This all started when a student asked how a pneumonia patient hyperventilating on room air could have a low arterial PO2, and low arterial Pco2. "How can you be getting rid of co2 but not able to at least get the PO2 above 75mmHg?" That question was not the problem.
However, throughout the course of the discussion it became clear that most of the students had no physio foundation.
In arterial blood what's higher? The dissolved co2 content or the dissolved o2 content? They all got it wrong. Apparently they went through 4 years of college and two years of med school without actually knowing what the hell partial pressure is. One student dismissed it as a "trick question", since the o2 "number" is higher.
They were not really clear on diffusion vs perfusion limited, thinking it was purely to do with permeability through the alveolar membrane.
Later on, the discussion shifted to acid base. No one even knew what the blood buffer line was; they had been looking at Davenport diagrams for two years but couldn't answer any questions about them.
These are students who were admitted to a pretty decent US medical school. I'm not trying to act like I'm better then them or anything like that. I don't consider myself to be very intelligent; my older brother is an electrical engineer and has made me very aware of how little math and science foundation I myself have. But I feel like my med school classmates were at least a little better prepared.
Anyone else feel that students are showing up to clerkships with no in depth understanding?
However, throughout the course of the discussion it became clear that most of the students had no physio foundation.
In arterial blood what's higher? The dissolved co2 content or the dissolved o2 content? They all got it wrong. Apparently they went through 4 years of college and two years of med school without actually knowing what the hell partial pressure is. One student dismissed it as a "trick question", since the o2 "number" is higher.
They were not really clear on diffusion vs perfusion limited, thinking it was purely to do with permeability through the alveolar membrane.
Later on, the discussion shifted to acid base. No one even knew what the blood buffer line was; they had been looking at Davenport diagrams for two years but couldn't answer any questions about them.
These are students who were admitted to a pretty decent US medical school. I'm not trying to act like I'm better then them or anything like that. I don't consider myself to be very intelligent; my older brother is an electrical engineer and has made me very aware of how little math and science foundation I myself have. But I feel like my med school classmates were at least a little better prepared.
Anyone else feel that students are showing up to clerkships with no in depth understanding?