Simplification & Synonym

Simple, KISS Your Students

The curricula are by no means easy. The Neurology chapter investigates surgical techniques for treating head traumas; it literally is brain surgery we’re discussing! These are the same topics and treatments studied in medical schools. While students aren’t dumb, many have driven a hard road through academia. The useful technique is the age-old method: “Keep It Simple, Stupid,” Simplify and explain the information in several different ways. Lastly, insist on questions at the end of the lesson.

When managing a complex medical patient with, say, an altered level of consciousness, it’s easier to diagnose the root cause if each piece of evidence is dissected and considered individually. Then, consider the next information bite and compare the two together. What does each symptom indicate, and together, what does having both symptoms imply? Move to the next…repeat the process.

Here is an excerpt from a classroom scenario:

“Doctor, my daughter has been drinking a lot of water.”

“Uh-huh…”

“She’s also urinating a lot.”

“Naturally…”

“She eating a ton!”

“OK.”

“She losing weight-”

“Wait…weight?”

“White—right. Losing weight.”

“Is she altered or tired?'“

“Yes! She’s exhausted and falling asleep, sometimes mid-sentence!”

“Ah-Ha!” exclaims the Doctor “Uria— I mean Eureka! I’ve got it!”

Separately, each piece means little to nothing unusual. Together, they point—with certainty—to Diabetic Ketoacidosis, the first sign of diabetes. We’ve honed in on the disease by comparing signs and symptoms alone. I dissect the bits of dialogue and then explain how and why the symptoms occur with diabetes.

Please ask or allow questions before you explain it. “What’s keto-acidosis?” “Why do patients lose weight, even though they eat a ton?”

Good questions! Now begin the deep dive into hyper(high) glycemic (blood sugar) emergencies and why excessive drinking, urinating, and eating doesn’t stop the patient from losing weight and consciousness. Complex information is disassembled, studied, compared, and then reassembled.

Once students are adept at dissection, comparison, and reassembly, virtually every complex equation or emergency is surmountable. I am not only teaching myriad illnesses and injuries, they learn the procedure needed to arrive at the correct diagnoses in perpetuity.