Microbiology versus Clincial Experience

[Danger]

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Soooo,

Question is really about the requirement of sound medical microbiology knowledge.

I am 3rd year medical student in a 5 year course and have a very poor (EXTREMELY) foundation in microbiology. I would say that it is as if i never took course in microbiology at all! Btw, this is not a reflection on my school, asthey have a wonderfulo course, it is just a reflection on my effort in microbiology over they ear.

SO, im on summer vacation right now and have done 2months of electives and still have 1 month of a cardiology elective, that is very relaxed (i.e i can choose my own times)

So, the question is:

Should i spen my remaining summer break doing

(a) Stop going to the hospital and work on microbiology full time as it is important knowledge to have and will make me a more competent physician

(b) Forget about microbiology and worry about gettin clinical experience

(c) Go Mon to Wed to the hospital and the rest of the week go study?

Soooo folks let me know what you guys think!!

Thanking everyone in advance!

 

[Mr hawkings]

Soooo,

Question is really about the requirement of sound medical microbiology knowledge.

I am 3rd year medical student in a 5 year course and have a very poor (EXTREMELY) foundation in microbiology. I would say that it is as if i never took course in microbiology at all! Btw, this is not a reflection on my school, asthey have a wonderfulo course, it is just a reflection on my effort in microbiology over they ear.

SO, im on summer vacation right now and have done 2months of electives and still have 1 month of a cardiology elective, that is very relaxed (i.e i can choose my own times)

So, the question is:

Should i spen my remaining summer break doing

(a) Stop going to the hospital and work on microbiology full time as it is important knowledge to have and will make me a more competent physician

(b) Forget about microbiology and worry about gettin clinical experience

(c) Go Mon to Wed to the hospital and the rest of the week go study?

Soooo folks let me know what you guys think!!

Thanking everyone in advance!

I'm yet to start med school but for what its worth, i am a microbiologist so i will address option b) above only. If you dont know the basics, the clinics will be a blur in when it comes to micro especially if you are yet to take step1 (theres still a lot of basic science incorporated into the step1 micro questions that you would not get in the clinical setting like toxins, virulence factors microbial morphology etc).

knowing what antibiotic vs the other to use in a specific infection is not something you should just memorize based on what you see. 2 patients with the exact same infection could need different treatments depending onother factors. Nothing is really cut and dry and almost eveything fall withing a spectrum/therapeutic index.
There are also way too many bugs and antibiotics for you to not have done any studying and rely solely on clinical experience.

Maybe those of you who have already been though it can tell me if i am of base here.

 

[LadyWolverine]

I am a bit confused by the OP's post. I am also a microbiologist-turned-medical student, currently a 3rd year on clinical rotations. You definitely need some basic clinical microbiology and immunology skills for Step 1 of the USMLE. However, most of the clinically relevant micro (e.g. what antibiotic to use for which bugs, clinical presentation of certain infections, most common bug causing a certain infection, etc.) you will not master until you are out on the wards, once you actually see it in practice. I have an MS and a few years worth of research in micro and I still have trouble getting my antibiotics and bugs straight in the clinical setting.
Bottom line, you are expected to have a certain minimum competency in the subject by the end of 2nd year. This should have been covered by your clinical microbiology course in preclinical years. If you didn't do well, you should take the time to consult a review book and do some practice questions and cases. While clinical experience will ultimately prove to be more important than book learning for mastering clinical microbiology, you at least need to be familiar with the basics before they will let you loose on the wards.

Keep in mind that you are not expected to be an expert in micro by the end of 2nd year. Actually, my graduate training has been a bit of a detriment, because I focused very little on clinical aspects and more on molecular/cell biology, and it has been difficult to shift gears. I believe that any good clinical micro review book will get you up to speed. Otherwise, you could consult a textbook for areas where you are weak, although I doubt that I would have the willpower to be able to do something like this. But you are definitely expected to have at least some knowledge of the subject before you begin rotations.

 

[bivwack]

Admittedly, an amazing breadth of knowledge in micro is not one of my strengths. I worked my ass of to get average grades in that area, and had very little recall a week or so post-exam. As a MS-III i felt my weakness in this area would be troublesome down the road ...all those bugs and the Abx to treat them - this did cause me some level of anxiety.

As stated above, a sound foundation in micro is important, no arguing that. But the amount/level of information you are expected to master as a MS I-II to do well on your exams and Step-I is significantly more, than is expected of you on the wards and in clinic. If you are nervous b/c you only remember 15-20% (at best) of what you learned in your preclinical years, then you are in good shape, so long as it is the important 15-20%.

Common things being common, you will get a lot of experience working up and treating, microbe related/based disease as a MSIII-IV and during residency. After a while it you will know what you need to know and be able to quickly look up the rest.

My advice, just be diligent about learning all you can when you get a pt's with URi's, PNA's, UTI's, GI infections , ect, and if that isn't enough, do an ID rotation in your fourth year. My last rotation in med school was ID, i took it b/c i was nervous about my lack of knowledge, by the end of the month i was pretty good at taking a appropriate Hx, coming up w/ a strong DDx knowing what tests should be ordered and how to use a Sanfords guide.