Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Submissions: Fever with rash in childhood mnemonic

Mnemonic for fever with rash in childhood is, "MEEK SCREAMER"

Dealing with stress and studying before exams for medical students

"I am overwhelmed with exams. I have an anatomy exam coming up. I am slowly beginning to lose hope. Advice would be very much appreciated, thank you!" -Asked on Tumblr

Medicine does get overwhelming. Mostly because no matter how much you study, you will always feel under prepared. It's normal to feel this way.

But don't let it get to you. This part is important because if you feel hopeless, you won't work as much as you should and the guilt will feedback. You need to break the cycle and focus on what's in front of you. There is always hope.

Take a deep breath. Say this aloud - "I've got this. I can do this."

Exercise. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people kill exams!
(Do 20 jumps right now and then read further :D )

Laugh. It's a mature defense mechanism. You'll learn it in psychology. (Another reason for you to survive anatomy right now - so you can read new things next year!)
Acknowledge that you're stressed, laugh about it and be okay with it. Or pretend to be. Fake it till you make it. (PS: If you fake laughter, you'll end up laughing for real.)

Smile. Look at this smiley (:
It's smiling at you, please smile back!
Laughing and smiling alone is a HUGE stress buster.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Tissue plasminogen activator mnemonic

Greetings people!

Tissue plasminogen activator is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, the enzyme responsible for clot breakdown.

It is used in the treatment of embolic or thrombotic stroke.
Contraindicated in hemorrhagic stroke and head trauma. The antidote for tPA in case of toxicity is epsilon aminocaproic acid.

Mnemonic is, "TPA"

T - Thrombotic and embolic stroke (Use)
P - Plasmin (Mechanism of action)
A - Aminocaproic acid (Antidote)

The dose mnemonic is, "TPA" again!

T for ten:
10% of dose given as bolus.

P mirrored looks like a 9:
0.9 mg/kg dose, maximum 90 mg.

A for an hour:
Rest of the dose is given as an infusion lasting for 60 minutes.

That's all!
-IkaN

Dominant hemisphere and handedness

Hello!
This is practical exam related concept.

In a patient with neurological symptoms, you'd like to know whether the person is left handed or right handed. Why?

Dominant hand is important in medicine because it helps us figure out the dominant hemisphere - especially, in patients with stroke.

People who are right handed have their left cerebral hemisphere dominant. 70% left handed people are left hemisphere dominant.

To figure out handedness, you can ask the person with which hand he writes. If illiterate - You can ask with which hand he prefers to eat, combs hair, etc.

Threading a needle is an excellent way to determine handedness because very frequently people tend to hold the thread in the dominant hand and hold the needle with the non dominant hand.

That's all!
I'm left cerebral hemisphere dominant. You?
-IkaN

Submissions: Microbiology notes

More submitted notes here! :)

Submissions: Cardiovascular system notes

If you cannot read or understand anything or want me to send you a picture of any chart, just let me know! - Dr. Neelofer

Lines of Zahn

Question: Does a recent thrombus contain lines of Zahn?

Asked by: Maham

Answer: Yes.

Submissions: Hematology and Oncology notes

More notes. Yaay! Submitted to us by Dr. Neelofer.

Submissions: Reproductive system notes

These were submitted to us by Dr. Neelofer.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Breath sounds mnemonic

Breath sounds! 

Vesicular sounds:
Inspiration is longer than expiration. No pause in between.
They are normal. 

Mnemonic:
VE is short. (Expiration is short)
VesI is long. (Inspiration is long)

Bronchial breath sounds:
Inspiration and expiration occupy the same duration of time and are separated by a pause. 
Heard in: Consolidation or a large cavity. 

Mnemonic:
B for Bronchial, B for Both are equal.

Broncho-vesicular sounds:
Both are equal with a pause.
Heard in: Bronchial asthma, Emphysema. 
Mnemonic:
The B for Both are equal. The hyphen reminds me of the pause.

That's all!
Everything is awesome :D
-IkaN

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Side effects of atypical antipsychotics mnemonic

Hello!

In this post, I'll be talking about some side effects of antipsychotics and a few mnemonics that help me remember the same!

Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) treatment mnemonic

"HI BCR ABL"

Submissions: USMLE notes

Hello... This is Neelofer.
This is especially for all those people who are preparing for Step 1 and reading First Aid 2014.
It will save tons of your time. (I have been preparing these mnemonics since September 2014 or so!)
It would be best if one opens First Aid 2014 along with these mnemonics. Good luck!! :)

Monday, December 22, 2014

Triangles of the neck diagram and mnemonic

Hello!
This post focuses only on boundaries of various triangles in the neck. Let's do this!

Triangles of the neck

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

How to make concise medical notes

Making concise notes is easy!

Write key words, no sentences allowed.
Use arrows, mini organs instead of words.

Flow charts are awesome.

Draw diagrams, write points in it.
Number your points, so that you have a nice flow while revising what you wrote.

Here's an example -



Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Trichomonas vaginalis mnemonic

Hello!
I make lists of words so that I remember about them (especially for theory exams!)
Here's another list for Trichomonas - Key word, "TRICHOMONAS"

Tubal ectopic pregnancy mnemonic

Hello.
We'll be learning some points and concepts about tubal ectopic pregnancy today! I tied em up together in a mnemonic, "TUBAL"

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Pathology brain tumors mnemonic

Hello, my favorite brainy people of the internet!
We'll be talking about some brain tumors today.
All of the mnemonics might not work for you, so take only what you need :)

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Fothergills repair or Manchester operation mnemonic

Hello everyone!
We'll be learning about one of the operations used in the treatment of vaginal prolapse.
It's Fothergills operation and I'll be sharing a mnemonic I use to remember the points about the operation.
Fothergills repair is also known as Manchester operation.
So the mnemonic for Fothergills repair is, "MANCHESTer"

Thursday, December 11, 2014

What is the significance of pain during child birth?

Question:
What is the need of pain during delivery of a baby? I'm not asking the physiological mechanism. I believe that nature doesn't make a process painful unnecessarily and I wish to understand the importance.
Asked by:
Rahu Ketu
Answer:
To help make the essential arrangements for the birth of the child.
Insight:
To make it simpler for you, I'll tell you what happens when the pregnant woman does not experience labor pains. It's called precipitate labor. You'll read about it in forensic and medical toxicology in second year.

Hirsutism mnemonic

The mnemonic for causes of hirsutism is, "Hair On Chin"

Dermoid cyst mnemonic

The mnemonic to remember points to be written on dermoid cyst is, "DERMOID CYST"

Pagets disease of the breast mnemonic

Hey!

Anybody reading pagets disease of the breast?

Pica mnemonic

The mnemonic is, "PICA"

Pallor
Poor motor and mental development
Psychological problems
Parental neglect
Pregnancy
Poverty
Poisoning (lead)

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Med school inspiration - My first story

Hey guys.
I'll be writing a series on inspirational stories and study tips this year. I'll try to keep them short (Except this one, it's long!)

Since this is my first post, I'll share my first story with you. From the time I entered medical school.
I was a normal, excited and happy to be in medical school kid, just like everyone else.

During terms, I studied causally and attempted the exam. I got my results - I had failed in physiology. My anatomy and biochemistry score was average too.

Yes, I was disheartened. Filled with disappointment. I was an outstanding pre-med. How could I fail in first year med school?

I'll spare you the details about the drowning-in-sadness, frustrated, self loathing me and skip to when I decided to be awesome (I don't quite remember when the transition happened.)

The first thing I did was that I tried to figure out where I went wrong - self analysis.

I realized that medical school needed a little more hard work than before. I had poke-evolved to a new course. I needed to evolve my skills too.

Heberden’s and Bouchard’s Nodes Mnemonic

Heberden’s nodes are present in the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints, while Bouchard’s nodes are present in the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints.
Here's a mnemonic for it!

Bones that undergo avascular necrosis mnemonic

Hello!
The bones that are at risk for avascular necrosis are:
Head of femur
Body of Talus
Scaphoid (Preiser's disease)
Here's a mnemonic for it!

Measles mnemonic

Hello vaccinated people!
Let's talk about signs and symptoms of measles (That you'll never experience because you are vaccinated!)
Prodromal phase of measles mnemonic, "MEASLES"
Measles
Elevation of temperature
Acute onset
Spots (Koplik spots)
Lacrimation
Eyes are reddened
Sneezing

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Thumb sucking sequelae mnemonic

Thumb sucking sequelae mnemonic - Damp thumb

Digital deformity
Dental problems
Decreased alveolar bone growth
Anterior open bite
Altered growth of facial bones
Mucosal injury
Paronychia
Psychological sequelae

Hydrops fetalis mnemonic

The mnemonic for causes is, "H FETALIS"
Hemolytic disease of new born
Fibroelastosis (Endocardial fibroelastosis)
Ebsteins anomaly
Trisomy 13, 18, 21
TORCH infections
Anemia
Asphyxia
Alpha thalassemia (Barts)
Lysosomal storage disease
Leukemia
Idiopathic
Skeletal abnormalities

Vitamin C and Scurvy mnemonic

We'll be learning all about vitamin C today!

Random facts about Vitamin C:
Citrus fruits and cabbage are sources
Cooking destroys vitamin C
Collagen synthesis
Capillary intercellular matrix formation
Chew (Bones and teeth development)

So many C's!

Vitamin C deficiency was seen in people who traveled the seas (C's, get it?) because they didn't have a fresh stock of green leafy vegetables.

Since scurvy was also seen in pirates, the mnemonic for deficiency of vitamin C is my favorite pirate -  Captain Jack Sparrow!

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Thalassemia blood picture mnemonic

Here's a mnemonic on the peripheral blood smear findings seen in Thalassemia!

Dengue fever, DHF, DSS and WHO criteria mnemonic


WHO criteria for diagnosis of dengue fever
All three of these should be present:
1. Fever
2. Two or more of the following clinical symptoms (See below, HARM mnemonic)
3. Positive serology or occurrence with same time and place as other confirmed cases of dengue.

The mnemonic for symptoms is, "HARMS" -
Headache
Hemolytic tendencies (Ecchymoses, purpura)
Arthralgia
Retro orbital pain
Rash
Myalgia
S part is for labs, I clubbed it together for completion -
Serology for dengue +ve
Short of WBC's (Leucopenia)

Hemolytic face mnemonic

Hemolytic face mnemonic

Minor clinical problems observed in normal infants during first week of life illustration

We'll be learning about cute lil kids today!

My drawing is not that cute, but children are.

They have some findings which are normal and require no treatment. I have illustrated these findings in the pictures below.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Developmental milestones mnemonic: Copies, draws, scribbles!

Draw this once or twice and you've mastered another milestone!

Developmental milestones mnemonic: Pincer grasp

Very short post of the day!
Pincer grasp is achieved by the infant by 8-11 months of age. I remember 10 months because it's a mid point.
The thumb stands for 1 & the other fingers make an 0. That's how I remember pincer grasp is achieved around 10 months of age!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Total iron dose infusion formula (Haldane and Ganzoni) mnemonic

Hi everyone!
We'll be learning about an iron and anemia related topic today.

When a patient has severe anemia, you need to calculate the TDI (Total dose infusion) for parenteral therapy.

And there are various formulas with all sorts of numbers in em.
I'm allergic to memorization but I love memory aids! ;)
Let's start with the formulas!

Haldane formula for TDI = 0.3 x weight (lbs) x (100 -  Hb %) + 50%

Haldane's formula mnemonic:
H has 3 strokes | - |, so 0.3 is the multiplication factor.
Haldane has a L, for weight in Lbs.
Haldane has a H, H for Hundred. So hundred minus Hb %.
Add half of hundred, 50%, for stores.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Treatment of bleeding peptic ulcer mnemonic

The mnemonic is, "STOMACH"

S: Shock treatment
Stomach wash - Adrenaline in Saline given through Ryle's tube
Sclerotherapy
Surgery - Under running of the bleeder using vicryl; ligation of splenic vessels and splenectomy; partial gastrectomy and gastroduodenostomy

T: Transfusion of blood (Comes under shock treatment, it's actually a filler)
Tube (Stomach wash using Ryle's tube)

O: Other stuff you could give, like drugs

M: Mesoprostil injection (It's a cryoprotectant)

A: Angiographic embolization of gastroduodenal artery

C: Cauterization (Endoscopic)

H: Hemoclip, Heater probe

Treatment of upper gastrointestinal bleeding mnemonic

We'll be taking about upper gastrointestinal bleeding today!
I am theory oriented these days. This is just a general guide to fill pages in my exam. Write everything you can remember!
The mnemonic is, "UPPER"

Sugiura Futagawa operation mnemonic

The mnemonic is, really weird. Read at your own risk :P

SUGiura FUTagawa

Surgery for acute bleeding varices and portal hypertension that cause portoazygos disconnection mnemonic

Good morning!
Remembering these names is not necessary.
I did it just to stand out in the exam. (Coz the theory examiner be like, "She remembers the name so she remembers the surgeries too!" xD )
That being clear, let's mug this up!

Intussusception mnemonic

How to remember certain signs and symptoms of intussusection?
Mnemonic!

"SUSCEPTION"