Many newly certified attorneys choose to practice in the field of personal bankruptcy. This is a niche of law that is perpetually in high demand. It can be a fairly broad area, however, and requires a far-reaching spectrum of expertise … Continue reading
Being a teacher is one of the most important jobs there is in society. When you are a resident teacher for a medical school the quality of your teaching has an indirect impact on the lives of thousands. How well you teach medical undergraduates might well determine how good a physician they become in the future, and of course how many lives they can save.
It is not just the ‘body count’ that matters. Being a good doctor involves so much more than simply knowing your facts and applying the best treatment available at the time. Being a good doctor is a test for the psyche in so many ways. Along with technical proficiency and medical knowledge a good doctor needs a whole range of other skills that are difficult both to list and to teach. It is often these skills that I feel obliged to work on. This is because so much of the technical training these days is done in learning labs using computers. In many cases this is better because a computer never forgets a key point, whereas even the best medical teachers sometimes omit a crucial detail.
The most well known skill that I try to teach is good ‘bedside manner’. New doctors can sometimes be brusque, they can sometimes forget that the layman gets confused with medical terms, and they can often forget to reassure a patient. Science is still not able to explain why a positive mental outlook works wonders for people with illnesses. I don’t prescribe to ‘New Age’ theories of chakras, meditation etc. but these alternative approaches are important in that they empower the patient to help themselves. This is no bad thing, and it is something that I think all new doctors should consider carefully.
Secondly, there is mental toughness. At times doctors have to work incredibly long hours. They must maintain concentration and focus. I try to get my students to work out personal systems for dealing with the workload and pressure. We are all different and how we cope with stress also varies from person to person. I encourage my students to find ‘what works for them’.
Then there is triage. This is the notion of prioritizing to do the most good; the idea of finding the best way through a work pile. Triage can be incredibly difficult even with the best medical facilities and resources available. Sometimes it is a matter of instinct. What will have the greatest short term impact? Which patients have the most chance of survival?
Finally, I also counsel students who feel the pressure of failure. It doesn’t help to tell a trainee doctor that they will make fatal mistakes. At the same time they must align their expectations to what is the ‘norm’. All doctors have to know their limits and accept their fallibility. As long as you learn from your mistakes you can usually be forgiven for making them. Dealing with the pressure of life and death is no easy business.In a way being a resident medical teacher is just the same as being any other type of teacher. There are teaching strategies to master, theory to think about and new advances to keep abreast of. In the end, no two teachers do their job in exactly the same way. Theorists of teaching often forget this. They are so wrapped up in obscure jargonized learning that they fail to see the human element to teaching. Instead they argue among themselves.
This blog is for all teachers, not just medical teachers. Society places its hopes in us for we teach the up-coming generations the skills necessary to maintain society ? how to design bridges, how to do calculus, how to write a sonnet, how to piece together a credible narrative of the past. Even autodidacts use books as their teachers. I believe teachers are the bedrock of civilization. If our teachers fail to do their jobs properly we will slide back into the dark ages.
Considering the importance of the teaching profession, it seems a most worthy endeavor to collect view points about teaching in as many fields as possible. The articles contained herein aim to throw light on the teacher’s task whether it relates to explaining food nutrition, the benefits of travel, methods for stopping smoking. Whatever. Pedagogy relates to all human actions and relations.
Internet Licensing Laws – UK
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The problem with many of our laws relating to licensing and copyrights, is that most of them were developed long before the introduction of the internet. Take for example the laws that govern the requirements of TV licences in the … Continue reading
New Laws Good Or Bad News For UK Drivers?
According to BBC News, the UK government has just announced that from July 2013, the Police will have more powers to combat ’anti social’ driving without taking members of the public to court. In order to beat the bureaucracy, the … Continue reading
Laws and States
The law varies from state to state. One only has to look at the debate about California’s controversial Prop 8 and Gay Marriage in general to understand that, but it is also important to note that laws change dramatically in … Continue reading
The Law and E Cigarettes
For the last decade or so (depending on which country/state you live in) smokers have been on the losing side in the legal battle which dictates where they have a right to light up. It’s not difficult to see why … Continue reading
The Internet, The Law and a Tragedy
In January this year, internet expert Aaron Swartz and political activist committed suicide. With the aid of the rope, he gave up. The CFAA was passed in 1986 to penalize the new offense of computer hacking. Usage of computer networks … Continue reading
The Law And Society – How These Two Get Connected
A group of people or community is the society. If you are getting puzzled on what is a society, then you must realize that you by yourself are a part of the society. You can never be called a place … Continue reading
Projecting Invesment Growth
As law students move into practice, their wealth is bound to grow significantly. Young law professionals can utilize tools such as the InterestBot to see how their wealth can grow over time. Using an interest calculator is something that you … Continue reading
Law Students Should Review Their Student Loan Payments
A new payment calculator has recently been launched and current or recently-graduated law students should use it to understand their student loan debt. Payment calculator at paymentbot.org can be considered as a very easy measure through which the payments for … Continue reading
Learning Law
I travelled out to the USA to study law from Scotland and I have to say I absolutely love it here. from the sports to the cities I think it is great and the colleges are fantastic. I did get … Continue reading
The Law of Terror
It has been an interesting few days for legal matters here in the United States hasn’t it? First, President Obama has said explicitly that he still wants to close Guantanamo Bay. If you remember his original campaign almost 8 years … Continue reading
Lawyers Are Also Entrepreneurs!
If you are a lawyer, then one of your life goals may be to set up your own law firm. In order to succeed at this, you need to not only have skills as a lawyer, but also as an … Continue reading
Lawyer’s iPhone Apps
The iPhone is increasingly becoming one of the must have gadgets in the modern world. Not only is it stylish but also functional. The iPhone has many features designed for the modern professional and even better you can download applications … Continue reading
Is the Internet Changing Copyright Law?
If you’ve ever written a blog or a website, or even posted a useful link on Facebook or Twitter – there is a very real possibililty that you have assisted in infringing someone’s copyright somewhere in the world. That neat … Continue reading
How Does Law Affect The Lives Of The Society?
Are you living in a society wherein you can consider as the best society with the most admiring law implemented? Or are you living in a society wherein you are always murmuring because you are always not on favor with … Continue reading
The Law and The Internet
Every once in a while we see an interesting question as it related to the law. Frankly, I know most of you think that we’re going to be talking about California’s contentious Prop 8 here, but I think even though … Continue reading
Cycling and the Law
Cycling is a great activity whether you are doing it professionally or recreationally. It can provide a great adrenaline rush, help to improve your mood, or be the ideal way to relax. However, with the rise of traffic accidents … Continue reading
Lack of Support for New Teachers
The Welsh assembly are desperately trying to improve educational standards in Wales. However there are multiple issues which seem to be causing problems. The latest is the delay in implementing a new mentor system that was designed to help new … Continue reading
Law and Society – How It Affect Human Lives
Living in a society should comes the law being created and to be followed. Yes, a law that is being implemented should be followed by the society who are living in a certain place, locality and even nationwide. A law … Continue reading
Moving Advice
Obviously when you are moving house you will need to get legal advice and representation to make sure everything goes through correctly, the same can be said when you are selling your house. The process can be difficult and stressful … Continue reading
Stressed Out Lawyers Should Take Up Gardening
If you’re a lawyer, you probably know that you were going to be taking the career path of one of the most stressful jobs. The job of a lawyer is quite difficult, and can be a hassle, even though … Continue reading
The Web Design Pricing of Educational Websites for Doctors
Becoming a doctor is not easy. After they have graduated from college with a medical degree, they will have to pass an exam to become licensed medical practitioners. They also need to specialize in medicine, and that specialization will … Continue reading
Linking Economics to the study of Law
As is the case in the link between Cordyceps and holistic health, the relationship between law and economics goes far beyond what many people know. The principle understanding here is that law influences economics, as is it does in … Continue reading
Lawyers Are Out Of Control
Lawyers are everywhere and it can be successfully argued that they play much too big a part in our society. Our health care system, for instance, is collapsing on itself much because of lawyers and people who sue doctors for … Continue reading