- Joined
- Jun 17, 2009
- Messages
- 735
- Reaction score
- 81
I'm finding that I'm a REALLY slow learner when it comes to procedures. I do best when I see a lot of the same thing in quick sequence, when I can explain it back to someone soon after doing it, and when I can talk through steps in a "safe" environment beforehand. I don't really learn all that well by watching unless I can take detailed notes. Also, it's very rare in my program for anyone to actually walk us through a case with verbal descriptions to go along with each step. I try to watch as many videos as possible, but this is of limited usefulness because a) they usually don't say "aim your needle this way," etc., they just outline the steps and b) they're all a little different- from each other as well as my attendings.
Say I scrub something rare-ish, then 2 weeks later there's another. If, after the first time, I had to rush off to the next case or whatever, I can guarantee that I'll forget the miniscule details, even if I can outline the "gross" steps. Things such as whether to bury a knot, whether to start "outside in" or vise versa, whether to use an Allis or a Babcock leave my mind REALLY quickly, especially when I'm trying to concentrate on my actual technique. This inevitably leads to attendings screaming, throwing retractors and other unsavory behaviors which do not supplement learning. Worst of all, the second you take a bite that's not the "right" size, you get kicked aside. So you never learn to do it right, just that you were totally wrong.
This is a huge problem, because at my program, you are basically supposed to walk in knowing not only the steps, but exactly how to perform them. I'm not sure how some people are able to memorize every attending's differences in technique, instrument preferences for all the steps, etc. after only 1-2 passes- or 20, for that matter, if no one ever walks you through it. How to solve this issue and become a faster learner?
Say I scrub something rare-ish, then 2 weeks later there's another. If, after the first time, I had to rush off to the next case or whatever, I can guarantee that I'll forget the miniscule details, even if I can outline the "gross" steps. Things such as whether to bury a knot, whether to start "outside in" or vise versa, whether to use an Allis or a Babcock leave my mind REALLY quickly, especially when I'm trying to concentrate on my actual technique. This inevitably leads to attendings screaming, throwing retractors and other unsavory behaviors which do not supplement learning. Worst of all, the second you take a bite that's not the "right" size, you get kicked aside. So you never learn to do it right, just that you were totally wrong.
This is a huge problem, because at my program, you are basically supposed to walk in knowing not only the steps, but exactly how to perform them. I'm not sure how some people are able to memorize every attending's differences in technique, instrument preferences for all the steps, etc. after only 1-2 passes- or 20, for that matter, if no one ever walks you through it. How to solve this issue and become a faster learner?