Clinical Correlations I & II were 2 of the most instrumental courses in my educational journey for a number of reasons. It was in these courses that I found my self in a somewhat uncomfortable position, it was a transition away from exam-style scenarios where key info and options are highlighted and presented explicitly. I was required to independently sift through large amounts of information, determine clinical relevance, and formulate a differential diagnosis using the knowledge I had gathered up to that point. It proved to be highly beneficial as I recognized gaps in knowledge and improved upon my ability to synthesize ideas in real time much like a typical patient encounter. What I also found initially challenging were the times in which patient presentations weren’t clear cut or “textbook” in manner. I quickly learned to adjust my mindset and identify core features and separate them from distractors.

In retrospect, I can also vividly remember what each semester of clinical correlations taught me starting with clinical correlations I where I learned most notably how to reveal bad news to a patient. At times we were randomly called upon to deliver difficult news to a patient and the professor escalated the scenario to test how we would handle the situation. It taught me that these scenarios are less about finding the best words or being the most articulate its about being supportive and empathetic but most of all professional. This is a skill that I hope to become really well versed in over the course of the clinical year. Clinical correlations I also really emphasized the importance of evidence-based medicine and knowing the yield of different labs in terms of their sensitivity and specificity. Something that was uttered during this course that stuck with me is to always think to yourself, “will this result change my management?” and i have since continued to apply this to my reasoning.

Clinical Correlations 2 provided different experiences but the same if not more lasting impressions. By this point I was nearing the end of the didactic phase and prepping for summatives and the PACKRAT so I felt as if I was in an optimal position to demonstrate sound clinical reasoning and abstraction. This 2nd phase of the series saw us rotating through professors with backgrounds in Emergency Medicine, Cardiothoracic surgery, and Pediatrics which provided a great balance. In the first round I thought I made alot of strives in history taking, identifying red flags, and disposition as we were presented a number of ED complaints. In the second round I received alot of valuable guidance as it relates to recognizing common post-op complications. The final round I found very intellectually challenging in particular as the professor called upon us to interpret pediatric lab values and then put us in scenarios where we had to explain the results and deliver a plan to worrying parents. Overall, this course series was a very influential part of my didactic year education and I will continue to use the experiences to guide my clinical reasoning.