What’s New?

I think between first semester of clinical correlations and second semester the cases got a bit tougher and we were expected to do more, as expected. It was also interesting to see topics we were learning that semester be involved in cases or review cases from topics as early as first semester.

What Skills I’ve Developed?

I have developed my skills on forming a differential diagnosis. I am able to use information from the patient interview to guide my differential diagnosis, but also do the opposite by narrowing my differential by asking specific questions during the interview. I also developed skills involving patient plan that go beyond just treatment, such as what orders would be placed and patient disposition.

What Was Surprising or Challenging?

One thing I found surprising was how I enjoyed thee pediatrics cases. As we got more cases related to peds it allowed me to grow more comfortable and how to approach them.

Where I Need More Work During Clinical Year?

I would like to continue developing all of my skills during clinical year. If there were some areas I would place extra emphasis on it would be treatment. Also beyond treatment, knowing how to counsel patients on certain topics effectively such as smoking cessation because we didn’t have a lot of practice on actually counseling patients.

What resources did you find most helpful – which ones will you use going forward in the clinical year?

I found uptodate very useful and I used it often to do my research for any presentations. I will continue to use uptodate along with other websites or apps that we discussed in class that are helpful in practice.

What have you learned about yourself through this class?

I have learned that I don’t always have to get the right answer, but it’s better to speak up and share ideas and work together as a team to develop them. As time progressed I definitely do think that I participated more and more and was more comfortable sharing my thoughts.

Have you changed your opinions/beliefs about any aspects of practice as a result of this course?

I don’t think my opinions have necessarily changed, however I think the idea of taking a good history was really stressed throughout classes and I think this was helpful and something I will continue to try to remember.

What would you advise the students in the class behind you about this course?

I would advise students to approach it with an open mind and use it as an experience to use what they have been learning in the classrooms and apply it to patient scenarios. Also to put themselves out their comfort zone and if there are specific topics they feel they may lack in to try to request patient cases on those topics if possible.