#3 🧠MedEd Mondays: Hacking patient encounters
🙌Discover new study hacks and high-yield MedEd resources.
🔗 www.matt-barrett.com | 🧠Study Medicine Smarter and Unlock More Time
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Making the most of your time during patient encounters
Hey there!
Welcome back to post numero two of 🧠MedEd Mondays. I’m currently hanging off my last few molecules of acetylcholine whilst I finish off a string of long days over the weekend! The release of this post happens to fall on the day that I’ve finished working as a junior doctor on a HASU for the past few months!
Whats a HASU you say? A Hyper Acute Stroke Unit - sounds intimidating right…it sort of was.
I was one of two F1s tasked with keeping the cogs turning of two saturated wards of stroke patients, many of whom were (until very recently) previously fit and well. There were difficult conversations, sad stories of lifechanging neurological deficiets but also remarkeable recoveries and examples of the finest team work the NHS has to offer. It was a rollercoaster but a stark reminder of how priviledged we are in the UK to have a National Health Service (despite its many* flaws).
From a MedEd perspective, a stroke unit is full of patients with neurological signs and should be on every medical student’s radar to encounter at some point through medical school. A top tip for hospital placements is to be intentional with your time. If you’ve got upcoming OSCEs (or other practical exams) spending an afternoon on a speciliast ward like this is a great opportunity to put theory into practice with laser focus.
Next up, I’m staying well out of my comfort zone on an acute medical unit! I’ll keep you updated. For now though, let’s help you out with some more tips for studying medicine smarter, not harder!
*many many many many
🙌 Study Hack of the Week: How to make patient encounters high-yield learning opportunities. (5 mins)
Fact: Some patients you meet as a medical student will stay in your memories forever!
No matter which stage you are at medical school, your time is being spent wisely whenever you’re at a patient’s bedside - it’s an essential opportunity to put theory into pratice. I’m all for studying smarter not harder, here’s how you can make the most of your time with patients!
🔓 The MedEd Vault: High-yield MedEd resources you may never knew existed.
🔦This week’s resource in the spotlight is: TeachMeAnatomy
🔗Access here: https://www.teachmeanatomy.info
TeachMeAnatomy is a holy grail of medical education. I made sure that I covered the relevant sections of TeachMeAnatomy in the workup for any exam that had the possibility of covering anatomy. I’m a big fan.
Pros:
Concise, high-yield anatomy notes
Covers nerves, vessels, structures, anatomical boundaries/areas, muscles, bones and joints.
Outlines clinically relevant anatomy which is highly examinable
An interactive body map to view anatomy in three dimensions
Premium features: question bank, quiz builders and free reign of anatomicalnmodels.
Cons:
I really dont have much to say about the cons of TeachMeAnatomy - some features are now locked behind a pay wall, but their free content is top notch.
Thats all for this week! See you in T-minus 7 days