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Writing a Letter to the Editor of a Medical Journal 
What is a Letter to the Editor?  A letter to the editor in a medical journal...
Skin Cancer
Skin Cancer
Skin cancers have one of the highest global incidences of any type of cancer. Early...
Intensive Care Review
Daily Reviews on the ICU
In the intensive care unit, junior medical staff conduct and present daily reviews...
Hypocalcaemia
Hypocalcaemia
Alongside strengthening bone, calcium is used in the clotting cascade, in muscle...
Intensive care referral
Referring to the Intensive Care Unit
As a foundation doctor, caring for patients who deteriorate rapidly and/or are critically...
Arthralgia
Arthralgia
There are three joint pain calls you might receive whilst you’re on call or...
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory condition characterised by the irreversible...
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CT Head Interpretation
In the webinar below, Dr Sam Kular (interventional radiology fellow) provides a structured...
Renal On Call
Mind the (renal) Bleep: Preparing for your First Renal SHO On-Call
So you’ve finally got your rota for your hotly anticipated renal rotation… and your...
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Functional Neurological Disorders (FND)
Introduction Functional neurological disorders are some of the most common neurological...
Myocarditis
Myocarditis
Myocarditis (derived from ‘myocardium’ = cardiac muscle, and -itis = inflammation)...
Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions
Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines adverse drug reactions (ADR) as “any...
Nausea & Vomiting
Nausea & Vomiting
You will frequently get calls regarding nausea & vomiting: many patients present...
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Applying to Dermatology
Introduction Dermatology is a fascinating specialty with over 2,000 skin, hair, and...
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Kickstart Your Career in Sports and Exercise Medicine: A Guide for Resident Doctors
Choosing a career in Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) offers doctors a unique opportunity...
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CT Chest Interpretation
In the webinar below, Dr Dexter Valencia (interventional radiology registrar) provides...
Heart Failure
Cardiomyopathy
The word cardiomyopathy is used as a general term referring to the abnormal structure...
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How to Assess a Chest Drain
Although as an FY1/2 you wouldn’t be expected to insert a chest drain yourself but...
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Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the third most common dementia across all age groups...
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Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is usually categorised as melanoma or nonmelanoma skin cancer, the latter...
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Top Tips for IMT Interviews
With IMT interviews fast approaching, we have partnered with Optimise Interviews...
Microbiology Discussions
Microbiology Discussions
A lot of your time as an FY1 will be spent on the phone to various other specialities....
Plasmodium Blood Film
Malaria
Overview Malaria is a tropical protozoal infection caused by the Plasmodium parasite,...
SFP-Clinical-Station
Top Tips for the IMT Clinical Station
With IMT interviews fast approaching, we have partnered with Optimise Interviews...
Paracetamol Overdose
Paracetamol Overdose
Paracetamol overdose is a common presentation in A&E and so you may often find...
Fluid Balance
Fluid Balance
Almost every patient admitted to hospital receives IV fluids at some point in their...
PICC Lines and Midlines
PICC Lines and Midlines
You may well be asked to take blood from a PICC line or be called to see a patient...
Drowsy
Reduced GCS
As a doctor, you will frequently be called for a drowsy patient. They can vary from...
Interpreting Blood Films
Interpreting Blood Films
A blood film looks at our three cell types (erythrocytes, leukocytes & platelets)...
Common Skin Issues
Common Skin Issues
Dermatology is a vast topic that resident doctors often find daunting. Do read our...
AXR
Abdominal X-rays
The advantages of AXRs are far less radiation to patients & that they’re...
Scans
Requesting Scans
Requesting scans can be a scary daily occurrence for new doctors. It is one of few...
Insulin
Hyperglycaemia
Hyperglycaemia is something you will encounter frequently. In this article, we focus...
ECG Basics
ECG Basics
The electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most common, and important, investigations...
Duke-Elder Exam
Understanding the MSRA
The Multiple Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) is a computer-based exam increasingly...
Seizures
Seizures
Scenario: You are bleeped by one of the staff nurses to review a patient on the orthopaedic...
Constipation
Constipation
Constipation is one of the most common complaints in hospital, especially on the...
Hyponatraemia
Hyponatraemia
Hyponatraemia (serum Sodium <135 mmol/L) is one of the most common electrolyte...
Falls
Falls
As an F1, you will quite frequently get bleeped to review a patient who has had a...
Prescribing analgesia
Prescribing analgesia
When assessing pain, ensure you begin by taking a history to characterise the pain...
Discharge Planning
Discharge Planning
It is important for resident doctors to understand what the discharge planning process...
Hypoglycaemia
Hypoglycaemia
Management of low blood sugar in conscious & unconscious patients, finding common...
Jaundice
Jaundice & Deranged LFTs
As the FY1, you will see patients with liver dysfunction either on the take or deranged...
Acute Kidney Injury
Acute Kidney Injury
AKI is very common affecting around 20% of inpatients & it is important to recognise...
Heparin
Anticoagulation
For new doctors, prescribing anticoagulants can be daunting. A few simple rules can...
Chest Pain
Chest Pain
As a resident doctor, you will also often assess patients complaining of chest pain...
Hypoxia
Hypoxia
As an FY1, you will be called to review patients who are hypoxic. Here we will discuss...
Suturing
Suturing
Sutures are placed to aid with wound healing following a traumatic laceration or...
Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial Fibrillation
AF is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia you will encounter. In this article,...
Medication in Diabetes
Medications in Diabetes
In this article, we’ll cover the treatments used in Diabetes Mellitus. We’ll...
Delirium
Delirium
Acute confusion, otherwise known as delirium, is very common in hospitals: 20-30%...
Diabetes
DKA and HHS
You’ve found a patient is hyperglycaemic & either they are ketotic...
Ascitic Tap and Drain
Ascitic Tap and Drain
Ascitic aspiration (tap) is routinely performed for every patient admitted with ascites...
Heart Failure
Heart Failure
Heart Failure is not a diagnosis in itself, rather a collection of symptoms that...
Pulmonary Oedema
Pulmonary Oedema
RCEM has published some clear and comprehensive information which is well worth a...
Sepsis
Sepsis
Sepsis is an infection with evidence of organ dysfunction. Septic shock is when a...
Haematuria
Haematuria
You will regularly see patients with blood in their urine, most often picked up incidentally...
NG Tube
Nasogastric Tubes
NG tubes are passed from the nose to the stomach. Depending on the material, they...
Stroke
Acute Stroke
Whilst on call or in A&E you may be asked to assess somebody who is suspected...
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Inflammatory vs Non-inflammatory Arthritis
A brief guide to help you distinguish between inflammatory and non-inflammatory arthritis...
Discussing Treatment Escalation & DNAR
Discussing Treatment Escalation & DNAR
As an FY1 you should not be expected to make decisions regarding treatment escalation...
Tachyarrhythmias
Tachyarrhythmias
Tachyarrhythmias are abnormal heart rhythms with a pulse rate of >100 beats per...
Exam
A guide to passing MRCP Part 2 written
The MRCP part 2 exam is a multiple choice, best-of-five written exam with 2, 3 hour...
Describing Skin Lesions
Describing Skin Lesions
It is quite common for you to need to describe rashes for documentation purposes,...
Palliative
Palliative Care
Dying is a natural process and unfortunately, something that we all come across in...
Upper GI bleed
Upper GI bleed
These patients have the potential to become haemodynamically unstable extremely quickly;...
NIV
Non-Invasive Ventilation
Non-invasive ventilation is a way of providing ventilatory support to patients in...
COPD
Acute COPD exacerbation
As an FY1, you are unlikely to be expected to make decisions about long term COPD...
Haematological emergencies
Haematological emergencies
In this article, we give an overview of the most important and serious haematological...
CNS Infections
CNS Infections
A CNS infection is one that involves the central nervous system in some way. This...
Orthogeriatrics
Orthogeriatrics
Fragility fractures in the elderly As a resident doctor on call, in geriatrics...
Bradyarrythmias
Bradyarrhythmias
Bradyarrhythmias are abnormal heart rhythms with a pulse rate of <60 beats per...
Opiate overdose & toxicity
Opiate overdose & toxicity
You will likely encounter an opiate overdose due to the prevalence of opiates for...
Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax
A pneumothorax is defined as the abnormal collection of air between the visceral...
Performing Arterial Blood Gases
Performing Arterial Blood Gases (ABGs)
An arterial blood gas (ABG) test is performed to measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide...
Asthma
Acute Asthma
You are unlikely to be expected to make decisions about long term asthma management,...
Pneumonia
Pneumonia
In this article, we will focus on more practical concerns when managing a patient...
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
A pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blocked blood vessel in your lungs, most often due...
Hypophosphataemia
Hypophosphataemia
Hypophosphatemia is a serum phosphate concentration < 2.5 mg/dL (0.81...
E Coli
Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea is a very common complaint and may be the reason for a patient’s admission,...
Fever in the Returning Traveller
Fever in the Returning Traveller
COVID-19 aside, international travel is easier and more prevalent than ever before,...
Palpitations
Palpitations
Palpitations can be described as the sensation of an abnormally received heartbeat....
Transfusion
Transfusion
In this article, we will go through the three most common scenarios you will encounter....
Syncope
Syncope
From the Greek: Syn: together & kopein: to cut - referring to a block in blood supply...
Stomas
Stomas
The word stoma comes from Greek to mean “an opening”. There are many...
Anaemia
Anaemia
Perhaps the most common blood test you will review daily will be the FBC (full blood...
Neutropenic Sepsis
Neutropenic Sepsis
Please read an overview of the management of sepsis before reading this article. Neutropenic...
Hypernatraemia
Hypernatraemia
Hypernatraemia is defined as a sodium above 145 mmol/L with severe being more than...
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s Disease
In this article, we will present several common scenarios involving Parkinson’s disease...
Abdominal Pain
Abdominal Pain
When you are on call, you will often get a bleep about a patient with abdominal pain....
Liver cirrhosis
Managing a patient with decompensated liver cirrhosis
Introduction Patients with liver disease are common in the UK. Since 1970, mortality...
pleural effusion
Pleural effusion
As a foundation doctor, shortness of breath is one of the commonest symptoms you...
Notifiable Diseases
Notifiable Diseases
As a resident doctor, it is your statutory duty as a medical professional to alert...
Diabetic Foot Ulcer
Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Introduction: Diabetic foot ulcerations are a significant complication of diabetes...
Hypertension
Hypertension in Hospital
As a resident doctor, you will often be called about patients with raised blood pressure...
Vertigo
Vertigo
Vertigo is described as an “abnormal sensation of motion. It can occur in the absence...
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to a relapsing and remitting inflammatory...
Alcohol Withdrawal
Alcohol Withdrawal
Suddenly stopping alcohol intake in patients who have been drinking heavily for prolonged...
Homes
Understanding Types of Homes
Patients may live or be discharged to a wide variety of social care settings and...
Interpreting CSF Results
Interpreting CSF Results
Understanding how to do an LP and interpret the results is an essential skill for...
Lumbar Puncture
Lumbar Puncture
A lumbar puncture uses a fine needle inserted between the vertebrae in the lower...
Frailty
Frailty Syndromes
What is frailty? A state of increased vulnerability to poor resolution of homeostasis...
Spinal Cord
Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression
Spinal cord compression occurs when there is compression of the spinal cord or cauda...
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a condition characterised by the inflammation of the pancreas. These...
Internal Medicine Training
Internal Medical Training (IMT)
IMT is an exciting and challenging training programme which will certainly make you...
Geriatric-Medicine
Applying to Geriatric Medicine
Within Geriatric Medicine you are always working as part of a multidisciplinary team...
UTI
Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in adults are extremely common in both primary and...
Clot
Deep Vein Thrombosis
A deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a condition in which a blood clot (thrombosis) forms...
Dementia
Dementia
As an FY1 in hospital, you will come across lots of patients with dementia. They...
Hypercalcaemia
Hypercalcaemia
Serum calcium concentration is tightly regulated between 2.1-2.6mmol/L. Severe hypercalcaemia...
Infective Endocarditis
Infective Endocarditis
Infective endocarditis (IE) is relatively rare in the UK. However, delays in diagnosis...
Nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is an important aspect of a patient’s health and is overlooked during medical...
Back Pain
Back Pain
In this article, we cover the assessment and management of back pain. This article...
PEG Tubes
PEG Tubes
PEG tubes are used as long term feeding options (and medication administration) for...
Endocrinology
Thyroid Disease
As a junior, you will frequently see patients who potentially have thyroid dysfunction....
Visual Loss
Sudden Visual Loss
Loss of vision can be a scary symptom for patients to experience, and a scary presentation...
Refeeding Syndrome
Refeeding Syndrome
Defined as a collection of electrolyte abnormalities associated with a massive intracellular...
Dialysis
Dialysis Patients
There is an increasing prevalence of end-stage kidney disease and it is therefore...
Chronic Kidney Disease
Managing patients with CKD
In whichever specialty you work, you will encounter large numbers of patients with...
Swollen Joint
Acutely Swollen Joint
There are three joint pain calls you might receive whilst you’re on call or...
Headache
Headache
Acute headache is a common complaint that you’ll see whilst on the wards or...
Superior Vena Cava Syndrome
Superior Vena Cava Syndrome
SVC syndrome is an oncological emergency. There is obstruction of the superior vena...
Gastroenterology in Primary Care
Gastroenterology in Primary Care
INTRODUCTION This article covers common gastroenterological presenting complaints...
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Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)
In people over the age of 65 years, 1 in 11 will have a diagnosis of dementia. Dementia...
Chronic Pancreatitis
Chronic Pancreatitis
Chronic pancreatitis is characterised by repeated pancreatic inflammation. This leads...
Hypocortisolism
Adrenal Crisis & Hypocortisolism
Cortisol is the body’s natural steroid (glucocorticoid) which helps maintain blood...
Medical Education
How to set up a teaching programme
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to set up local, regional and national...
HIV
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a species of lentivirus that can infect humans...
Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell diseases are a disorder of haemoglobin affecting red blood cells. This...
Toxic-megacolon
CT Abdomen & Pelvis Interpretation
In the webinar below, Dr Henry de Boer (radiology registrar) provides a structured...

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