Complete run through of the MRCP Part I – Day 1 of 40
The MRCP Part I has a syllabus, which consists of pages 82 to 121 of this document. That’s 41 pages, and the exam is on 10th September 2013. Going at…
Why we should never ask if your saddle-region is numb
I guess the ideal doctor would have experienced first hand every condition that can affect a human. He or she would then be able to pattern recognise what the patient…
An n=1 trial into how a patient’s drawings reveal his underlying mood and maybe treat his depression
A man with vascular dementia was admitted following a suicide attempt. The Crisis consultant felt it was high risk, and recommended him to be admitted. There’s “oh, dementia” and “oh…dementia”….
How the risk:benefit of bisoprolol became a medic:psychiatry trade off
A patient has anoxic brain injury followed an MI a few months ago. He was fit and well both mentally and physically before this, with only well controlled asthma blotting…
Hyperglycemia as a sign of something systemically wrong
The design of the new psychiatry unit was so damn mathematical. Everything was coloured in single hues and with the minimum number of edges possible. It was as if someone…
Sorry doctor, the ABG machine doesn’t believe you…
This ABG was taken on 15L/O2 min. A loose translation: # = uh oh ! = the patient has probably arrested in the time it took you to analyse this ABG…
Cola’s is tightest
It’s the Monday from hell. The Monday you will use as your baseline to compare all future Mondays to, and always conclude that it was never as bad as that…
The sats probe is not God
“Doctor, can you come see this patient please?” “What’s happened?” “Her saturations keep dropping. We keep moving the probe but the best we get is 82%.” “What were her saturations…
4 doctors, 4 completely different management plans
An man in his early 80s with a background of Type I diabetes is day 1 post above knee amputation. You are called to see him at 5pm because of…
Predicting recovery in patients thought to be dying
Backstory A woman in her mid 80s had a perforation and was not fit for surgery. She had not responded to five days of antibiotics. I was asked to see…