Medicine at the Benchtop and the Bedside: Course Guidelines

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Medicine at the Benchtop and the Bedside
Course Guidelines

• Robert H. Chow, MD PhD
• USC-Caltech MD-PhD Program
• Keck School of Medicine

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Medicine at the Benchtop and the Bedside

• Seminar course for MD-PhD students
• Purpose
• to introduce a clinical problem and research
• related to that problem
• to introduce the faculty and their research
• to keep your mind active and curious during the
• first two years of med school!
• Two students present
• 2nd-yr student presents clinical problem
• 1st-yr student presents research paper
• One or two faculty mentors

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Tentative Outline
Friday, September 25, 2009 Faculty facilitator
Dr. Robert Chow Student facilitator
none Friday, October 16, 2009 Faculty
facilitator/s Dr. James Weiland and Dr. Rajat
Agrawal Student facilitators TBA Friday,
October 23, 2009 Faculty facilitator/s Dr. Peter
Jones and TBA Student facilitators TBA Friday,
October 30, 2009 Faculty facilitator/s Dr. Ellis
Meng and Dr. Uttam Sinha Student facilitators
TBA Friday, November 20, 2009 Faculty
facilitator/s Dr. Shelly Lu and TBA Student
facilitators TBA Friday, December 4,
2009 Faculty facilitator/s Dr. Andrea Armani and
Dr. Jane Emerson Student facilitators TBA
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Following this slide are two sets of slides which
can serve as templates for the student
presentations

• The mentor(s) may decide that an alternative
  format is preferable, in which case follow the
  mentors guidelines

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Template for Clinical Presentation For Medicine
at the Benchtop and Bedside
Robert H. Chow Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute
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History of

• if there are juicy tidbits about the history of
  this clinical problem or the research

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Case Presentation

• Chief complaint
• History of presenting illness
• Physical Examination
• Pertinent laboratory findings

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Clinical Presentation Symptoms/Signs

• What is difference between a symptom and a sign?
• In detail, typical presenting symptoms and signs

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Diagnosis

• Pathognomonic signs/symptoms
• Lab tests
• Possible springboard for the research part of
  this seminar

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Differential Diagnosis

• Here, you list and discuss other diagnoses that
  should be considered for the presenting
  signs/symptoms

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Natural history

• The clinical course of the disease/ illness when
  no treatment is given
• Possible springboard for research portion of
  seminar

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Epidemiology

• Characteristics at population level
• Possible springboard for research portion of
  seminar

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Etiology/Pathogenesis

• May review pertinent anatomy/ physiology here
• Possible springboard for the research part of
  this seminar

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Therapy/Response

• Current approach to therapy
• Scientific basis of therapy (or lack thereof !)
  -- another springboard for the reseach part of
  the seminar

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Other interesting aspects of the clinical problem

• Clinically relevant offshoots

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Template for Research Paper Presentation For
Medicine at the Benchtop and Bedside

• Robert H. Chow
• Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute

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Title of Article

• Authors (at least the first and last)
• Institutional Affiliation(s)

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Major Hypothesis or Question

• Subhypothesis/ subquestion 1
• Subhypothesis/ subquestion 2
• Etc.

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Background

• Short rationale or history of study of this
  hypothesis

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Preparation

• Which animal/ tissue/ cell type used for the
  study
• Any relevant details about the preparation,
  particularly justification for using this
  preparation

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Materials and Methods

• Method(s) used to perform study
• Approach to analysis

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Result 1

• Usually a figure clipped from paper

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Result 2

• Another figure
• Its not necessary to review every figure in the
  paper, just the ones you want to focus on
• Etc.

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Authors Conclusions

• Summarize what the authors state is the important
  conclusion(s) of the paper

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Critique of Paper

• Similar to review of submitted manuscript or
  grant proposal
• Evaluate the paper
• Authors expertise
• Validity of approach/ model/ methods
• Quality of data
• Validity of analysis
• Validity of conclusions
• Thoughts on how the study might have been
  improved
• --------------------------------------------------
  ------------
• Ideas on how to follow up on the findings of the
  paper