Self-Assessment

Final round self- assessment.  Please complete the rubric as before and this time comment on your development in this course since the beginning of Clinical Correlations I in the Summer.  Please discuss what was new, what skills you’ve developed, what was surprising or challenging, and where you feel you still need more work during the clinical year. Here are some additional questions to consider when writing your reflection.  You don’t need to answer them all, but include at least one or two:

What have you learned about yourself through this class?

What have you seen in your classmates’ performance that you want to adopt in your own practice?

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

In the beginning, the first thought I had about the Clinical Correlation course was that it would be simulate clinical situations in a smaller class. Therefore, to prepare for it, I had all my H&P templates, SOAP notes, and a list of differential diagnoses. I was worried that since it was a small group, I would have to participate constantly, or I would be called up for unanswered questions. Little by little, however, I was able to use the H&P templates less and quickly think of differential diagnoses as soon as the instructor presented the case. I am very pleased with what this course taught me, which was more than just knowledge, as it helped me overcome my hesitance to answer in class. This class showed me that I know more than I believed I did, and I should be ready to apply my knowledge.

I really enjoyed Clinical Correlation part II, as I felt more encouraged to participate because I felt more prepared and knowledgeable on the topics given. When presenting a topic, I was able to give organized, entertaining, thorough, and quick content. I learned that in terms of presenting, the amount and quality of the content is very important, as well as the way of delivering the content (which has to be concise and thoughtful of what the audience should take away from it). This really helped me in all my presentations, even for those from other courses. Almost all my classmates and faculties love to use “UpToDate” as their best resource for evidence-based decision making. I still need to work more on that as I find it difficult to find my answers because it has high levels of details and I do not know if I have to take that into consideration or leave it. There are parts where it presents many different studies with their respective results and conclusions, which sometimes are different or even contradictory. So, what do I do with all that information, should I pick plan A or plan B or mixed them up? I am hopeful that once I have to use this resource daily, I can get accustomed to it and learn how to identify the appropriate diagnosis, and treatment.

I found many resources useful and will use them during clinical year. The “MDCalc” app is already a lifesaver tool to calculate the many formulas such as anion gap, creatine clearance, and many more. However I believe it is very useful because it also has criteria, scales, and index that can really help you when you need it. I also find “Epocrates” a very useful tool. I use it now to check the spelling of different drugs, their interactions, and their alternatives. I like to use the CDC guidelines as a trusted source as well. I have Figure 1 that sends me case reviews weekly which I think is a good tool to study with.

My advise to the juniors is that you may think it might be impossible to reach a level where you can just see the patient and be able to diagnose and treat them based on just the H&P and some labs results. But while sometimes it is harder to diagnose, most of the time “when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras”.

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