The Gray Haired OBGYN Newsletter #2 for August 2015

Published: Sat, 08/29/15

Newsletter #2 for August, 2015

Thanks for registering with The Gray Haired OBGYN Professional site. This month, I have five new articles and videos for you:

- A Behind the Scenes tour of the "5 Minute Pregnancy" video.

- A Behind the Scenes tour of the lecture "What Does the Uterus do all day Long?"

- An OSCE station entitled "Dysmenorrhea"

- Equipment Review - Health Edco Breast Model

- Student Training: Issue Suturing Kits to your Students

I'm enclosing previews of these so you can choose those that interest you and go directly to them.

Behind the Scenes: "5 Minute Pregnancy" Video

This is the story of the 5 Minute Pregnancy Video.

In the making of this video, I made some mistakes, which I discuss. The mistakes range from technical issues to conceptual errors. I also made some good decisions, which I'll pass along to you.

Behind the Scenes: "What Does a Uterus do all day Long?"

It wasn’t until relatively late in my career that I knew anything about the issues of uterine contractions, outside the context of labor and delivery.

I knew that birth control pills usually made cramps better, but I didn’t really know why.

I thought I understood the role of progesterone in the menstrual cycle, but I had never considered the smooth muscle relaxing properties of it.

OSCE Station: "Dysmenorrhea"

I like this OSCE module for a couple of reasons:

Painful menstrual cramps are common, so it is reasonable to test the student’s knowledge and skill in handling this issue, and

Dysmenorrhea is associated with broad range of gynecologic conditions, allowing the examiner to explore the depth of the student’s knowledge in a short time.

This OSCE module follows a basic 15 minute format and is a one-on-one interaction with a faculty member.

Equipment Review: Health Edco Breast Model

Designed for teaching self breast examination, we've used these models for teaching M3 students, as part of their training in breast disease.

Pros: Durable, No Maintenance, Has different lumps of different sizes in different locations.

Cons: Breast material too stiff, Not very realistic for teaching exams

Overall Grade: 2.0/5.0

Simulation Training: Issue Suturing Kits to your Students

For the last several years, we've provided each M3 student a zip-locked bag of surgical instruments, and rope, for the duration of the clerkship. The strategy is that if they have their own instruments, they are more likely to practice with them while waiting for rounds to begin or on Labor and Delivery.

Contents include:

- Needle Driver

- Forceps with Teeth

- Straight Scissors

- 34″ of nylon, corded rope, 1/4″, with the ends fused

Mike Hughey, MD

[email protected]