Dr Sally AyesaNov 17, 20205 minLast minute chest viva tipsYou have put in months (years) of study and practice and it is almost time to sit the exams! Here are a few quick tips for polishing off...
Dr Sally AyesaOct 31, 20205 minLevelling up your final exam preparationWhen you are in the thick of exam study you become completely immersed - and when you are immersed, sometimes you can lose sight of the...
Dr Sally AyesaJul 5, 20205 minFinding the motivationMotivation is something that everyone struggles with at one stage or another, some more frequently than others. This year in particular...
Dr Sally AyesaMay 8, 20205 minFinding your own study stylePreparing for something as mammoth as radiology fellowship exams is no easy task. It takes months, and sometimes years, of dedicated work...
Dr Sally AyesaFeb 1, 20205 minDropping a case: seeing the plus sideWhile you are preparing for your radiology viva exams (and indeed for your time as radiologist), you cannot avoid the hot seat. You will...
Dr Sally AyesaDec 31, 20196 minThe Study-CationRemember when you were in high school and you were on study leave - fondly recalled as Stuvac, Swotvac or something of the like. Remember...
Dr Sally AyesaAug 3, 20194 minTaking criticism? I have a long way to goToday, I write from a place of vulnerability. I have had a truly intense 24 hours where a family member has been in a serious accident...
Dr Sally AyesaJul 2, 20195 minMy advice for e-Film ReadingAnecdotally, it seems that the e-Film Reading exam has become a harder hurdle to clear over the last few years. It is hard to exactly...
Dr Sally AyesaJun 23, 20195 minKnowing the 'rules' This might be a controversial concept, but I believe that the exams themselves are a bit of a game. Not the traditional sense of course,...
Dr Sally AyesaJun 8, 20194 minTips for time poor traineesWhen I sat my exams I considered myself time poor for a few reasons. I had two young kids and I had a significant commute to and from...
Dr Sally AyesaJun 8, 20194 minWhen it's your turnIt is an odd time in exam preparation when the last group has just sat the exam and received their results. All of a sudden you realise...
Dr Sally AyesaMay 20, 20193 minThe big eventAfter years of hard work and months of dedicated study, exam day eventually arrives. At this stage, you can't really try and learn...
Dr Sally AyesaApr 27, 20192 minHacks for assessing chest CT filmsA viva isn't a reporting shift. You don't want to spend ten minutes doing a thorough assessment of the case. You want to stay relevant,...
Dr Sally AyesaApr 27, 20193 minFive quick tips to turn it around What do you do when you are in a rut about a particular viva, or subject within a viva? We have all been there. Here are a few practical...
Dr Sally AyesaApr 20, 20193 minWhat viva are you in?This is a favourite question that I ask candidates when we are practicing chest vivas, but it works well for the other systems as well....
Dr Sally AyesaApr 17, 20195 minUsing feedbackIf you are running practice viva cases in the lead-up to exams there is one thing you aren't short of - feedback. But feedback (like case...
Dr Sally AyesaApr 13, 20195 minThe Goldilocks ZoneWhen the information presented is not to brief and not too detailed, but just right. This is "The Goldilocks Zone" a turn of phrase I...
Dr Sally AyesaApr 10, 20195 minPicking yourself upPreparing for exams carries its own special breed of suffering, with times of relief and triumph mixed with those of despair and self...
Dr Sally AyesaApr 8, 20193 minThe conundrum of cut filmThere is no way of avoiding the fact that the viva exam is presented on films, with selected slices only and no ability to scroll. It...
Dr Sally AyesaApr 6, 20193 minClinical correlation recommendedAt the start of every viva case, and written case for that matter, you will be given a short clinical history. The aim isn't to give the...