Learning diseases

[albe]

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I'm having a rough time running through differentials for the various diseases we're learning in biochemistry. I was wondering if anyone out there could give me some advice as far as how to get these organized.

I'm trying to learn vitamins (deficiencies/excess), but they're really similar. What do you guys do to get them down?

Thanks.

 

[The Angriest Bird]

Well, I may be delivering the "sad news." But as medical school goes on, you may realize that the information is so overwhelming that the most productive way is actually "just memorize it."

*Shrug

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

There's some decent mnemonics for vitamin deficiences. The three D's of pellagra, for instance.

 

[albe]

I guess it's because I feel saturated with information, and it's getting really hard to push more things into my memory. Before I am able to memorize something, more stuff gets piled on. Then before we know it, it's exam time.

How do people keep up with this stuff, given the short amount of time we have to understand, then memorize? And what can I do to have all this together by the time I see patients?

 

[cfdavid]

Well, I may be delivering the "sad news." But as medical school goes on, you may realize that the information is so overwhelming that the most productive way is actually "just memorize it."

*Shrug

Yeah, I agree. Repetition, and more repetition. Sometimes it's really tough to "organize" that kind of stuff. And, I agree, that the vitamins and cofactors can be tough to get a handle on. So, just memorize it.

It's not like it makes perfect sense that chielosis (red, cracked lips, of all things) would be caused by a deficiency in riboflavin...... I found it pretty much impossible to be able to use deductive reasoning for some of that.....

 

[osli]

I hate to be the one to say it, but the root of the problem is likely that you're trying to (having to...) learn differentials in a biochem class. There are so many other aspects of all of these diseases that it is artificial and difficult to learn them without a full grasp on those other factors.

What does a deficiency do to hematology? What is the GI involvement? Immunologic? Musculoskeletal? Reproductive? Any CNS effects? What are the histological changes? Gross anatomical? Is there a genetic cause for this illness? If so, what is the mechanism? Can it be acquired too? What clinical effects do those changes have? What are the common signs and symptoms? What are the current treatments? Side effects of those treatments? What other pathologies have similar presentations? Similar hematologic effects...

Learning a group of diseases in isolation, and only focusing on one or two aspects of them (say, hematologic effects, or genetic basis, or nutritional source) makes it very difficult to put the disease into the context of the complete picture. When you know everything a disease does, it is often a lot easier to differentiate it from another seemingly similar one (on the surface).

Maybe that's why I like the integrated curriculum, and why a lot of schools are going towards that model (and why the boards test that way...).

 

[nka1985]

Read, read, read....did I mention read? I just took the Biochem test with all the vitamins today-It was actually easier than I expected, but I couldn't find any more productive way of studying them than simply reading them over and over again.