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"