EBM resources

If you are a fan of EBM and evidence based physical exam, here are some great resources to quench your thirst for knowledge:

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Use Text-to-Speech To Overcome Writer's Block

I often find it hard to spot gaps in the logic or flow of my own writing, even when I try reading it out loud. Until recently my best fix was to have a friend read my writing to me, which has obvious limitations when you edit and re-edit as much as I do.

Last spring I came up with a solution to this problem that asks a lot less of my friends and works just as well. I tapped into my computer's built-in text-to-speech tool to have my tireless computer read my own words back to me. Now whenever I reach a good checkpoint in my writing, I can sit back and have a reliable robot-friend who never tires or bores from reading the same passage over and over until it sounds right.

OS X and Windows pre-install this software as part of their "accessibility" tools for people who are visually impaired.

Setting it up is incredibly simple:

• OS X - To enable Text to Speech, open the Speech pane in System Preferences.
• Windows - Open Narrator by clicking the Start button, clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking Ease of Access, and then clicking Narrator.

To make it easily accessible, I set up a keyboard shortcut (control + command + option + S). Also, back in March, Lifehacker posted a tip on another creative use for Text-to-Speech.





ps In case you're scratching your head, here is the link that explains the image chosen for this post.

Stamps for signing orders

While the transition from handwritten orders to CPOE marches on, there are still plenty of hospitals that do things the old fashioned way. I was starting to loathe admits solely for the paperwork... until my colleague introduced me to the Printy Mobile by Trodat.

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Hopkins Opioid Program offers a free web-based conversion tool

I'm always in search of a good Opioid conversion tool, and recently found a great one through Hopkins' Cancer Center website: hopweb.org. Access is free but requires you to create a login and password.

Here is an example of what it looks like when you try to convert one drug to another. The site also allows you to convert up to three opioids into one new regimen.

               Hopkins Opioid Program

Performance vs. Learning Goals

This week, the second year students at UCSF officially started their third year rotations. Since I'm about to graduate, the juxtaposition makes me nostalgic even though I'd never want to relive third year myself!

Here are some thoughts that will hopefully ease the transition from classroom to clinic, and can actually be applied to medical trainees at any level:

Be mindful of the difference between "PERFORMANCE GOALS (in which individuals are concerned with gaining favorable judgments of their competence) and LEARNING GOALS (in which individuals are concerned with increasing their competence)."

WHY?

Because, performance and learning goals have been shown to predict real-world performance (including exam grades, course grades, and achievement test scores) even after controlling for past performance.... AND goals can have a causal role in producing achievement patterns.

In simpler terms, you will grow more as a physician if your goal is to learn and NOT to perform for your attendings and residents. All of this is pulled from original research by Carol Dweck. For an easy read version of this stuff, check out a book she wrote in 2006 called Mindset.

Congrats to all the new third years. Have fun learning!

Simple SIRS graphic

I recently came across a great Venn diagram that describes SIRS criteria in relation to sepsis, infection, trauma etc.

I'm a big fan of this sort of conceptual illustration. If you have any to share, please post a link in the comments.

Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome [via emedicine.medscape.com]

The End of PowerPoint?

Michelle Lin's blog recently introduced me to an exciting new presentation tool....

 ....a web-based canvas that lets you (literally) zoom around between the details and main points of your presentations. 

There is a basic free version available, but students and teachers can get free access to extra features (including the ability to make your Prezi creations private, and an extra 400MB of storage).

For a tour, check out Michelle's post:

Prezi [via academiclifeinem.blogspot.com]