#6 The alternative to cramming that actually works
🙌Discover new study hacks and high-yield MedEd resources.
🔗 www.matt-barrett.com | 🧠 Study Medicine Smarter and Unlock More Time
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Hi guys,
Au revoir France. I’m back from the sun, I’m as tanned as an Addisonian crisis and this week, we’re going to talk about productivity! I’m always asked about how I was able to juggle my exam performance alongside starting a national organisation, having a high research output and building a start-up. Having an understanding of key productivity principles will 💯 help you in creating more time to do what you want - whether that be completing those tick-box exercises for our portfolios that we all know and love, or whether it be enjoying your uni days to the full!
There’s so much to talk about when it comes to the art of getting stuff done. So this week I’ve released a single part of the productivity puzzle.
Better yet, Ive also added in a rogue resource that you’ve probably never come across…
🙌 Study Hack of the Week: The alternative to cramming that actually works. (5 mins)
How is it that some caffeine-fuelled, sleep-deprived medical students can turn over dissertations in a single night? Thank Parkinson’s Law.
We all know that cramming is a poor way to learn. Squeezing in a last minute revision session before a deadline is certainly not an effective way to encode your brain with data, but there is a method to the madness and it’s what helps some of you turn out impressive work in such small time frames.
Parkinson’s law is a beautiful study hack. Flipping it on its head can serve you in turning over projects fast, and helping you to never miss a deadline again. It can help you with studying, writing research papers, and juggling side hustles or extracurricular activities on the side of university. Let’s dig in.
🔓 The MedEd Vault: High-yield MedEd resources you may never knew existed.
🔦This week’s resource in the spotlight is: EasyAuscultation
🔗Access here: https://www.easyauscultation.com
Here’s a rogue one! Last week we spoke about putting in the reps when it comes to reading ECGs - this week we’re getting reppy when it comes to an OSCE/PACES/Practical skills favourite… clinical sounds!
Now, hands up if you’ve ever convincley announced “uh hum, yup.. that’s normal vesicular breath sounds” after having no idea what you just heard? If you’re anything like I was in my early medical student days, then you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a coarse crackle or a sniffle. Even if you’ve got one of those fancy schmancy stethoscopes, you’ll need to put the reps in to determine what’s normal and what’s abnormal 👌
Once you’ve gotten into the habit of identifying the most common sounds, you’ll be able to put theory into practice easier on the wards - just a small amount of effort here will really set you apart in your practical exams. A great way to do this is to (i) actively ask the doctors you’re under to point you to patients who have signs (but specifically tell them not to give away what they have going on), or (ii) by getting into the habit of quickly listening to patients chests/abdomens after you and your team have seen them on the daily ward rounds.
Anyhow, first you’ll need a good foundation. Here’s a resource that’ll have you deciphering a stepping-into-snow-like-crackle from a hearty pericardial rub, in no time!
Pros:
A library of clinical sounds covering the heart, lungs and bruits
Learn all the coolest terms when it comes to auscultation - wheezes, rhales, rhonchi, egophony… still with me? Me neither.
Short, sharp, case studies linking clinical sounds to presentations
Cons:
Doesn’t cover bowel sounds - but no biggy, you’re probably only interested if they’re there or not there, right? (and ive included a link for you below🤙)
Only a small selection of sounds - but nevertheless, a high yield selection. You’ll want to hear as many variations as possible in living breathing, human beings, to really get comfortable. Luckily, you have a whole career ahead of you for that.
Heres a few more sites for you:
EXPLANATION: Lecturio’s auscultation of The Heart (or… a gentleman writing on another gentleman chest)
Heart sounds:
^Check out all the videos on this Youtube channel
Bowel sounds:
👋Thats all for this week! See you in 604,800 lub-dubs!