The Countdown is On

21 days until my oral board exam. While I often think of myself as a professional test-taker, having mastered the practice of the multiple choice exam, preparing for this current exam has me ON THE EDGE.

I feel as if I have been scamming the world for so long . . . somehow getting by, passing written exam after written exam; graduating from various schools and programs; even tricking a private practice group into giving me a job; just because I can pass some multiple choice exams. Now it's about to catch up with me. I will have no paper or pencil to hide behind. No bubbling to camouflage my ignorance. No computer monitor on which I could just click the mouse to get to the next question, with the option to come back later. Just me and the examiners. They will ask me questions, and I will have to answer them. Plain and simple. I fear they will shout, "Aha! You thought you could get away with it, huh? Fraud!"

21 days until the big day. Then I wait for the results. In the meantime, the nightmares and cold sweats continue . . .