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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. At the time Paul was suffering from weight loss and back pain, how long had he been training to be a neurosurgeon?

2. In Part 1, Section 3, how many hours were residents working a week?

3. When Paul considered medical school in Part 1, Section 2, how much study time would it take him to get ready for medical school?

4. Where did Paul's parents meet and fall in love?

5. On a Thursday in the Prologue, how many hours did Paul spend in the operating room on a series of complex cases?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were some of the first symptoms Paul had experienced?

2. What was wrong with Matthew, an eight-year-old, in Part 1, Section 3 and how successful was treatment?

3. How did Paul describe his father?

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

5. How did Paul's father inspire him?

6. What happened to Paul's co-resident, Jeff?

7. Who was Shep Nuland?

8. Why did Mari, a fellow medical student with Paul, feel relief and then shame when a surgery was called off at the end of Part 1, Section 2?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Paul felt that hope left him with his cancer diagnosis. How did Paul find hope after his diagnosis, and what were some events that revealed whether Paul was able to find hope after he learned that he had cancer?

Essay Topic 2

Paul believed that somber, respectful medical students often transformed into callous, arrogant doctors. What experiences did medical students have that transformed them into calloused, arrogant doctors? Why did they often forget the human side of medicine as their studies progressed?

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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