Magic Medicine Formula (2)

Ok..now we come to the 2nd part. Well, MRCP really likes to ask about genetic diseases and mode of inheritance. It'll be a waste if you do not master this part, but to memorize all that is obviously not an easy task.

A general rule is, Autosomal dominant conditions are mostly with "structural/ phenotypical" abnormalities; whereas autosomal recessive conditions are with "metabolic" disorders.

A list of major genetic diseases with which genes they are linked to:

Chromosome 1: Gaucher disease
Ch 2: Gilbert's syndrome
Ch 3: Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome
Ch 4: Huntington's, adult polycystic kidney disease (APKD 1)
Ch 5: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
Ch 6: Hemochromatosis
Ch 7: Cystic Fibrosis
Ch 8: Hereditary spherocytosis
Ch 10: MEN II
Ch 11: MEN I
Ch 12: Von Willebrand's disease
Ch 13: Wilson disease
Ch 14: HOCM
Ch 15: Marfan's syndrome
Ch 16: APKD 2
Ch 17: Neurofibromatosis Type I (von Recklinghausen's disease)
Ch 21: Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome (APS) Type I
Ch 22: Neurofibromatosis Type II

Long and boring list? Any simplifying method? Ok here we go:

"Von Hippel-Lindau" = 3 words = Ch 3
"Huntington" = "Hunt 4 food" = Ch 4
"FAP" = "polyp has 5 alphabets" = Ch 5
"Hemochromatosis" = "HemochromatoSIX" = Ch 6
"Cystic Fibrosis" = "Think F is a mirror image of 7" = Ch 7
"Spherocytosis" = "Think 8 has double spheroids" = Ch 8
"Wilson" = "WIlson looks like 13 if you rotate the W a bit?" = Ch 13
"Marfan" = "Marfan's syndrome has 15 alphabets" = Ch 15
"APKD" = "APKD has 4 alphabets, polycystic kidney has 16 alphabets" = Ch 4 & 16!
"Neurofibromatosis Type I" = "von Recklinghausen has exactly 17 alphabets!" = Ch 17
"Neurofibromatosis Type II" = "Type 2 = 22" = Ch 22

Easier? After I found these linking methods, I think I'm just not gonna forget them for life!

Hope it helps!=)
And in the next post, I'll share about how I remember bacteria family!


Magic Medicine Formula (1)

Magic Medicine Formula (1)

Hi dear friends, time to share my studying tips. Well, to relate magic with medicine, hmm I would say that learning magic has definitely improved my memory. However, I think to study medicine, such a profound and broad field with countless facts and terminology involved, mere memory might not be adequate. Then I found a very useful tool, it's definitely not something new, which are "mnemonics". Quote from English artist William Wolcott, "Nothing is ordinary if you know how to use it." You might think mnemonics are nothing special, but if you know how to use it, my personal experience is, it's purely magical.

Mnemonics help to memorize facts in a quick, organized and (far) painless way. But take note that, the quality of mnemonics are extremely important, as the bad ones, will not only waste your memory space, it may fail you! For example, let's take a look at this (found this in snowy's blog but not by him, just for eg purpose, no offence):

SAM Suka Fry Ayam Peha - Classification for ischaemic heart disease.

S - sudden cardiac death
A - angina
M - MI
S - silent IHD
F- failure of heart (heart failure)
A- arrhythmia
P- postinfarctional cardiosclerosis

A few things to point out:
1. Poorly organized, and most importantly, do we need a mnemonics for classification of IHD?
2. Facts are not entirely true, e.g. arrhythmia is not a "type" of IHD?
3. Do you think "SAM Suka Fry Ayam Peha" is an easy-to-remember phrase?
4. Facts not "concrete" enough. To improve the quality, try use more professional terminology (so that you can impress your examiners).

An example of good one:
Wilson's disease : ABCD

A - Asterixis
B - Basal ganglia degeneration
C - Copper accumulation with reduced Ceruloplasmin level, causing Cornea deposits (Kayser-Fleischer rings), Choreiform movements, psyChiatric abnormalities, liver Cirrhosis and treatment is with Chelation.
D - Dementia

See the difference? So much essential facts in just 4 alphabets.

And to further improve it, sometimes the mnemonics are purposely made "naughty", and some will find it even easier to memorize! (Of corz, this is subjected to personal preference)

For example, adverse effects of Amiodarone: BITCH

B - Bradycardia
I - Interstitial lung fibrosis
T - Thyroid dysfunction
C - Corneal microdeposits
H - Hypersensitivity/ Hepatitis

I'm sure you're gonna remember it for life? Effortlessly?=)

Or one more way is, try to create a "funny" relation between the facts.

E.g. 1: Have you heard of "Argyll Robertson pupil" is like a prostitute? Because it accommodates but does not respond! (to light)

E.g. 2: 3 zones of adrenal cortex: GFR - glomerulosa, fasciculata and reticularis, which mainly regulate balance of salt (mineralocorticoids), sugar (glucocorticoids) and sex (androgens).
So the mnemonics for this: The deeper you go, the sweeter it gets. =)

And lastly, when you get familiar with the system, you can always create mnemonics of your own! First, look for the facts that you find it very hard to remember. E.g. from my own experience, I'm always confused with the terms of signs for aortic regurgitation, until I found a way to remember it!

(Darren's mnemonic) "In the MCQ about AR, the answer D is True!"
So from head to toe,
M - de Musset's sign (head nodding)
C - Corrigan's sign (carotic pulsation)
Q - Quincke's sign (nail bed capillary pulsation)
D - Duroziez's sign (femoral murmur)
T - Traube's sign ('pistol shot' in femoral artery)

Piece of cake now?=)

Ok so in conclusion, what I have shared are the principles of mnemonics and how they can help you to study. Obviously it's not possible for me to show all the mnemonics that I know (my blog will get out of space!). But if you have any problem remembering certain group of facts, feel free to tell and probably I can share the related mnemonics to help.

Finally, thanks for reading.
In the next post, I'll share about how I remember genetics and chromosomes!=)

Preparing for MRCP?

Ok since there are quite some questions on how did I prepare for my Part 1, hmm probably I'll just show you what have I got for my preparation:

The top and the bottom form the essentials. Many seniors told me that the minimum requirement is to finish Oxford handbook and K&C Clinical Medicine..cover to cover. To be honest, it's true. Painstaking and time-consuming but, this is what MRCP is about!


And the rest of the books that I displayed, are the supplementary. (Disclaimer: I'm not the best person to recommend which books to get, I'm just sharing my opinions) After the exam, I would now sort the books by their "usefulness" like this:


1. "Best of Five" - The questions' format are quite close to the exam's, hence a good practise book.


2. "An Aid to the MRCP" - Fantastic mnemonics! Though the facts provided are quite limited, but the mnemonics are helpful for quick revision.


3. "Update for the MRCP" - I think this is a should-get. Up-to-date information is essential when you sit for the exam, which you'll be tested on the latest facts!


4. "Basic Medical Sciences for MRCP" - This book I'm planning to sell it. Anyone's interested? (oops I hope the author is not reading this). Well, my humble opinion is, maybe the facts are somewhat inadequate and contents are not focused enough on Part 1=)


Beside books, I do have somemore things to share.


From USMLE Step 1, to Step 2 then now Part 1, I have to confess that, yes, I did use magic in my exams. HEHE. They're called "Darren's magic medicine formulas".
I'll share about the "formulas" in my next posts. Hope you all will find it useful!=)