For topic presentations:
1) find article/up to date review article
2) print it or just write up a quick bullet point-type thing hitting the high points for background information, presentation, workup, management, and prognosis. Shouldn't be long, and doubles as a handout if your team requests them.
3) win.
Bonus: save your little write ups. As you go throughout the year, if you are called on to do an unspecified topic presentation...you've got a few up your sleeve.
For patient presentations:
1) be concise but thorough.
2) typically goes something like
Major 24 hour events
Spiked a fever, consult service saw the patient, etc.
Subjective
How the patient's feeling this AM - e.g. "Pt feels well with no complaints" is fine if that's true - don't wax on about every little thing the patient and you talked about if it's not relevant. If you're not sure, try asking a resident beforehand. This is a big picture thing.
Objective
Vitals - it helps if you present them in an intuitive order, like temp/BP/HR/RR/O2 sats. Some people want ranges with an average at the beginning; usually you can just say "within normal limits overnight" or "stable" (stable does not mean normal, btw). Includes ins/outs if relevant.
Physical exam: can just say "unremarkable" if the patient is known to everyone - otherwise, at least mention appearance/heart/lungs/belly + any relevant things. Don't make stuff up here. Just don't.
Labs: While they may want you to initially, you shouldn't be reading off endless amounts of normal values unless they are relevant. Err on the side of including things, but the goal is for you to recognize what's important and what's not.
New imaging/micro stuff over the past 24 hours: Don't talk about the MRI they got four days ago, unless it's relevant or you have a new attending on the service that day, etc.
Assessment/plan
Some people want a brief one liner ("Mr. Jones is a 68 yo male with relevant pmhx of COPD, HTN, DM who presented with three days of worsening cough and increasing shortness of breath most c/w COPD exacerbation") followed by a problems-based plan (e.g. COPD: continue home symbicort, duonebs q6 hours, wean off nasal cannula, etc. DM: sliding scale A while in house, accuchecks, etc.) while others (usually in the ICU setting) want a systems-based plan (address things for neuro, cardiovascular, pulm, etc).
3) treat it like a speech. Go over it in your mind before hand and make sure you can rattle most of it off without reading it. It's fine to read off vitals, labs, or cue yourself for random things on the exam, but try your best to not read off your presentation.
