Archive for the 'video blogs' Category

Preparing for your medical interview – tips for success

Interviews are all about preparation -- thinking about what questions you may be asked and making sure you have some positive points as a response.

But what about when you are asked to expose your weaknesses?

When posed the question “Please can you tell me your weaknesses or flaws” think about this in a positive manner.

Explain your weaknesses as strengths to maximise the return on the interview you are having.

You shouldnt mislead or lie to interviewers but if you strategically prepare your responses as explained in this video it will assist in getting the maximum from an interview situation.

Medical Educator on Virtual Patients

Virtual patients have been used widely in the US but few medical schools in the UK are using them to their full potential.

The organisatoin EVIP has been created to bring together a bank of virtual patients for medical students. This will hopefully be open access for all to learn from. An exciting proposition!

In this interview, Dr David Davies from the University of Warwick, UK, talks to Dr James Bateman about the role of virtual patients, and the challenges of incorporating them into the medical curriculum.

You can learn more about EVIP at www.virtualpatients.eu, at Twitter (Virtualpatients) and Facebook.

Our videos just got quicker…

After customer feedback we have just completed an upgrade which mean our videos should run smoother and stream more quickly. Hopefully this makes using our revision material even easier!

We have videos focussing on the below but are considering adding more new video guides to the site. If you have any ideas as to what you would like to see, why let us know? Add a comment to this post.

Our current video set:

  • Cannula insertion
  • Cardiac monitoring
  • Cardiology Examination
  • Classification of Dermatomes, Reflexes and Nerve Roots
  • Discussion of peak flow rates and spirometery
  • Examining a “Renal Patient”
  • Examining cranial nerve II (optic)
  • Examining cranial nerves III, IV and VI
  • Examining cranial nerves III, IV and VI (oculomotor, trochlear, abducens)
  • Examining cranial Nerves V and VII
  • Examining cranial Nerves VII, VIII, X, XI and XII
  • Examining the shoulder part 1 -- LOOK
  • Examining the shoulder part 2 -- FEEL
  • Examining the shoulder part 3 -- MOVE
  • Fingerprick blood glucose test
  • General Abdominal Examination
  • Hepatomegaly -- abdominal examination
  • How to take an arterial blood gas
  • Inhaler technique
  • Measuring blood pressure
  • Measuring forced expiratory time
  • Neurology Examination -- introduction and upper limbs
  • Neurology Examination -- Lower Limbs
  • Peak expiratory flow rate demo
  • Peripheral pulses and A.B.P.I. examination
  • Pitfalls in the Glasgow Coma Score (GCS)
  • Preparing blood cultures
  • Respiratory General / Anterior Chest Examination
  • Respiratory Posterior Chest Examination
  • Splenomegaly alone -- abdominal examination
  • Summarising respiratory exam
  • Taking blood
  • The Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT)
  • The Heart sounds -- Aortic regurgitation
  • The Heart sounds -- Aortic stenosis
  • The Heart sounds -- Mitral regurgitation
  • The Heart sounds -- Mitral stenosis
  • The Heart sounds -- Prosthetic heart valves
  • The Surgical Abdomen -- scars and signs
  • Tips on Examining the Jugular Venous Pressure
  • Vascular Doppler Ultrasound

A video example:

Podcast: Arterial blood gases

From wikipedia: “An arterial blood gas (ABG) is a blood test that is primarily performed using blood from an artery. It involves puncturing an artery with a thin needle and syringe and drawing a small volume of blood. The most common puncture site is the radial artery at the wrist, but sometimes the femoral artery in the groin or other sites are used. The blood can also be drawn from an arterial catheter, a central venous catheter, or a superficial capillary sample such as a finger or heel prick.”

A lot of medical students can get confused with the measurements and values present on an arterial blood gas when it is analysed. Here we discuss these things and then talk through a basic arterial blood gas interpretation. Listen to the podcast below:

There are now over 20 audio guides behind the login area, and a video demonstrating an arterial blood gas. Take out a free trial today and see the revision tools, questions, and content on offer.

Podcast: a history of chest pain

Today we are focussing on chest pain and listening to a patient describe their problems. Chest pain is is one of the most common reasons to be seen and assessed on an emergency department in the UK. Listen to the patient and try to diagnose – then see what our diagnosis is for the chest pain.

We have added over 20 new audio guides to the login area, take out a the free trial today to take a look.

More tips for medical interviews

Remember you can get more tips like this, plus multi-choice questions and resources by taking out a free trial!

We are launching our new podcasts…

We’re launching our podcast service in the coming weeks. It will include history interpretation, exam guides and the like.

Try listening to our sample audio.

Enjoy!