What are good questions to ask in class/during rotations?

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when you're observing a doc examine patients or even when u're in a class, what are some good questions to ask? i've recently observed a doc several afternoons. he often asked me: "any questions?" at the end of the afternoon...but i often don't have anything to ask and look pretty stupid. in class, i've noticed the same students (gunners) asking questions...quite a few of which are 'intelligent' questions. i think those who've acquired the 'good questions skills' definitely benefit from the extra info they get.

"can i go now?"


hehe

Are you really asking for questions? The only time you should really be asking questions is if you really are curious about the subject. Don't ask questions just for the sake of asking questions. Thats just kissing ass. If you want intelligent questions, read the subject matter beforehand, ID stuff you don't know and the book doesn't answer, go to lecture, and ask any questions that the lecture doesn't answer. For e.g. when an MDs doing a PE technique, you don't recognize, ask him what he was doing, what it identifies, etc..

You should never ask questions in class. People will dislike you.

i agree with the last post. but it seems like the profs aren't seeing through the fact that the students constantly asking these "intelligent" q's are doing so to try to be recognized, to some extent at least. In that respect, they are doing the rest of the class harm in the profs eye (makes us look like apathetic morons) and we do ourselves harm by not prepping and then coming in and asking similar questions.

Not all questions asked in lecture are of the "quasi-intelligent gunner type". Sometimes the lecturer just makes no sense! I think it's better to ask a clarifying question than to leave utterly confused by something the lecturer said (and often other people are happy because they didn't get it either but are scared to ask).

As for the "last night when I was reading JAMA I noticed that they disagree with what you just said" questions, luckily we only have a handful of offenders in my class. I don't think they do themselves any favors.

Pay attention to what they say, and ask clarifying questions like the last poster said. Sometimes, if there is something related that you don't understand too well, then you can work smart and ask them instead of having to read it. This works surprisingly well sometimes, and you can actually pick up some very useful pearls, however, I usually don't ask questions, because I would just as soon read about it than go "uh-huh, uh-huh" for 20 minutes as I fantasize about Beyonce (I have a terrible attention span). If you really want to impress, always preface a question with "I was reading this article..."

Sometimes its better to read it anyway since sometimes you will get bad information from people. Do not use the "I read this article" thing in big lectures or heads wil roll. Beyonce?....yeah sure, but I still go for Jessica Alba

I don't know about rotations, but there are NO good questions to ask during class. I can think of three types of questions that might come up in lectures:
1.) the "I Read This Article" question which is acceptable only when it's coming from the gunner that's going to give you bingo,
2.) the "I Don't Understand This" question which is not acceptable because you should at least TRY to do the #@%& reading before you come to class, and
3.) the "What the Hell Are You Talking About?" question asked of the lecturer who makes no sense. While this may seem like a good question, it's usually not because most of the time the confusing lecturer gives an even more incomprehensible explanation, so the whole facade of question and answer does nothing but prolong a painful, time-wasting exercise in pseudo-education.

Actually, now that I think about it, there might be a few good questions. "Will this be on the exam?" and "What is the format of the exam?" come to mind. All other questions should be asked ONLY via email unless you want your future colleagues to hate you forever.

I strongly disagree with the sentiment that there are NO good questions to ask during a class or lecture. It really depends on the prof, though (wouldn't bother with the ones that are totally clueless or can't communicate worth squat). Sometimes a good prof just isn't communicating a critical point and it helps to ask, "WTF are you talking about?" Of course, in a more specific fashion than this, as well as in a more tactful way.

The "problem" with question asking occurs when people use it for the wrong reasons. The two most pathetic ones, which have already been mentioned, are 1.) You want to showboat and get the prof to recognize you or look smart to your classmates. 2.) You haven't done any preparation and so are confused the entire time.

A third reason, and this is more sad than pathetic, is that some students are just a little slower to get things than others. But these people usually don't ask a lot of questions in front of their classmates, although exceptions occur.

I agree with Entei and Jed... I don't give a **** if people have questions, ask away, just don't ask them until lecture has been let out and the "if you have any more questions, I'll stick around after lecture so you can remind me what a gigantic bad ass I am" time rolls around and I don't have to be there suffering. I can say that 95% of what I learned in medical school I read by myself, or learned while on rounds at the bedside. Lectures never, ever did it for me.

Agree with above... Just because you are willing to stay for an extra hour after class or rounds and keep everyone don't assume that some of your classmates haven't been out till 4 the previous night and desparately need to get home to sleep.

word

Originally posted by Galaxian
I agree with Entei and Jed... I don't give a **** if people have questions, ask away, just don't ask them until lecture has been let out and the "if you have any more questions, I'll stick around after lecture so you can remind me what a gigantic bad ass I am" time rolls around and I don't have to be there suffering. I can say that 95% of what I learned in medical school I read by myself, or learned while on rounds at the bedside. Lectures never, ever did it for me.

SAME HERE man. The answer to anything that isn't totally clear right away can always be found in other sources. I always feel that asking profs about simple stuff like lecture material is basically cheating, b/c you're too lazy to do the research yourself. And many things in medicine are still controversial and thus not clear even to the biggest expert.

A third reason, and this is more sad than pathetic, is that some students are just a little slower to get things than others. But these people usually don't ask a lot of questions in front of their classmates, although exceptions occur.

JED, why do you think it's sad or even pathetic if a classmate just happens to take longer to understand something than you? He or she might understand a different concept faster than you. It also can depend on somebody's learning style. Doesn't mean they are dumber. . .

Often the things that took me the longest to understand are the things that I remember the best. So just because you got something quick as a cockroach, doesn't mean you'll necessarily retain it longer than your "slower" classmates. to make an analogy, elephants may move slowly but they are some of the most intelligent animals. Everyone one of your med school classmates are in med school for a reason, and deserve as much respect.

No need for a superiority complex, my friend.