After taking clinical shelf exams in Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, OB/GYN, and Surgery, I’ve arrived at a conclusion which may be shared by others who, like me, aren’t gifted test takers – multiple choice exams cannot accurately assess a student’s clinical knowledge.
Yesterday evening… after admittedly pulling an all-nighter to cram for the departmental exam… I finished my neurology rotation. Between Thanksgiving Break, no weekend responsibilities, and the rotation being only a month long, I only spent sixteen days at my clinical site. While that amounts to relatively little exposure compared to…
After table rounds this morning, one of the residents asked me if I wanted to do a bedside lumbar puncture (LP). I instantly jumped at this opportunity and proceeded to gather the patient’s consent, LP kit, and other supplies necessary for the procedure. In the meantime, I tried to recall…
Neurology has gone by so quickly! Our hours are great, we don’t work on weekends, and a lot of each day is spent traveling to and from lectures/conferences at the main campus. After morning rounds (which can sometimes take a few hours), my colleagues and I scatter to follow up…
The clerkship director for neurology, a very well known professor in the neuroscience blocks of the basic sciences, shared an interesting pearl of wisdom during last Monday’s orientation lectures – “memories are created, not recorded.” He remarked on the fact that when people were asked where exactly they were during…
It’s the rotation that I was waiting for since January… the three months which would show me whether or not the career I wanted to pursue coming into medical school was really my best fit. In retrospect, I think it is. :-)
Hearing loss, “ringing” in the ears, and dizziness/vertigo are three of the most common things I’ve seen in the ENT clinic, and a proper workup during the initial encounter can provide valuable information regarding the etiology. In the case of unilateral or asymmetric pathology, the question that always arises: “Why…
A brief walkthrough of a total parotidectomy (removal of the parotid salivary gland). You can easily visualize the sternocleidomastoid and masseter muscles, carotid artery, and the major branches of the facial nerve – a structure for which great care is taken to protect.
Ophthalmology. O-p-h-t-h-a-l-m-o-l-o-g-y. Yes, the word has two ‘h’s in it. Apparently, this fact is very high yield for testing purposes. :-D
After leaving clinic on Friday, I went to Baylor Med’s interview day to talk to prospective students about life as an MS3 and give them a tour of the Texas Medical Center. During the afternoon, an applicant asked me how I still had the energy to be so enthusiastic about…