Post-Mortem Bullshit

The Latin phrase post mortem literally translates to "after death." Post-mortem refers to an autopsy in the medical world. It is the process of meticulously examining a dead body to find what caused the once living, breathing human to die.

To the everyday man, watching a post-mortem can be disgusting and disturbing. The exam entails cutting a dead body open and meticulously separating every organ from the body; weighing each organ, performing various tests, and keeping samples of these organs for later examination and to train the next generation of pathologists.

Yet, as someone who has seen an autopsy done from start to finish, I can tell you that the entire process is interesting and very entertaining. It allows you to appreciate the human body and the skills of the madman cutting up the human body.

In the process of writing this article, I explained in great detail the process of an autopsy and the environment in which it was done to a non-medical human. The reaction I got was greatly underwhelming and, quite frankly, annoying. My enthusiasm was met with disgusted retching and words of sympathy. I was asked how I processed such a traumatic event. I replied: “What traumatic event?”

That’s a nice segue to describe a truly traumatic event: an exam post-mortem.

Exam post-mortem, as the name implies, occurs after an examination. The examinees gather around to discuss their thoughts and answers in an exam that was just written. If this event is led by an evaluator of said exam, it is more formally called an exam reviewing.

In psychology, the behavior is called a post-event discussion, and it is studied extensively in memory studies. In education, it is called a peer discussion, and in everyday conversation between students, it is called a post-exam discussion. In medical school and among medical students, it is called an exam post-mortem.

I will paint a detailed scenario of how this event goes among medical students in the University of Ibadan so that my still uninformed readers can have a clear picture in mind.

Student A: Broooo, how was exam?

Student B: Guyyy. It was tough but it is over. I just want to forget about it. 

Student D: I know what you mean. Especially that number 3. Dem wan wound person.

Student F: Wetin you dey talk? Number 3 was cheap nawww! Just how will you manage a burns patient? 

Student D: Yes! But to write all of it in 10 minutes? 

Student C: And so? Just put down ABCDE of resuscitation and mention the important things under each. Each one should not pass more than 3 lines, 4 tops.

 

Student A: Just 4 lines each for ABCDE? You are not serious ooo. 

Student B: Please now. I just want to forget about it………. But how do you answer number 5?

And so the story goes.

This short conversational exchange cannot fully capture the exciting terror that mounts with each word spoken. Nor can it fully capture the feverish adrenaline crash from the high of testing your ability to recall with less than 5 hours of sleep. It cannot capture the joy from the false belief that you have outwitted the instructor’s clever questioning, or the fear of hearing that you were wrong. It truly is a terrifying event.

Why then do students do this to themselves? Why do they engage in the torture? Why do they partake of this masochistic and sadistic cycle where they are both the willing perpetrator and victim?

One answer is the Social Comparison Theory. At its core, it explores the idea that individuals have an innate drive to evaluate themselves, their abilities, opinions, and status by comparing themselves to others. It was proposed by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954. The theory suggests that when objective standards are unavailable (e.g., there is no "correct" answer key yet available), we look to our peers to figure out how we’re doing.

Another is emotional venting. Exams create a lot of stress; these students are simply coping with the “toxic environment” created by the exam. This is not wrong but the way it is done is. The experience is shared in a way that does not achieve a therapeutic goal, in a sick way. It is a sick way because they are not trying to process it; they simply want to relive the event and be validated about their choices or be crushed by them.

Is this post-mortem bad? No, not when done with the right goals in mind. Goals such as correcting the mistakes made and learning from them, or relieving stress and anxiety. These are all goals an exam post-mortem should achieve.

If an exam post-mortem is done for nefarious purposes, then in the words of Olaoye Sarah spoken after a particularly stressful exam—these wonderful words were said to her colleagues performing a post-mortem—I quote:

“CAN WE STOP ALL THIS POST-MORTEM BULLSHIT?”

Olajide Olamide