questions about exams

[yasmin]

salam al alaikum all,
my adopted son (non-muslim, hence not on forums yet)
has asked me a question on the FHD paper, as I dont have my folder and thus my past papers on me, and so I would be very grateful if anyone could post up their answers which they put and got reasonable marks etc.,
thank you guys! i may direct him to the forums to see the posts, so post away please

his question:
"i was looking over the past papers, and in the MEQ's papers i ve noticed every year there is a question where you have to list like five questions your gonna ask a alcoholic. The questions are worth like 20marks, so what type of questions should i ask. all open questions or a mixture of open and clesed, could you give an example please."

wasalam, and thanks again
yasmin

[NMA]

AA

5 questions to ask an alcoholic?

Could they be talking about a CAGE questionaire?

The marks don't necessarily relate to point sin the answer... some points/ specific questions are worthy of more marks than others. Also, do they want discussion on why, or the relevence, or what you would do with the answers?

wslm

NMA

p.s. not being Muslim is not an excuse for not being on here....

[yasmin]

salam ala alaikum everyone,
im back, alhamdulillah i went,
another question from a fresher:


I was looking over infection and defence PDS notes and realised i had not filled in something, ... . the question is; (week three Infection and defence)
List five key points to help improve communication about sensitive issues?

Its seems like the type of question that would turn in MEQ's, so if u have the answer can you help please.
Also i wanted to ask is a need to but any anatomy atlases, or is the the core anatomy for students more than enough. Also should i buy the communication skills for medcine book, cos if its good it can help answer PDS questions like the one above.
_________________________________________________________

any help? seeing as im not so good at answering the first question?
thank you
wasalam
yasmin

[NMA]

AA

listing 5 key points to help improve communication about sensitive issues is a rubbish question, but I guess that as this was during an infection and defence module, they may be thinking about e.g. talking to a patient about HIV or STDs or something along those lines.

Regardless, I guess the principles are the same. If there is something that a person is not comfortable talking about, but yet has to be discussed then as the person initiating or steering the discussion, i.e. the doctor, it is important you take into account the patient's feelings.

Hence, a private area, where they can feel free to discuss things on a one to one basis, without an audience. Wards where you just whip the curtains around are hardly adequete for this, as everyone can hear what is behind the curtain (and actually, often try hard to listen).
The patient must also have confidence that whatever is discussed will be held in the utmost confidentiality. An example of this is STD clinics, where patients are not required to give their real name, simply any name so they can be matched to their tests. You might be surprised the number of 'Donald Ducks' I saw during my short attachments in year 4.
I guess it goes without saying that you should have a good grasp of the topic, and be able to discuss it freely. An awkward situation gets a lot worse when a patient asks a question that leaves you dumbfounded. of course, you cannot be expected to know everything, so coping strategies, and good ways of saying 'I don't know' are equally important. If the patient loses faith in you, it could be a disaster.
What else? don't overload the patient, and don't be too superficial... you have to give them as much or as little detail as they want, and present this information at a pace and in a way they can understand. And because you want them to guide you, don't interupt them, and give them time.
As I said, i'm not sure what exact points your question is after, but in general, if someone feels a particular issue is sensitive, thats usualy because there is some emotion attached, be it embarassment or whatever else. Different societies consider different topics taboo, and you can never just assume. If you react in an embarassed way, or laugh at them, or are anything but empathetic ( and not too much of that) you run the risk of stigmatising them even further. The corollary of this is that if peoples perceptions of what is sensitive are based upon the environment in which they live and the views of the people around them, then if yuo provide someone with an environment where their particular issue is NOT sensitive, you will desensitise them. This is a very improtant point about life in general, but thats a different topic. The way this is usually done in a healthcare setting is by providing lots of information, leaflets, even support networks... and to continue to treat the patients as people, individuals, not 'someone with disease X'.

Everything I have commented on are really important in all forms of doctor patient communication, not just sensitive issues, but sensitive issues carry graver consequenses if you get it wrong.

Maybe that will give you a start.

As to the book question, I am sure I have written about buying books before. Have a look around the forums/ site... if it's not there, mention here and i will go over that again.

wslm

NMA