Other classes

Psychiatry
''Last updated 2011. Note that Dr. Welch is assuming control of the course for the first time in 2012 - there may be substantial changes, thought the advice here is expected still to be applicable.''

Many med students have trouble with psych as a field because many of the conditions do not have clear etiologies or treatments. In fact, the field of psychiatry was born out of trying to understand diseases that baffled the physicians of the time. Many of these turned out later to be clearly medical problems, and some of the psychiatric conditions of today will some day be better understood and treatable. In this way, they're really not so different from 'idiopathic headaches.' Keep this in mind and you'll be less tempted to dismiss psychiatry as "voodoo." These diseases are real and really important.

Stepping off the soap box, here's what you need to know to succeed in the class.

The material you need to know is in First Aid for the Psychiatry Clerkship. Read this book as you go through the course and again in the couple of days before the exam (it's short.) Sections on mood, psychoses, dementia and delirium and pharmacology are the most high yield. The course textbook covers the same material, but with more context.

Make sure you know the language - eg, ego-syntonic vs dystonic, what exactly is meant by orientation, etc. The test is designed to look like the Psychiatry Clerkship shelf exam (which you will be grateful for in that clerkship). Virtually all questions are case based with 2 steps of logic: you will have a long vignette, and you will be expected to make the correct diagnosis and then know details about the condition, such as epidemiology (what's the mortality rate?), pathophysiology (what does an MRI of the brain look like in Alzheimer's vs. normal pressure hydrocephalus dementia?) or treatment (which drug is most appropriate for this diagnosis?).

'''The exam is difficult and long, but fair. In the past, many students have run out of time - be careful to pace yourself.''' Many students are surprised by the amount of drug information, including side effects - be sure to know the corresponding chapter in first aid even though pharmacology may not be emphasized in lecture. Also note that there will be a few questions that expect you to recognize medical causes of a psychiatric presentation. The book that is available on the CHUB bookshelves, Case Files for Psychiatry, is good practice for this exam - if you can quickly read these vignettes and correctly diagnose the conditions you're half there. You still need to know the picky details from First Aid.

In the past, attending lectures has not been strictly necessary to do well on the test. If you attend you will learn valuable things about psychiatry and about interacting with human beings. If this isn't important to you, then a psychiatrist might ask you why you think that is. ;)

Epidemiology
The best resource for the exams is the study sheet that has traditionally been provided by the TA in exam review sessions. These were originally developed a few years ago and have everything you need. Be sure that you can work through a problem using all the equations / algorithms.

Clinical microbiology
This class is supposed to be getting a major overhaul for 2011-2012. Prior, the first exam was basically a review of M1 virology and the second two have good review sheets floating around that you should be able to get from upper classmen. However, because of the changes it's not clear how helpful these will be. In general, this is a class that everyone passes without much fuss.

Medical imaging
The class is meant to make you a better general physician, not to train you in radiology. Go to lecture, pay attention and enjoy the mental break from memorizing details. For the test, read the 20 or so page handout that is available on the course website (on the lecture schedule at the very end). It's 15 questions with NO images (Why? because the goal is to teach you what tests are available for you to order and what kind of information they are best suited for, NOT to prepare you for reading the images yourself.)