Students are expected to present a patient (5 mins.) to the whole class. The facilitator will ask the student to demonstrate: “take a migraine history, show me the reflex exam, what is the differential, how do you order that test, etc.” It is unfortunate that students are rarely if ever observed doing these activities on a busy ward, and yet, the ward team may rely on the student's information when making medical decisions. The goals of this format are to make students comfortable with oral presentation, critique the presentation, make sure the exam is done correctly, and to be a lead-in to further didactics, discussion and "neurology pearls."

Topic Presentation

Students are required to pick one topic for presentation to the group. Because of the number of students in each block, the topic will need to be synthesized into a presentation limited to 15 minutes. Handouts are not necessary. Grading is Pass/Fail. Not doing a topic or making it up are essentially the only ways to fail.

Away students: Email your presentation to Dr. Kraus (in PowerPoint, PDF or Word format) by 1PM Pacific time on the final Thursday of the course. Arrange time in the last week to present your topic to the site preceptor(s).

Recommendations:

1. Choose a topic based on a patient you have seen in the first two weeks.
2. Don't try to cover too much. For example, the patient may have multiple sclerosis. Read in depth about MS but choose only one aspect of MS to report on (e.g., disease modifying drugs, treatment of fatigue, bladder dysfunction, etc.).
3. Most students put together a Powerpoint presentation.
4. Oral presentations should start with a 1-2 sentence case summary. Pick the most important information to deliver to your colleagues.
5. Please practice the oral presentation for time. It is common to underestimate time.