Category: Clinical Skills
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Dosage Calculation: Bromocriptine
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Dosage calculation for bromocriptine is essential for managing a patient diagnosed with acromegaly. Find out how to determine the appropriate number of tablets to administer per dose based on the prescribed dosage and available tablet formulation for the initial treatment period.
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Clerkship Tips: How to Administer a Mental Status Examination
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The Mental Status Exam (MSE) is essential for evaluating psychological functioning in clinical practice. This guide explores its components, significance, and tips for effective implementation in patient assessments, making it a valuable tool for healthcare providers across various specialties.
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Developing Clinical Thinking Early in Future Physicians
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Clinical thinking is the cornerstone of medical practice, enabling physicians to make accurate diagnoses, devise effective treatment plans, and provide exceptional patient care. For medical educators, fostering this critical skill set in future physicians early in their training is essential.
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Dosage Calculation: Oxytocin
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Understand the critical dosage calculations for oxytocin in labor induction at 41 weeks. Learn proper infusion rates and titration for effective outcomes.
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USMLE® Step 2 Question of the Day: Medication effects
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Delve into a clinical case of a 67-year-old woman with intermittent palpitations and fatigue. Identify potential arrhythmias and the best treatment option for her condition.
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How to Collaborate Effectively with Your Attending: Neurology Edition
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Welcome to your neurology clerkship! Discover key strategies for mastering patient examinations, enhancing clinical skills, and maximizing learning opportunities during this unique rotation.
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A Quick Reference Guide to Female Reproductive Health Disorders
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Reproductive health is vital for overall well-being. Learn about common disorders such as PCOS, endometriosis, and infertility to foster open conversations and improve health outcomes. Empower yourself with knowledge and break down barriers to reproductive health discussions.
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Osmosis Product Updates: 2025
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The Osmosis from Elsevier team is dedicated to providing all our learners with an engaging and impactful learning experience. We invite you to check back here regularly to learn about Osmosis product updates and improvements throughout 2025. Now, let’s dive into the latest updates! January 2025: The Retirement of Clinical…
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The Best Resolutions for Healthcare Students in 2025
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Welcome, future clinicians and caregivers, to 2025! While it may seem old-fashioned, setting resolutions is more than just making a list to forget by the end of January. It’s about sculpting your path to becoming the best version of yourself, both personally and professionally, while setting the stage for a…
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USMLE® Step 2 Question of the Day: Leg pain
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Get ready for USMLE Step 2 CK with a question focusing on necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTI). Can you describe and interpret the diagnostic workup for an adult presenting with an NSTI and identify the key diagnostic features that differentiate between NSTI, possible NSTI, and non-NSTI? Enhance your clinical skills…
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USMLE® Step 2 Question of the Day: Serum potassium
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Prepare for your USMLE Step 2 CK with a question focusing on hypokalemia in adults. Can you formulate and prioritize a differential diagnosis for a patient presenting with hypokalemia, and identify the additional tests needed to confirm your diagnoses? Enhance your clinical reasoning skills with this important assessment. A 26-year-old…
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How to Collaborate with Your Psychiatry Attending
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Welcome to your new psychiatry clerkship! To help you thrive during your clinical rotations, we’re sharing practical, hands-on advice from experienced medical professionals to help you make the most of your psychiatry rotation. We’ve compiled a quick psychiatry clerkship guide to help you seamlessly navigate your psychiatry rotation. The Fundamentals of…
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USMLE® Step 2 Question of the Day: Ear pain
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Just in time with a new USMLE® Step 2 CK Question of the Day! Today’s case involves a 3-year-old boy with ear pain in his right ear along with a cough and nasal congestion. The patient is on high-dose amoxicillin and acetaminophen, but returns 48 hours later for reassessment. What’s the…
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Dispelling Disability Myths: Helpful Insights for Aspiring Healthcare Professionals
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According to the CDC, approximately one in four US adults will experience a disability at some point in their lives. Despite how common disability is, people with disabilities face ongoing misconceptions and biases that contribute to existing disparities in healthcare access and quality. It’s crucial to address and dispel these…
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Understanding Substance Use Disorder: A helpful guide for health professionals
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Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a health condition involving a patient’s uncontrolled use of a substance, such as alcohol, drugs, and medications, that affects an individual’s daily life by impairing their physical and mental health, along with social functioning. There are about 20 million people in the US (approximately 6% of the total…
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A Quick Reference Guide to Male Reproductive Health Disorders
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Despite the importance of reproductive health in relation to overall well-being, many people avoid discussing it due to stigma, cultural norms, fear of judgment, lack of awareness, privacy concerns, and apprehension about medical intervention. Yet several reproductive health conditions significantly impact not only a male patient’s physical health but also…
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Top Ten Health Conditions That Are Easily Misdiagnosed
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An accurate diagnosis is the cornerstone of medicine and the basis for any treatment. Nonetheless, a misdiagnosis can happen to any clinician due to a variety of issues, including overlapping symptoms or referencing an incomplete medical history. Let’s look at a quick case study to consider the challenges and potential…
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A Quick Mental Health Treatment Guide for Clinicians: Classic Psychotherapies
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When contemplating the concept of psychotherapy, it’s not uncommon to conjure up images of a grand office space adorned with an extravagant leather sofa, where a patient reclines while reflecting on past childhood experiences. While this depiction may be prevalent in pop culture, it’s essential to recognize that psychotherapy includes…
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Making the Most of Clinical Rotations as a PA Student
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You’ve officially made it through the didactic phase of your physician’s assistant program. First of all, congratulations! Now comes the next challenge: clinical rotations. Think of rotations as learning how to read; the didactic phase was learning the alphabet. Now, you’re in the next crucial phase of applying what you’ve learned to become…
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Understanding Mood Disorders: A helpful guide for health professionals
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Mental health awareness has been on the rise, with more people educating themselves on different mental health conditions, sharing their experiences with living with mental illness on social media, along with an increase in the development of new public health programs to improve access to valuable resources. Mental health is…
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A Quick Reference Guide to Common Conditions Associated with Long Covid
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Coronavirus disease 2019, also known as COVID-19, is a systemic viral infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, initially identified in December 2019. Individuals with a COVID-19 infection may be asymptomatic. However, the majority will experience a range of signs and symptoms such as fever, cough, body aches, rashes, and loss of…
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How to Impress Your Attending: Obstetrics and Gynecology Edition
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Welcome to your clerkship in obstetrics and gynecology! You’ll find this rotation beneficial no matter your future specialty because you’ll very likely encounter pregnant patients, whether you’re a primary care physician or a surgical subspecialist. Probably the best part of your OB/GYN clerkship is that you’ll gain valuable skills that…
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Dosage Calculation: Furosemide
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Administering furosemide demands precise dosage calculation for a patient with congestive heart failure. Let’s explore the nurse’s process. The nurse is preparing to administer furosemide to a client with congestive heart failure. The order reads: furosemide 40 mg IV push once. The nurse must first draw up the appropriate dose…
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A Quick Reference Guide to Signs and Symptoms Associated with Diabetes Mellitus
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Introduction You’ve probably heard of diabetes, know someone with diabetes, or have been diagnosed with it yourself, as it’s one of the most common conditions in the United States, with 11% of the population diagnosed, and Singapore (10.5%), Malta (10%), and Portugal (10%) following close behind. Diabetes mellitus, commonly referred…
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How to Impress Your Attending: Internal Medicine Edition
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Internal medicine is a vast specialty covering all major organ systems, common diseases, rare diseases, and everything in between. Not even a seasoned internal medicine specialist can possibly know it all. The excellent news is that most Internal Medicine attendings don’t expect a third-year medical student to know it all.…
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Dosage Calculation: Lorazepam
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Dosage calculation for lorazepam is important for the treatment of anxiety disorder in the emergency department. Learn about the appropriate dosage and considerations for administering this medication. The nurse in the emergency department is caring for a patient with anxiety disorder. The healthcare provider orders 1 mg lorazepam PO every…
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How to Discuss Sensitive Topics with Your Patients
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One of the difficult aspects of providing quality medical care is the ability to discuss sensitive medical issues with patients in a respectful way that puts the patient at ease and doesn’t make them feel uncomfortable. It requires empathy, active listening skills, and the ability to navigate difficult topics with…
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Dosage Calculation: Nitroglycerin
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Proper dosage calculation of nitroglycerin is crucial in the CVICU. Learn about the correct dosage calculation methods and the use of infusion pumps for safe administration. The nurse in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) is preparing to administer nitroglycerin 50 mg in 250 mL of D5W at a rate…
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Dosage Calculation: Ziprasidone
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Dosage calculation for Ziprasidone, an intramuscular medication, requires proper reconstitution. Learn the correct process and guidelines to ensure accurate administration. A patient in the emergency department with a history of schizophrenia is experiencing acute agitation. The healthcare provider prescribes an intramuscular (IM) ziprasidone 10 mg once STAT. Per manufacturer directions,…
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Dosage calculation: Oxybutynin
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Dosage calculation for oxybutynin, a medication commonly used to treat symptoms of an overactive bladder. Learn how to accurately calculate and administer the appropriate dosage. A client is prescribed oxybutynin for treatment of chronic urinary urge incontinence. The new order is for 5 mg oxybutynin PO every 8 hours. The…