- coproporyphrins- as in heme metabolits, as in Dubin-Johnson syndrome as in I really need to figure out neonatal causes of jaundice once and for all (ugh biochem)
- Ewing Tumor- of course, its a sacrcoma! t(11;22)
- PNET- more tumors for the kiddos (I'm doing peds now if you can't tell)
- Anaridia, as in the A in WAGR Syndrome = absence of the iris (straight up embryo that I have forgotten, sigh)
Showing posts with label midterms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label midterms. Show all posts
5.05.2010
Words/Terms/Diseases I don't know (todays version)
Studying for path miderm. Looking through my notes. Needed to wiki a few, including:
3.29.2010
CPD- Weeks 1 and 2
CPD= Communication (skills) and Physical Diagnosis
A required class for 2nd year medical students. We are put in small groups of 6 students with one physician (clinical tutor or department professor) and given an actor/patient to interview. This happens 1.5 hours twice a week for 4 weeks. (So that is 8 "patients" if you are keeping track.) So far we have only focused on the patient history and interview (physical exam starts after midterms). It has been a worthwhile class and a bit of fun as well. I thought I would tell you about my "patients" as they have provided me with an opportunity to practice being a medical student in the clinical context which is one drawback of going to school here versus in the US. Anyhow, we only end up doing one interview a week because each person must first do the interview (about 15 minutes) and then have a feedback session which is opened for all students as well as the clinical tutor and actor/patient.
Its a good time and I'm kind of sorry we are done with it so soon... but I have a few "patient" histories to share. (Nope, they are not written up in proper H and P form, sorry! We haven't gotten to that part of the class yet. And I'm too tired or lazy to attempt right now.)
Pt A: Male 28 year old, local Grenadian waiter who lives alone and has an uncomplicated past medical history. Negative family history. C/C: Productive cough for 3 weeks with bloody sputum. Also has night sweats, anorexia and unintended weight loss.
*This was my first time taking a standardized history but I have clinical experience as an EMT and clinical researcher so talking to a patient was not a novelty to me, as it was for some of my classmates. Needless to say, I found it kind of fun and not difficult at all, though I did forget to do a Review of Systems, like I said this was my first time doing a standardized interview and I didn't really have the list memorized, yet. My clinical tutor was very gracious with her praise. Good times.
Pt B: 54 year old married female with 40 year pack history of smoking. She was an archeologist that was on the Island on sabbatical. Same presentation and symptoms of patient A.
*I only got to finish the interview that one my colleagues started so it was not a very comprehensive experience. (I was moved from one group to another so I think that it was an accident that I got to see the same diagnosis twice.) The positive social history for smoking was a fun twist.... one of my classmates decided to try the paternal physician approach and condemn her smoking. The only problem is the patient was probably twice his age and subsequently yelling at her didn't go over so well. (Afterwards he said he was trying to scare her into quitting, he wanted her to know her behavior was harmful to her health...um, yeah, I suppose that is why we have to have CPD class....)
Pt C: A 30 year old local Grenadian. I forget his job.... lived with his girlfriend. C/C: Abdominal pain. When questioned further, patient had acute pain that started 18 hours ago around his umbilicus and has since moved into his right lower quadrant. +N/V with loss of appetite and fever. Visibly uncomfortable. Negative for social/family or past medical history, etc.
* Not too difficult to interview, he was a good actor and looked like he really was in pain thus it wasn't too hard to act concerned or display appropriate empathy. Did I mention, I like this stuff?
Pt D: A 24 year old retail worker with complaints of increasing frequency of diarrhea within the last 10 days, now going up to 8 times a day. Maybe some other vague symptoms which I cannot remember. HIV+ status but this was only offered if you thought to ask about her current medications as she was not the most forthcoming with details and only answer exactly the questions asked of her. Though at one paint she alluded to a wild past and seemed slightly depressed in her affect.
*I would have loved to interview this patient but unfortunately it was my off day so I only got to watch three classmates attempt, with varying degrees of success as far as finding out about her HIV+ status (1/3) and depressed mood (2/3). We did start having the non-interviewing med student(s) sit outside the room so as not to gain any information from interview(s) that were conducted before the student's attempt. Kudos to our clinical tutor for suggesting this format, we embraced it for the following 2 weeks and patients E-G, H is a story in and of herself....
Which, I'll fill you in on- next time. It is time for me to get some sleep so that I can actually study for micro tomorrow. Yay, midterms are half way over!
A required class for 2nd year medical students. We are put in small groups of 6 students with one physician (clinical tutor or department professor) and given an actor/patient to interview. This happens 1.5 hours twice a week for 4 weeks. (So that is 8 "patients" if you are keeping track.) So far we have only focused on the patient history and interview (physical exam starts after midterms). It has been a worthwhile class and a bit of fun as well. I thought I would tell you about my "patients" as they have provided me with an opportunity to practice being a medical student in the clinical context which is one drawback of going to school here versus in the US. Anyhow, we only end up doing one interview a week because each person must first do the interview (about 15 minutes) and then have a feedback session which is opened for all students as well as the clinical tutor and actor/patient.
Its a good time and I'm kind of sorry we are done with it so soon... but I have a few "patient" histories to share. (Nope, they are not written up in proper H and P form, sorry! We haven't gotten to that part of the class yet. And I'm too tired or lazy to attempt right now.)
Pt A: Male 28 year old, local Grenadian waiter who lives alone and has an uncomplicated past medical history. Negative family history. C/C: Productive cough for 3 weeks with bloody sputum. Also has night sweats, anorexia and unintended weight loss.
*This was my first time taking a standardized history but I have clinical experience as an EMT and clinical researcher so talking to a patient was not a novelty to me, as it was for some of my classmates. Needless to say, I found it kind of fun and not difficult at all, though I did forget to do a Review of Systems, like I said this was my first time doing a standardized interview and I didn't really have the list memorized, yet. My clinical tutor was very gracious with her praise. Good times.
Pt B: 54 year old married female with 40 year pack history of smoking. She was an archeologist that was on the Island on sabbatical. Same presentation and symptoms of patient A.
*I only got to finish the interview that one my colleagues started so it was not a very comprehensive experience. (I was moved from one group to another so I think that it was an accident that I got to see the same diagnosis twice.) The positive social history for smoking was a fun twist.... one of my classmates decided to try the paternal physician approach and condemn her smoking. The only problem is the patient was probably twice his age and subsequently yelling at her didn't go over so well. (Afterwards he said he was trying to scare her into quitting, he wanted her to know her behavior was harmful to her health...um, yeah, I suppose that is why we have to have CPD class....)
Pt C: A 30 year old local Grenadian. I forget his job.... lived with his girlfriend. C/C: Abdominal pain. When questioned further, patient had acute pain that started 18 hours ago around his umbilicus and has since moved into his right lower quadrant. +N/V with loss of appetite and fever. Visibly uncomfortable. Negative for social/family or past medical history, etc.
* Not too difficult to interview, he was a good actor and looked like he really was in pain thus it wasn't too hard to act concerned or display appropriate empathy. Did I mention, I like this stuff?
Pt D: A 24 year old retail worker with complaints of increasing frequency of diarrhea within the last 10 days, now going up to 8 times a day. Maybe some other vague symptoms which I cannot remember. HIV+ status but this was only offered if you thought to ask about her current medications as she was not the most forthcoming with details and only answer exactly the questions asked of her. Though at one paint she alluded to a wild past and seemed slightly depressed in her affect.
*I would have loved to interview this patient but unfortunately it was my off day so I only got to watch three classmates attempt, with varying degrees of success as far as finding out about her HIV+ status (1/3) and depressed mood (2/3). We did start having the non-interviewing med student(s) sit outside the room so as not to gain any information from interview(s) that were conducted before the student's attempt. Kudos to our clinical tutor for suggesting this format, we embraced it for the following 2 weeks and patients E-G, H is a story in and of herself....
Which, I'll fill you in on- next time. It is time for me to get some sleep so that I can actually study for micro tomorrow. Yay, midterms are half way over!
3.27.2010
Passing the blog
I'm 1.5 days away from my first path exam. I'm a little excited and I think by Monday AM I'll be ready too.
So, if you are looking for something interesting to read, this is probably not the place for you. But never fear, I have a link. It is a blog (not even medical), it is funny and it won't take as many brain cells as my explanations of tissue bridges, hypersensitivity reaction or the steps to neoplasia... So without further ado: read this, and enjoy!
Check back after Monday. I do want to post all my wonderful CPD patient stories and I'm sure I'll need a study break from micro as some point....
So, if you are looking for something interesting to read, this is probably not the place for you. But never fear, I have a link. It is a blog (not even medical), it is funny and it won't take as many brain cells as my explanations of tissue bridges, hypersensitivity reaction or the steps to neoplasia... So without further ado: read this, and enjoy!
Check back after Monday. I do want to post all my wonderful CPD patient stories and I'm sure I'll need a study break from micro as some point....
10.19.2009
Vacation Week
Okay, so its not really vacation because we still have classes but Dr. Boyfriend is visiting, midterms are over (and they went okay, not stellar I can join IEA great, but I think I'm finding my study groove and I actually like the material this term so I'm happy) and I feel like I'm on vacation. I've been to the beach two days in a row and have started on a non-academic work of fiction. Life is good. Now if only Dr. Boyfriend could magically stay on the island to brew my coffee during lecture breaks and keep me company during study time... but I'll enjoy this week to its fullest. It is strange to think that after this term my time in Grenada will be half over. It is amazing how fast time goes by.
I'm off to run some errands and then go explore St. George's with my tourist... Happy vacation week fellow classmates! I know I am going to enjoy it. Pictures and details to follow.
I'm off to run some errands and then go explore St. George's with my tourist... Happy vacation week fellow classmates! I know I am going to enjoy it. Pictures and details to follow.
10.09.2009
Happy. Lucky. Loved.
Just a few words to describe my mood at the moment. Yesterday was my birthday and while maybe it could have been depressing to be away from Dr. Boyfriend and studying for midterms it was actually a really great day. I have wonderful friends here and they all came over for wine, cake and nutmeg ice cream. I am lucky. I get to study all weekend and I am living a pretty good life here in Grenada. Facebook and Skype keep me feeling connected even if I'm an island away. Maybe the grocery store is out of cheese. Maybe I can't good coffee beans here and am risk of running out the week of midterms. But in the scheme of things, in the importance of what really matters, these are minor details. I'm doing what I want with my life. I am lucky to be here. I am loved by my wonderful friends and I wouldn't trade this life for anything.
3.16.2009
Island Time
I know I haven't posted lately, and I'm sorry... I'm going to use the excuse of midterms. That and I'm on island time... If you have ever been to an island, and I don't think it matters which one or where, you will know what I am talking about. Life on an island (save Long Island which doesn't count since just an overgrown suburb of NYC) is a little less hectic and a little less punctual than the mainland. Grenada is no exception and as an upper termer told me the first week here, "nothing will ever start on time except for your classes and tests." I've been here for two months and I am half way done with first semester and I feel as if I've pretty much adjusted by now. I know what to expect from the exams and I know not to stress over the fact that the bus is late or the service slow. I came home from class today and discovered that my window had been fixed. (See previous post.) No more howling wind... how peaceful my apartment will be now.
In other news, I survived midterms and actually had a whole weekend to go to the beach (twice!), read a book, get a pedicure and buy a pair of shoes. Not to mention dance at Bananas, bake an apple pie, make dinner for some friends, drink wine and watch a movie. The weekend was so nice I'm not sure if I remember how to study or sit through lectures. I needed coffee and candy to stay awake during histo and biochem. Now I'm enjoying a nice latte at Rituals and thinking of things to do besides review the fours hours of lecture I had today... But I'm in med school, so there's no time for Island time, I guess its back to the grind.... at least I have my latte. Let's see, do I want to study protein transcription or renal histology or maybe pre-read for anatomy tomorrow, I'm sure the pelvic wall is fascinating. Oh the decisions...
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