We (medical students) have been doing small group discussions for 3 years now. The first time we had it, everyone probably have tried researching and reading books and have written or encoded the answers to the guide questions. Throughout the months, we learned to look for old files. Or we become parasites to our kind and generous classmates. We photocopy their work.
Depending on the professor, we either have anxiety or we are relaxed. Well, others are apathetic... haha. It has become a routine for most that we sometimes don't even bother to prepare for it. Or we try to answer just one question and volunteer to answer just that; thinking that it's enough and it's good to give others a chance. We read, during the discussions, lines that seem to answer the question at hand. Even if we're not sure, with the hope for a point or two at the least. Some facilitators wouldn't mind this. But some... the better teachers are really bothered by our manner.
Yes, there are still facilitators who are concerned with the typical way we students conduct these discussions. They are the ones who demand no powerpoint presentations but a white board marker and heads thinking.
Yesterday, our facilitator made us keep all our notes and instructed not to write anything. No notes. no note-taking. He read the whole case. And made us recite everything he mentioned.. the exact vital signs, the characteristic lesions.. in chronological order. The next questions and statements however were not related to the case; and actually, during the meeting, we did not have a case discussion. He made us point out our mistakes.. the erroneous, inconsistent, unsystematic and inaccurate data we contributed.
Now, what if it were a real patient and we have these unacceptable data... we may cause morbidity and mortality than healing or cure to patients. Is this the kind of doctors we are to become? Unthinking, unfocused... dependent on papers and pens?
While it is good to jot down notes, it is not pleasing to patients when we do with every answer they give us. We lose the chance to establish rapport and more to this, we fail to gain their trust and confidence in us. And just by this, we fail as doctors.
Anyway, I'm losing the whole point of my blog entry's title... hehe... just wanted to quote what he said: The dilemma is not knowing WHAT the problem is, knowing there is a problem. (Alam mong may problema pero di mo naman alam kung ano ang problema, pano mo mareresolba?)... something like that... hehe... knowing our mistakes now, we are priviledged daw... we just have to make changes, for ourselves. huuuu, drama ng case discussion.. haha.
