What NOT to do during a topic presentation in front of attendings

[MAK]

So I have my first presentation (not a patient presentation) next week and was just seeking any advice from people who have done presentations. What are things that are important to do and what are things i should avoid? THANKS!

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[Depakote]

So I have my first presentation (not a patient presentation) next week and was just seeking any advice from people who have done presentations. What are things that are important to do and what are things i should avoid? THANKS!

A few points from student presentations I've done and seen:
*If you use images (esp radiology), know what you're putting up. Normal and abnormal.
*Be accurate and up to date. If you're discussing a disease/procedure, be sure you're telling them the right stuff.
*Exploring issues where there isn't a consensus tends to be good territory. Your audience knows more about the field than you do, by presenting both sides of an argument you might show them something in a different light.
*If you cite a paper, know it backwards and forwards, be ready to send a copy to the attending if asked.
*Be succinct.

 

[nlax30]

Did they tell you how long they wanted it? We would do little 5-10 minute presentations all the time after rounds while on IM.

Keep in mind that the real purpose is so that you will learn about the topic, for the most part it's most likely going to be info the attending already knows.

I liked to keep things fairly simple, no need to go super in depth regarding pathophys or too much into theoretical basic science details.

I'd usually start with a quick overview/definition of the topic or disease. Then mention some of the main statistics.... Incidence, prevalence, etc... Other things I'd include then would be history and physical exam findings, course of the disease, diagnostic tests and what to look for, treatment options, prognosis, differential, etc. Really make sure you hit up those basic areas.

Depending on the attending I also liked to at least see if there was any new or recent or landmark journals concerning that topic and would mention that (landmark study results, new treatments on the horizon).

I also liked to include any sort of criteria/scoring system that would be used clinically.... Such as CHADS2 scoring if talking about CV disease.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

A few points from student presentations I've done and seen:
*If you use images (esp radiology), know what you're putting up. Normal and abnormal.
*Be accurate and up to date. If you're discussing a disease/procedure, be sure you're telling them the right stuff.
*Exploring issues where there isn't a consensus tends to be good territory. Your audience knows more about the field than you do, by presenting both sides of an argument you might show them something in a different light.
*If you cite a paper, know it backwards and forwards, be ready to send a copy to the attending if asked.
*Be succinct.

Building on this...if it is a field your attending has done work in...be sure to cite his/her paper...

 

[Doctor Bob]

Anything you put on a slide is fair game for questions. So if you aren't sure of a definition of something, or what a lab value means, make sure you know the answer before you get up there.

Attendings have a super sense about that... they can tell when you're trying to quickly speedtalk over something because you don't know much about it and invariably they ask you about it.

 

[jtlc2345]

If doing a presentation on a particular topic then I always find the following a good framework which I can adapt to the particular situation:

• Definition
• Aetiology
• Associations/Risk Factors
• Epidemiology
• History
• Examination
• Pathology/Pathogenesis
• Investigations
• Management
• Complications
• Prognosis

Jonathan

 

[jtlc2345]

If doing a presentation on a particular topic then I always find the following a good framework which I can adapt to the particular situation:

• Definition
• Aetiology
• Associations/Risk Factors
• Epidemiology
• History
• Examination
• Pathology/Pathogenesis
• Investigations
• Management
• Complications
• Prognosis

Jonathan

 

[J ROD]

Dont read the slides!!! Eye contact is very important too!

 

[EM2BE]

Remember bullets are just that...bullet points. Don't use it for a full sentence or a paragraph! If there are too many words on a slide more than once, I will stop paying attention. Not because I can't read, but because if I were reading, I'd rather do it on my own time and not be read to.

 

[Tiger26]

The best advice is to do something they don't really know much about so that they just assume you know what the hell you're doing and don't ask many questions.

For example, we did presentations on ob/gyn. My friend talked about ob anesthesia--didn't get a single question and was graded highly.

I, on the other hand, talked about ectopics, which is something they know everything about because it's one of the few ob things that can kill a pt--needless to say, I felt like I was on the stand getting cross-examined, even though we did equally good at the actual presentation.

 

[JustPlainBill]

Remember bullets are just that...bullet points. Don't use it for a full sentence or a paragraph! If there are too many words on a slide more than once, I will stop paying attention. Not because I can't read, but because if I were reading, I'd rather do it on my own time and not be read to.

Can we brand this on the foreheads of all the preclinical faculty - I mean physicians and PhD's? I could probably have a year of my life back at least for all the time I spent in class having someone read slides to me. Just give me the freakin' packet, don't get your panties in a wad when I don't show up because I've been reading since the first grade (or possibly even earlier) and can do that quite well, thank you very much.....

Also, (and I know this is a tangent) - don't spend 90% of the time on what you think is cool and 10% on what's clinically relevant. If you don't know what's clinically relevant, ask. Ph.D's at our school would lecture laboriously on their particular area of interest/research but wouldn't teach f*(( all about what's important.....we got virtually no information on ITP/TTP/HSP/DIC but reams on which amino acid substitution caused what abnormal Hb in a few zebra diseases.....even more zebra-ish than the ones I mentioned......yeah, and we're a top 50 medical school......

 

[Tired]

The biggest mistake I see from medical students is failing to narrow their topic sufficiently. Often I see talks on "ankle sprains" or "scoliosis". These are topics that are far too broad to cover adequately in a short period of time.

General rule of thumb: if people write entire books about it, it's too broad of a topic for you to take on.

In Ortho, the best med student presentations I have seen have been topics like:

"Bone graft vs no bone graft in cervical fusion"

"Fixation of the contralateral side in unilateral SCFE"

"Surgical outcomes in calcaneonavicular tarsal coalitions"

Basically, things that sound like they could be short articles in journals. The advantages of these topics are that:

1) They are narrow enough that you don't fall into the trap of an attending saying, "Well, you really didn't address this issue...."

2) They give you the chance to go deep into the literature and pull papers directly applicable to what you're talking about, which makes you look smart.

3) By the time you finish researching it, you likely know more about that very narrow topic than anyone else in the room, which is very important if you want to prevent getting hammered in the Q&A portion.

Contrary to what is written above, I think it is foolish to try to do a topic close to the specialty of one of your faculty. If you don't get all your info 100% correct, and pull every important paper related to their field, you are setting yourself up for failure.

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Whatever you do, don't do this:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=661872