Welcome to my new blog series where we dive into the art of clinical thinking through real-world case scenarios.
Each post begins with a snapshot of a patient encounter—just like you’d face in a hospital or outpatient clinic. Your task? Think through it with me. Use your instincts, challenge your biases, and sharpen your reasoning.
🔍 What’s This Series About?
This series is built for:
- 🔰 Medical students preparing for clinical rotations or OSCEs
- 👨⚕️ Junior doctors sharpening diagnostic skills
- 🌍 Non-native English speakers learning clinical English through real case formats
🧠 What You’ll Practice
- Initial impression building
- Structured thinking using “VITAMIN CDE” approach
- Constructing problem lists
- Semantic qualifiers in clinical notes
- Common traps and clinical pearls
💡 How to Read Each Case
- Doorway Information
→ Just like seeing a chart or listening to a brief in the ER. - Initial Impression
→ Before hearing the story, what’s your gut feeling? - History & Physical
→ Think step-by-step, like a real consultation. - Differential Diagnosis & Reflection
→ Pause. What fits best? What could you be missing? - Structured Patient Note
→ Learn to document clearly, with clinical logic.
📚 Who This Is For
This isn’t about guessing the “correct” diagnosis.
It’s about training your clinical brain to think broadly, flexibly, and thoroughly. Whether you’re aiming for OET, USMLE, or clinical practice, these cases give you space to reason like a real clinician.
🩺 First Case Is Out Now!
Nighttime shortness of breath…
Saturation that drops when sitting up, but improves when lying down.
Sounds strange?
➡️ Check out the first case: “Nighttime Dyspnea with Positional Desaturation”
And tell me—what do you think is going on?
Let’s train like real doctors do—one thoughtful case at a time.