Junior medical students get a lot of information from senior medical students. They have just gone through the system so it makes sense that these students would seek out their advice on everything from how to study to how to prepare for residency match. Generally, that advice is good. However, there is one statement that drives me crazy no matter what it is about. It goes something like this: You have to do THIS to get …
FAQ About Medical Student Electives
This is a topic for which the “how to” seems to be passed down from senior to junior medical students and never written down. I remember being pretty clueless about this process when I went through it. I was a relative late-comer to the Royal College EM sweepstakes, having decided to pursue that program only during the summer before fourth year. This was compounded by my inability to plan anything in advance, ever. I …
Not Dumber, but Different? Counterpoint from a Millennial
This evening I read the article Dumber Doctors on the blog Glass Hospital and just had to respond. John Schumann concludes his article stating: One concern that has a ring of truth to it is that young doctors have become great “looker-uppers,” and have lost the sense of what it’s like to actually read and study medicine. While doctors enter the profession with a commitment to lifelong learning, some of us fear that …
Edutainment: It’s Called a Lecture Theatre for a Reason
“Are your simulations that good?” my wife joked as we stepped out of Star Tours (a pretty fantastic space flight simulator at EuroDisney). I pause… “They’re a close second of course. Well, maybe a distant second, close third? It’s different, right?” As the day went on, more questions kept popping up in my mind. Just how good are our simulation sessions? Star Tours was hugely entertaining (hard not to like flying a spaceship) …
Point of care ultrasound: a hyperechoic future in Med Ed?
A little over a year ago, I was working a shift in the emergency department when I noticed an enthusiastic consultant briskly wheeling a portable ultrasound machine to a patient’s bedside. I introduced myself and asked if I could observe the scan. Until this point, ultrasound had retained a certain mystique. However, that was quickly erased by a deep, yet efficient, bedside lesson in anatomy, physiology and clinical medicine that left a lasting …
The Agitated Patient in the ED: Moderate & Severe Agitation
In my first post of a trilogy on the agitated patient in the ED I outlined BARS sedation score for defining levels of agitation, discussed how to risk stratify a potentially agitated patient and offered some tips on how to deal with the mildly agitated patient. This post will discuss what to do with moderately and severely agitated patients while the final chapter will delve into the work-up of these challenging patients. If you’ve been …