits, poor past test performance, and an underlying anxiety problem can all contribute to test anxiety.

Yerkes-Dodson Law
Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests that there is a relationship between performance or arousal & first described in 1908 by psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson. Based on the research on the motivation of rats to complete a maze by electric shock.

Biological Causes: some people are sensitive to the adrenaline rush of the normal “fight-or-flight” response.

Mental Causes: Student expectations are one the major mental factors (will fail/pass), confidence, fear of failure &, etc (Poor study habits & history of poor testing outcomes will be an aggravating factor).

Signs of stress:

• Subtle stress response: At times signs of stress  might be less consciously  noticeable when you may feel fatigued or out of sorts or sense of “butterflies” in the stomach
• When you least expect to lose control, you may find yourself snapping at friends or becoming generally irritable.

Consequences:

1. Your circulatory system responds slowly, your sense of well-being is compromised, and your capacity for learning & concentration is diminished→feel helpless →poor test performance.
2. Vicious cycle: test anxiety→feel helpless→poor performance→apprehension→more anxiety
3. Can lead to harmful habits: under stress you may engage in such self-destructive behaviors as excesses of drinking, eating, smoking, and drug use.

Stress Reduction Techniques during FMGE preparation:

Structured Preparation for FMGE/MCI exam:

• Organize yourself for an effective & systematic preparation
• Avoid the perfectionist trap: hard & smart work really matters, not perfection
• Study smarter to boost your confidence
  • Know your personality & learning style to adopt a strategy
  • Comprehend the insights of the exam you face
  • Plan & schedule your preparation accordingly
• Schedule time to relax: tell yourself that you deserve to take the guilt-free break.
• Familiarize with all aspects of the FMGE: Practice as many past exam papers & mocks as possible to nasty surprises (Less nasty surprises = less stress)
  • Lack of test practice & self-assessment during the FMGE preparation: Lack of acquaintance decreases accuracy and speed in the exam but increases Test anxiety.
• Reward Yourself after the tests
• Find a study skills supervisor

Visualize the FMGE/MCI Exam Process:

• Imagine yourself at the exam for 1 min each day for a week before your exam (Anticipation & mental rehearsal decrease the stress & increase the confidence)
• Imagine all that happens during the exam:  waiting outside → ID verification → security check → walking into the exam room → reading the directions & completing the filling of credentials → sitting good posture feeling confident and calm → Concentrating on your exam → answering the questions confidently →completing & coming out with satisfaction)

Developing Positive thinking during the FMGE preparation:

• learn to care for yourself & avoid negative thinking
• Trust in your work & believe in your success:  that if you work through each subject day by day, and step by step, you will know enough to pass your exams.
• Say your name  with the word “Doctor” in front of it  & Know that you are on the life path that will lead you to your professional goal
• Convert your negative talk to positive ones

Appropriate Diet  & hydration during the FMGE preparation:

• Water: You should keep yourself hydrated and help your body function to be optimal.
• Eat well-balanced meals at regular intervals:
  • At times of high stress, such as at exam time, students can frequently eat too much or skip meals (careful about your diet at these times)
  • According to multiple lines of research, however, the human brain tends to perform much better with a Carbohydrate/protein ratio that is closer to 1:1
• Care with caffeine: more than three cups a day may cause stress responses.

Sound Sleep during the FMGE preparation:

• How much sleep do you need to function both comfortably and competently?
  • Statistically, 7 hours is the average amount of sleep that research subjects have reported they need.
  • However, the variation is considerable, ranging from three to eleven hours.
• During your sleep, your brain starts mulling over all the things you learned that day. sorts through them, organizes them, considers them, calculates them, decides what’s important and what’s not.
  • This process changes the physical structure of brain cells so that specific pieces of knowledge are etched more permanently in memory.
  • In the neurology, these miraculous processes are referred to as consolidation.

Relaxation Techniques during the FMGE preparation:

A – Deep Breathing-relaxation technique:

• While seated at your desk, while studying, or even during an exam, take a moment to notice your breathing.
• To achieve relaxed breathing, here are the steps to assure a full inhalation and  exhalation:

1. 1. Place your hand on your abdomen.
   2. As you take a breath, allow your belly to expand so that your hand moves out with the air intake. You will feel fat, like a balloon filling up.
   3. Allow the air to remain inside for a slow count of eight. Feel the fullness.
   4. Then, as if the balloon has burst, let all the air out with an audible sigh.

• • • Make sure that your body expels all of the air. Repeat this procedure for at least three  breaths
    • Breathe all of this in as you feel yourself relaxing.

B – Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)

• Time Required: 10–15 minutes.

1. 1. Step 1:Get comfortable in a place that’s free of distraction.
   2. Step 2:Inhale deeply through your nose→ feel your abdomen rise as you fill your body with air →slowly exhale from your mouth →drawing your navel toward your spine (three to five times)
   3. Step 3:tighten and release your muscles→ start with your feet → Clench your toes and press toward the ground → Squeeze tightly for few breaths and then release→ Dorsiflex your feet for a few seconds
   4. Step 4:Continue your way up to your body→ tighten and release each muscle group → legs → buttocks→ abdomen→ back → hands → arms→ shoulders→neck→face
   5. Step 5:few more deep breaths→ noting how calm and relaxed you feel → the end

C – Guided imagery

• Easy to practice: quickly calm your body and simultaneously relax your mind. It’s pleasant to practice, and not overly difficult or intimidating to learn.

1. 1. Get Comfortable into a relaxed position
   2. Deep Breathe From Your Belly: close your eyes & focus on your breathing.
   3. Vividly Imagine of a soothing scene: choose a “happy place” in your memory like serene beach scene → immerse yourself in sensory details → involve all of your senses → enjoy your ‘surroundings’→ stay here for as long as you like
      • Use synesthetics: use ambient sounds that compliment your experience.

• Set an alarm: not to lose track of time or fall asleep.

D – Physical Exercise / Yoga / Meditation

• Physical Exercise to keep up your body:
  • We all have learned the value of exercise as part of a stress-reduction plan.
  • One of the best ways of getting rid of tension is to work it out of your body with regular exercise
  • To reduce stressful muscle tension, make sure that you engage in an exercise routine that involves deep breathing and stretching.
  • Walking, running, swimming, dancing, yoga, stretching,  step climbing, or any other activity that involves your large muscles will revive and preserve your energy.
  • Promise yourself a daily period of exercise.
• Yoga: Relaxation technique + breathing + stretching & exercise.
• Super brain yoga: Relaxation technique + breathing + exercise + meditation & somatic stimulation.
• Meditation: Any type of medication shall help to cope up with your stress.

References:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327845085_The_effectiveness_of_superbrain_yoga_on_concentration_memory_and_confidence_in_school_students
2. Carver, C. S., and Scheier, M. F. (1982) Control theory: A useful conceptual framework for personality-social, clinical, and health psychology. Psychological Bulletin 92 pp 111-135
3. Christopoulos, J. P., Rohwer, W. D., Jr., and Thomas, J. W. (1987) Grade level differences in students’ study activities as a function of course characteristics. Contemporary Educational Psychology 12, pp 303-323
4. Perry, R. P. and Penner, K. S. (1990) Enhancing academic achievement in college students through attributional retraining and instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology 82 (2), pp 262-271
5. Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J. R. and Snyder, S. S. (1982) Changing the world and changing the self: A two process model of perceived control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42, pp 5-37
6. Seligman, M. E.P. (1975) Helplessness: On Depression, Development and Death. San Francisco: Freeman Shain, D. D., and Kelliher, G. J. (1988) A study skills workshop as an integral part of  orientation to medical school: The establishment of self-directed learning.
7. Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference Research in Medical Education Chicago: Association of American Medical Colleges, pp 91-96
8. Westfeldt, L. (1964) F. Matthias Alexander: The Man and His Work.Westport, CT: Associated Booksellers Wilhite, S. C. (1990) Self-efficacy, locus of control, self-assessment of memory ability, and study activities as predictors of college course achievement.  Journal of Educational Psychology 82 (4), pp 696-700