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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Of the twins that Paul watched being born by C-section toward the end of Part 1, Section 2, how long did Baby B live?

2. Who lectured at Yale School of Medicine when Paul and Lucy attended there?

3. During Paul's early days of med school, his first day, what class did he have before he got to the cadavers?

4. In Part 1, Section 2, where were some of Paul's college friends headed to pursue a life in the arts?

5. At the beginning of Part 1, Section 2, what master's program did Paul apply for?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part 1, Section 3, who was the first patient Paul lost, and how did she die?

2. By the end of medical school, what did most students focus on for their specialties?

3. What did Paul's mother fear the most in Arizona?

4. Who was Shep Nuland?

5. How does Verghese describe the meeting he had with Paul?

6. Why did Paul study literature and philosophy and also neuroscience?

7. Why does Abraham Verghese say that his foreword should have been an afterward?

8. What did the first X-rays Paul had reveal and what did the doctor think his issues were?

9. How did Paul feel when he made a trip to New York in the Prologue?

10. Why wasn't technical excellence enough as Paul treated patients during his residency in Part 1, Section 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paul went through the stages of grief "backward." How did Paul cope with each of the stages of grief and why did he consider that he went through the stages in reverse order?

Essay Topic 2

Paul chose to keep his mental faculties and speech intact, over the health of his body. What steps did Paul and his doctors take to help him retain his mental faculties and speech? Why was it so important to Paul to preserve thought and speech and what did that reveal about him?

Essay Topic 3

Paul commented that terminal illness should have been the perfect gift for someone who wanted to understand death. Why should his illness have been a gift for Paul, and why was it so difficult for him to understand and live through his diagnosis of a terminal illness?

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