MSIIIs/MSIVs/Doctors with ADD, how do you remember HPIs?

[urbanclassic]

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Hi, I'm a MSI with ADHD-Inattentive type, and I'm doing pretty well in class, but I suck at taking a HPI, and oral presentation; which is fine for now because I'm only a MSI, but I would like to get better at it.
I just started volunteering at free clinic associated with my school, and had to present to a doctor, and it was bad! I wrote things down, but my when presenting, it was scattered, and when they doctor would ask me questions I'd give him bits and pieces of the answer even if I had the answers written down, I'd skip over things. Again, I know I'm a MSI, so it's not that big of a deal if I can't do a proper oral presentation, but I would like to figure out a way to remember people say to me.
The doctor suggested to me (and another MSI I was with) when taking a history from a patient, think of it like a 'story', because everyone remembers a story; his example was that after you watch a movie, you can tell the story of it... but for me, that doesn't work! I don't remember a lot after I watch a movie, . It's quite embarrassing, but whatever.
Anyway, just want to see what you all did, and would suggest for me.
Thanks 🙂

 

[duckie99]

once your knowledge base is larger it will be easier to remember your HPI. Also you will get better at presenting with practice. Furthermore, just be sure to go in essentially the same order every time to keep things more organized.

I only have a couple months left in med school and I still write stuff down when I talk to a patient. Most residents I work with will write stuff down as well (though most often a lot less than me). Finally, it is easier for residents and physicians to remember this stuff because 1. they've been doing it for many years and 2. they are actually taking care of the patient and thinking through the treatment options which helps a lot.

Again you are a very rookie med student and getting better at this stuff takes time so don't worry too much about it. I'm not entirely sure how much the ADHD affects your ability to function but it probably doesn't make that big a difference since you're doing well in classes. My final advice would be that if you still feel it is a problem even as you are progressing during your M3 rotations think about fields where the ADHD won't be as a big a factor in your functioning (EM comes to mind since you're constantly moving from patient to patient and working fairly quickly - compared to IM and especially surgery).