Study Tips

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Venns Puzzle 1

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Learning requires us to form robust connections between new information and existing information. I’ve been experimenting with ideas on how to test knowledge and conceptual understanding, and this is one of those ideas.

Unlike a similar party game, in which you have a finite set of categories and the goal is to select two categories for a randomly chosen term, this game presents you with two categories in which there are already terms selected. Your job is to identify the categories based on the terms listed in each circle, and then identify the intersecting terms. The number lets you know the minimum number of terms that should be in the intersection.

Can you solve this puzzle? What do you think of this study approach?

Ophthalmology Learning Framework

I created a learning framework to give my residents a “birds-eye” view of how to view their ophthalmology education!

Although there are many ways to organize and summarize this information, I believe there are essentially three main elements to ophthalmology education. This framework describes how each of those various elements factor into the learning process, and offers practical examples of how those elements look in daily resident life.

To download a higher-resolution copy of this framework, click the button below for a FREE copy!

Integrative Reviewing And Some Other Review Ideas

As we get close to another cycle of exams, deciding on how and what to review can be more challenging than the effort of reviewing.

Realistically, there is no feasible way to cram the whole of ophthalmic knowledge in the next 1-3 months to perform well on an exam. Hopefully this time is spent reviewing and solidifying knowledge we’ve accumulated previously, and not attempting to learn concepts for the first time!

So as you gear up for this next cycle of studying, here are a few ideas on how to review:

If I Had To Learn Ophthalmology From The Beginning Again...

  • I would start with a topic outline

  • I would create a realistic study schedule flexible enough to allow for adjustments

  • I would study several subjects at once instead of focusing on one topic at a time

  • I would utilize practice questions to test my previous knowledge and highlight areas of focus

  • I would utilize mnemonics and other memory tools to help remember details better

  • I would read, create, and review in short bursts instead of cramming in long sessions

  • I would devise quick reviews throughout the workday instead of trying to do it all at the end of the day

  • I would set aside time at the end of each day to reflect on the patients I saw to consider useful learning points and areas of study

  • I would use textbooks as references for study instead of reading them over and over again

  • I would create useful flashcards to review throughout the day

  • I would gamify my learning to celebrate incremental gains in knowledge

(originally posted by me on Twitter)

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Horner Syndrome: Pharmacologic Diagnosis

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Horner syndrome describes the constellation of findings associated with a lesion affecting the oculosympathetic pathway. Clinically, ipsilateral miosis, ptosis, and anhidrosis form the classic triad, with other features potentially being present.

Without getting into too much detail about the sympathetic pathways and differential diagnosis of Horner syndrome (those will be covered in other articles), I will attempt to highlight the 3 pharmaceutical agents used in the diagnosis of Horner syndrome, discuss the tests, and point out the key ideas that often find themselves in tests.

Studying After Failing A Test

I’ve been humbled by the many people who have had the courage to contact me over the past few years to ask my advice on preparing for various exams. I don’t claim to be an expert at the various exams, but I do want to help my fellow colleagues succeed in any way possible, and if this website helps more people fare better on their tests and also become better ophthalmologists, that’s great.

6 Tips For Learning Ophthalmology

Here we are, at the end of September, and for those in residency and fellowship, hopefully you're starting to get used to the lifestyle of the trainee.  By now, the routine of waking up at all hours of the day and night, working on minimal sleep, cramming in study time, etc. should be second nature.

It was around this point during my first year of ophthalmology residency that I began to question the effectiveness of my learning/studying strategies.  It seemed like my peers always had a better grasp on the obscure facts, picking up on subtle clinical findings, or be able to answer questions in lecture while I sat there clueless.

4 Tips For Beginning Residency

Happy early July!  For those who just started residency, congratulations!  Hopefully the first few days of residency have been a smooth transition.

Perhaps some (or many) of you are just getting started with ophthalmology residency.  This week may have been full of firsts, such as your first full refraction, your first dilated fundus exam, your first call, your first consult, etc.  There will probably be many other firsts to come - your first cataract surgery, your first post-cataract 20/20 patient, your first posterior capsular tear, your first vitrectomy, your first open globe, etc.  Okay, not all of these things are going to be super exciting.  But it's the beginning of one of the most rewarding and exciting specialties in medicine.

Reading the BCSC: Fundamentals and Principles of Ophthalmology, Chapter 1

The BCSC Section 2, Fundamentals and Principles of Ophthalmology, provides an extremely detailed overview of the anatomy and physiology of the eye.  Organizationally, it lays out the “fundamentals” of learning about the eye so that by the end of reading this book, you should be able to understand the anatomical structure of the eye, eye genetics, embryology, growth, and development, physiology of the eye, and medications that are used to treat eye conditions.

For this reason, this book is typically suggested as the first book to read for first-year ophthalmology residents.  Please see the articles Reading The BCSC and OKAPs Reading Schedule to learn how to pace yourself through learning the material.