Spoonful of Sugar

What kind of crystals are seen in gout versus pseudo-gout? Which arthritis is worse in the morning, and which one at night? If you have trouble keeping these joint disorders straight, this episode is for you! MS3 Kate Spencer asks tons of questions to help you review gout and arthritis.

Does the idea of choosing an anti-arrhythmic drug make your heart skip a beat? Fear not, for MS3s Darby Billing and Michelle Troup have a steady pulse on this challenging topic. With lots of questions to keep you engaged, they will make sure you remember the key points for the boards, and beyond!

The only thing harder than remembering details of all the hepatitis viruses is memorizing those pesky hepatitis B antigens. Lucky for you, our newest team member Alexa Rae (Lexie) Churan simplifies it in our classic Spoonful of Sugar style – lots of questions (but no pressure), and lots of repetition to make sure these commonly tested concepts get ingrained your memory.

At some point during clinical rotations, you’ll be asked about screening guidelines for lung cancer. It’s important to know these for sure, but it’s also important to know what to do if there are any abnormalities after you order that screening. Here, we’ll review the guidelines for how to classify and further work up pulmonary nodules!

Did you know approximately 21% of US adults experience a mood disorder at some point in their lives? This is an extremely important, not to mention commonly tested, topic that all medical students should be familiar with. In this episode, our newest team member MS3 Bilal Rana will review Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder, Cyclothymic Disorder, Adjustment D...

In this episode, we’ll cover all things bradycardia, including sinus bradycardia, and all three degrees of heart block. We’ll review how they present, how to recognize them on an EKG, and basics of how to manage them. Hosted by MS4 Tania Mulherkar, this episode reviews everything about heart block that you’ll need for USMLE!

The medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease can be complicated and hard to remember. In this episode, our newest team member MS3 Rachel Garza reviews the pharmacologic options for Parkinson’s treatment, including their mechanisms and side effects. We always try to explain concepts in a way that makes sense so that reviewing is fun and easy to remember!

Part 2 of 2 in our series on autoimmune diseases with MS3 Alicia Podwojniak. In this episode, we review Sjogren’s syndrome, dermatomyositis, and polymyositis. These are commonly tested conditions which can be easy to confuse! Hopefully this review helps to clarify and lock in some key rheumatology concepts.

In this 2-part series, MS3 Alicia Podwojniak is back to review the complex and commonly tested topic of rheumatologic autoimmune diseases. In part 1, we’ll review rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma. Stay tuned for part 2!

Do you have a hard time keeping track of all the diseases of the thyroid? So many last names – Graves, Hashimoto, Reidel, De Quervain. It’s okay if you’re a little overwhelmed! In this episode, MS3 Kate Spencer is back to sort out the different thyroid disorders. Get ready for a fun but packed review.

Disorders of the esophagus are fairly straightforward, but there are quite a few and they can be difficult to keep straight. Packed with lots of quiz questions for a relaxing yet engaging review, this episode is just the ticket to organize these various conditions in your brain. Our newest team member MS3 Kate Spencer will drill these disorders into your memory!

How does an X-ray work? How about a CT scan, or an MRI, or an ultrasound? How do you know which one to order? In this episode, our newest team member MS4 Mohit Bhide will review the fundamentals of different imaging modalities and explain how they work. Then, he’ll walk through some rapid-fire cases as tested on USMLE board exams to build on your knowledge. Let’s shed some light on diagnostic imag...

Do you have a hard time differentiating two commonly tested autoimmune blistering skin disorders of pemphigus vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid? Which one is associated with Nikolsky sign, and which one has antibodies against the hemi-desmosomes? If you feel like you need to review these concepts and find memory devices to make them stick, tune into this episode hosted by our newest team member MS3...

A major aspect of outpatient pediatric practice, and therefore also the shelf and board exams, is knowledge of childhood developmental milestones. This includes gross and fine motor skills, language, social and cognitive development, growth tracking, and sexual maturation. Review all of this material in this high-yield episode hosted by our newest MS4 team member Tania Mulherkar!

It is not the same as radiology! But believe it or not, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In this episode, we talk about how radiation therapy works, when it is indicated, what treatments look like for patients, and how to generally counsel them about short- and long-term side effects of radiation. At some point in your career you will definitely care for a patient who is getting radiation thera...

Do you have trouble answering questions about urinary incontinence? There are so many different types, and it can be difficult to diagnose and treat. If so, tune into our latest episode hosted by MS4 Xia Liu on the different types of urinary incontinence. He’ll review the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment to help you answer these questions correctly, and more importantly help pat...

In this short but sweet review on skin cancer, MS3 Julia May reviews the most common types of skin cancer, including their presentation, clinical features, and diagnosis. Tune in to review just how exactly these pesky tumors are tested on the boards.

In this episode, our newest team members and MS3s Laurel Parker and Kylie Schmitt review the primary and secondary disorders of hemostasis. They’ll talk about the steps and goals of primary and secondary hemostasis, and then get into the nitty gritty of various bleeding disorders. If you have a hard time remembering how bleeding time, platelet count, PT, and PTT are affected by all these disorders...

Myasthenia gravis and Lambert Eaton syndrome are two neuromuscular disorders that are commonly tested but can be easily confused due to their similar presentations. In this episode, medical student Divya Patel reviews the separate pathophysiology and presentation of each disease so that you can tell the difference on any exam!

Aditi Kothari is back to host a thorough review of ascites – how to evaluate, diagnose, and manage ascites from various causes. If you don’t remember how to calculate SAAG, this episode is for you. After tuning in to this episode, you’ll definitely have a belly full of knowledge. Get it?

What’s the most common type of brain tumor? What’s the most common type of primary brain tumor? In this episode, our newest team member Oliver Mui reviews the presentation and pathophysiology of common brain tumors, including GBM, meningioma, schwannoma, ependymoma, and more. Tune in for a thorough, question-based review of this important USMLE topic!

Board examiners love to test on cancer drugs, because they’re a great way to connect complex disease presentations to basic biochemical mechanisms and the phases of the cell cycle. In this episode, we’ll review various classes of cancer drugs, their mechanisms, and important adverse effects so that you can build a foundation on which to tackle USMLE level questions surrounding this topic.

Do you have trouble hearing and interpreting heart sounds? Systolic vs. diastolic murmurs, S3 vs. S4 gallops? In this episode, we’ll review strategies on how to listen to common heart sounds so you’re no longer intimidated by this topic on board questions or rounds. This episode pairs well with our Season 2 episode on Valvular Heart Diseases, which delves deeper into the physiology of common heart...

We’re celebrating our season finale through a collaboration with hosts of a medical humanities podcast, What Brings You in Today! Leigh Burman & Mayra Betancourt Ponce host an interactive episode on bacterial endocarditis, reviewing the pathophysiology, presentation, and management of both acute and subacute presentations of bacterial endocarditis. Tune in for a thorough review of this highly...

Electrolyte repletion is a rather well-known task typically assigned to medicine and surgery interns on a patient’s primary team. The specifics surrounding dose and formulation are things you will quickly pick up on the job, but as a medical student it is probably more valuable to understand the importance of managing electrolytes, as well as the consequences of dysregulated electrolyte levels. In...