Medcast news and blog

A recent study on interprofessional learning in the BMJ has highlighted the efficacy of online learning for health professionals.

I bought an alarm clock recently. For some years I have used my smart phone as an alarm clock but I’ve noticed that at times of stress when I wake at night I’ve been reaching for my phone and checking my emails. That’s just crazy! There is no expectation on the part of my employer or my patients that I will work in the middle of the night but it has become reflexive and obsessive.

Wouldn’t it be luxurious in General Practice to have three minutes to consider what the patient is likely to present with, and to consider and document a safe plan for proceeding with the consultation?

Trying to decide what online mental health treatment programs to use can be difficult. There seem to be so many of them! Which one will be easiest to use? What style is best? Should I choose something specific for the problem or something more general?

You are mid OSCE station and you’ve hit a roadblock. Not sure what to ask next, where to go, where you have gone wrong? You have no idea what the diagnosis is and are getting poker faces from the examiners. What do you do next?

Questions exist in the minds of most parents and carers about their teenagers’ use of digital technology. How much is too much?

I think I’ve finally found a cognitive reframe that works for me – and it’s all about terminology.

Many of my consultations these days include some discussion of the distress my patients are feeling about something they have seen or something that has been said or done to them on social media. Often it’s just a misunderstanding by a sensitive and vulnerable person. But it is sometimes due to deliberate attempts by others to upset and disturb them.

The OSCE is the ‘highest order’ exam, in which a candidate ‘shows’ what they can do. This blog post includes some tips for registrars preparing for the exam.