ABG questions and answers

I have been editing our consult month syllabus adding the links for the study materials as we go.

Today we fell off the syllabus. The acid-base lecture on Wednesday revealed a chasm of ignorance. We need to really pound on the basics. So today, instead of doing a Powerpoint style lecture on non-anion gap metabolic acidosis, we sat in a conference room with a couple of calculators and pounded through 23 ABG problems.

Problems
Answers

Acid Base Machine Qs

Acid Base Machine

While we were going through the questions, part of me wanted some tunes. Just saw Slum Dog last weekend.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? – TV Themes

On to the consult service.

My favorite month and the month I dread.
The most stimulating and just the most.

I have two medical students and one fellow. Which is a particularly difficult combination to teach. You have students at the beginning their education and a fellow almost done with her formal training.

My fellow has already told me that she wants to focus on fluids and electrolytes which suits my interests perfectly. It also dovetails nicely with what medical students typically want to get out of a fourth year nephro rotation (especially after rank lists have been submitted).

My plan for the syllabus is:

  • Mon: Ca, Phos, metabolic bone disease (PDF or Zip file for Pages), more acid-base problems
  • Tues: Collectively use mind maps to describe renal physiology Continue to teach ABGs: Anion gap metabolic acidosis with gap-gap (delta gap) and osmolar gap (PDF or Zip file for Pages)
  • Wed: Mind the gap…osmotic gap, anion gap, stool osmolar gap, urinary anion gap Busy clinic, no time for any teaching
  • Thurs: presentation of outlines/abstract of end-of-the-month presentation, non-anion gap metabolic acidosis PowerPoint presentation.
  • Fri: Vacation (for me not the students)
  • Mon: Alcohol and its protean effects on electrolytes Did this March 6th
  • Tues: first student/fellow presentation
  • Wed-Fri: NKF Spring Clinical Meeting
  • Mon: second student/fellow presentation
  • Tues: third student/fellow presentation

It’s an ambitious plan. We’ll see how it goes.