Real World
Cut study time in half
Visual Learning
All questions and clinical scenarios are based on real life experiences in pictures or videos that are authentic to the case.
Visual Learning
Cut study time in half
Visual Learning
Pictures are used because Medicine is indeed visual. This is how it is presented in real life; thus a picture means a thousand words.
Cut study time in half
Cut study time in half
Cut study time in half
This also facilitates learning cuts to the main and important so and learn more efficiently. Not being bothered by interesting minutiae and irrelevant facts.
About Learning
The Forest for the Trees
When I was a third medical student one of the things that really stuck out in my mind that I thought was very effective was when a pediatric chief resident spent about 30 minutes after rounding with a number medical textbooks (internet today) and we were "pimped" on photos of certain diagnoses. The particular photo sometimes did stimulate a deeper discussion into some of the minutia. It was a sort of "rapid fire" format not meant for just a lot of discussion or folderol. At the time I did not think that I was getting much out of it. Let's face it practicing medicine is largely based on sight, as is so much in life. It sounds ridiculously obvious but we rarely use hearing, smell, or touch to arrive at a rock solid diagnosis. I've come to make the conclusion that learning certain things in the same way that you will actually use the knowledge is the most effective way to learn.
Thematic learning is a pattern of learning that we have all been exposed to in one way or another. By and large I don't think medical education is structured in its wake. Thematic learning is learning from the top down. It's defining what we're needing to know and identifying that particular central core idea; starting there and grasping the broad picture first and foremost. Filling in the peripheral knowledge and supporting information then follows.
An example may best illustrate how this is structured. Let's take the diagnosis of shingles. When we learn about shingles we often start off with the unique characteristics of the rash. Much time is spent on the unique nature of the rash and the underlying virology, perhaps because it refreshingly reinforces anatomical as well as microbiological principles that we know and love. We then, it seems, spend more time on the microbiology of the VZ virus. It seems that we then learn about Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus perhaps, a serious form of VZ infection and then also maybe post herpetic neuralgia. This is a severe Chronic Pain Syndrome that can follow a primary shingles infection. So, it seems we are "channeled" into learning , albeit very interesting and important knowledge, but not necessarily the more pertinent information for icing the diagnosis and most effective treatment.
In contrary, thematic learning involves preferably visualizing the rash then associating the rash with it's name. Recognizing it's basic characteristics, describing it in your head clinically and then almost reflexively thinking "antiviral medication," and executing.
Another example may be appendicitis. Please see below:
Patient w/ generalized *L shift elev. WBC
abd. pain, n/v, anorexia >>>> *Invol. guarding on R >>> CT? >>> Appendicitis >>> surgery
*RLQ rebound
*characteristics of rash
Patient w/ pain+ >>>> *timing >>>>> Shingles >>>>>>> Antiviral
rash *associated signs/sxs
All the other information is very fascinating and interesting and no less very pertinent to truly understanding and forming a deep knowledge of the pathology. However, this can be bypassed when initially trying to grapple w/the new knowledge and can be added later. One may argue that it is the responsibility of the student to know to be able to approach the material in this way. However, we are forever students esp. at this point in our career and there is no time to try and learn how to learn. We are led along the learning pathway sometimes w/o looking up learning really in the way that material is intially presented. Phd.'s, Academic MD's, and any instuctors play such a crucial role. Unfortunately, I think this idea, the idea of really really teaching instead of lecturing, has gone by the "wayside."