April 24, 2013

Exposure to experience

My clinical rotations had started long long ago. I mean 7 weeks back. 7 weeks of my 12 weeks pediatrics posting have finished already. These 7 weeks have taught me things equivalent to 2 years of basic science combined.

1. Don't show off. Show up!

2. Be in the cockpit
You cannot learn how to fly by sitting at the back. You have to be in the cockpit- watching and learning from the pilot. Being in the cockpit and carrying a book on how to fly a plane won't help either.

3. Patients can teach you a lot!
Learn from every patient you see. In our clinical postings, each one of us is assigned 2 inpatient beds with real kids. Real, sick kids patients. If a patient stays in a bed for a week. You get more or less 24 patients in 12weeks. Plus 2/3 cases are taught everyday for around 3 weeks. Almost 36 more patients to learn from. 60 chronic diseases to learn from in 10 weeks (2 weeks of neonatology out of 12) is a great achievement!

4. Learn to say 'I don't know.' but make sure you look it up later.

5. Do not stress.

6. Enjoy the holidays while you can. You never know what turn your life might take. May be the rules of your clinical rotations change tomorrow and you stop getting the much needed and much awaited holidays. I thank god for starting my clinicals with pediatrics and not surgery where we get no government holidays except saturdays. And my fellow mates have to reach 1 hour before the scheduled time. 12 free days in 12 weeks! Oh lord! Save my soul during winters!


April 13, 2013

Causes of common drops

Wrist drop : Radial Nerve
Foot drop : Common Peroneal nerve
Eyelid Drop : Trigeminal nerve
Uvula drop : Vagus nerve
Shoulder drop/ upper limb (whole) drop : Brachial Plexus Injury
Lower limb drop (whole) : Sciatic nerve injury

April 11, 2013

Ectopia lentis

Ectopia lentis (Dislocation of lens) is seen in Marfans syndrome & Homocystinuria , but in one the dislocation is up (and outward) while in the other it goes down (and inward).
Remember that " urine goes down and into closet ". So lens get displaced down and inward in Homocysteinuria. And lens get displaced up and outward in Marfans syndrome (Opposite of above).

April 5, 2013

Blood disorders: Male vs Female

HE (male) gets:
HEmophilia (X-linked)
HEinz bodies (G6PD deficiency, causing HEmolytic anemia: X-linked)
HEmochromatosis ­ (male predominance)
HEart attacks (male predominance)
HEnoch-Schonlein purpura (male predominance)

SHE (female) gets:
SHEehan's syndrome