Pulmonology

Dr. Varghese and the teaching team are phenomenal at teaching pulmonology while keeping the class light-hearted and enjoyable. This class has daily hybrid in-person/Zoom lectures, with small groups incorporated into the schedule after the midterm. The first half of the block focuses on the physical and mathematical physiology of pulmonology and is rather equation heavy. The second half applies the equations to clinical disease processes and incorporates a fair amount of pathology slides. Students recommend attending or watching lectures (whether in person, via Zoom, or asynchronous recordings), as much of the test material is image-oriented. During the second half of the course, you will take a quiz after each class (usually around 5 questions) on the previous day’s material, and the answers will be reviewed the following morning. The quizzes are very similar to the content and format of the final Brightspace exam. You also get two chances to get the right answers on the quizzes, so it's low stakes.

• Lecture – 4 weeks is not much time for all of pulmonary physiology and pathophysiology, so some lectures can certainly feel overwhelming with the sheer amount of content. In the first half of the block, be sure you understand the anatomy and physiology behind the equations rather than attempting straight memorization (although some memorization will be required). In the second half of the block, focus on the etiology, clinical presentation, radiology/pathology findings, and associated demographics for each disease for high-yield testable content.

• Online Modules – This course had 4 required online modules to be completed outside of class by due dates assigned from the instructors. The modules are relatively short and contain testable information. The high yield modules are acute respiratory failure and the treatment of asthma. Information from these modules is also covered in some small groups and various Boards & Beyond videos if you prefer to learn from those resources rather than the modules.

• Small Groups – In each small group, you will be working within smaller groups through a series of cases related to the topics discussed that day. Cases will often include radiology and pathology figures. Come prepared by paying attention during lecture to help cement the facts from lecture and integrate them into a clinical picture. Most small groups do take the full allotted time in the schedule, so bring some water and a snack!

• Midterm – Although an essay midterm is different than the Mayo norm, most students perform extremely well! The review lecture is very high-yield. As you study, focus on conceptual understanding and try writing out or speaking out loud the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system and some of the concepts you learned in the first week of the block.

• Quizzes – The daily graded quizzes are fairly low-stakes, with each quiz being about 5 questions and the total quiz score being 10% of your grade. You get two attempts to get the correct answers, after all. Students recommend reviewing lecture slides (especially radiology and pathology figures) from the day before to stay on top of the material and perform well. The quizzes help gauge your understanding of the content and keep you on track for the final exams.

• Final Exams – Most students felt that both the NBME and Brightspace final exams were fair. While the NBME exam asks for more clinical application and integration, the Brightspace exam is focused on high-yield points that were emphasized throughout the course. Reviewing lecture content is great for both exams, and students found Boards & Beyond, First Aid, and Anki to be great resources for the NBME exam. 

• First Aid and Anki – First Aid highlights the key points from pulmonology and is a good review of the block before the final exams. Students found it particularly helpful prior to the NBME exam. The respiratory chapter is not too long in First Aid and can definitely be reviewed during the last week of the block. Anki cards can be unsuspended based on either the First Aid tags or the Boards & Beyond tags. Use Anki if it works for you, but do not consider it a necessity.

• Boards & Beyond – Students recommend watching the videos corresponding to the lecture either right before or after the lecture. The videos will highlight Step 1 relevant content but are often less detailed than the lectures (especially for pneumonia and restrictive lung diseases). This is a great supplement, but students that relied solely on these videos had to fill in some gaps from lecture slides. See third party resources schedules below for a general layout of which videos correspond to which lectures ( note that the schedule may be slightly different each year).

• YouTube Channels – Supplemental videos are especially helpful for the first half of this block. Some students found that they needed to hear the physiology explained in a different way from lecture to really understand the concepts. 

  • Ninja Nerd - The videos are slightly on the longer side, but worthwhile for the pulmonary physiology portion of the block.

• Student Made Resources - There are multiple study guides made by students.

  • • MCASOM Student Made Study Guides

    • Joocer's 3rd Party Schedule

• Sketchy Pharm – There is not a big pharmacology focus in pulmonology, but some knowledge about asthma and COPD treatment is required from the online modules and only briefly touched on in small group. Reviewing the relevant Sketchy Pharm videos for those drug classes will be helpful for the NBME exam and for cementing the information for Step 1.

• Pathoma – the relevant pulmonology videos are helpful and good content for Step 1, but not necessary to pass the course. The pathology you need to know for exams will be covered in lecture material.

• Amboss and USMLE Rx – if you have a question bank, you can do a few questions per day as practice for Step 1, but this is not necessary to pass the course.