Writing
In the following post I try to understand whether the Casper test is accurate, what the AAMC PREview exam is actually asking, how situational judgement tests (SJTs) influence medical-school admissions, and whether a number from either test means much about a future doctor Casper and PREview are not miniature residency interviews and they are not […]
Read more →In the following post I try to understand why retrieving an answer changes memory more than seeing it again, why Anki is revered in the pre-med and med student community, what its FSRS scheduler is estimating, whether reviewing cards on a treadmill helps, and what exam research actually proves active recall and spaced repetition solve […]
Read more →In the following post I try to understand what that range does at the receptor and signaling level, how coffee differs from isolated caffeine, what frontier caffeine research shows about the gut–brain axis and neuroprotection, and learn about withdrawal Caffeine isn’t a direct energy source or a conventional dopamine-releasing stimulant; at ordinary dietary exposure, it’s […]
Read more →A skeletal muscle is controlled through motor units. Each motor unit contains one lower motor neuron and the muscle fibers supplied by its axon. The CNS changes muscle force by recruiting more units and changing how frequently recruited units fire. A rough model is: $$ \text{descending + sensory input} \rightarrow \text{alpha motor-neuron spikes} \rightarrow \text{muscle-fiber […]
Read more →A TENS unit is a battery, waveform generator, current-control circuit, and a few electrodes. It sends pulsed current through the skin to recruit nearby nerve fibers. The goal is not to repair a strained muscle, realign a joint, or remove inflammation. It is to change the neural traffic associated w/ pain. A rough model is: […]
Read more →A pulse oximeter does not directly count oxygen molecules, measure the partial pressure of oxygen, or sample arterial blood. It sends red and infrared light through tissue, extracts the part of the optical signal that changes with each pulse, and maps that signal through an empirical calibration curve. A rough model is: $$ \text{red/IR transmission} […]
Read more →Triage is not just “who looks sickest” but rather a real-time decision system w/ asymmetric risk The ED has to make a first routing decision before it has the full chart, labs, imaging, response to treatment, or a true differential diagnosis. At its core triage is risk estimation under incomplete information. A reasonable technical def […]
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