Which diseases, or conditions to study

Airw4ves

Airw4ves

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Hello,

I am currently on summer break, and feel that it is great time for me to get caught up some of the areas which my schooling may have not touched on. For a background, I'm an EMT in Alberta, currently taking my EMT-Paramedics course.
What I am looking to do is create a list of common diseases or conditions which I may come across in the field, and research each of them in order to give myself a better understanding, and awareness of them. Although I may not be required by the school to understand them all, I feel that it is important for me to have knowledge on them, if even to keep in my back pocket.
What I am asking of you guys/gals is to add any which you may have come across, that you feel a (hopefully) future medic should know about.
Thanks in advance!

So far this is my list:
- MS
- Crohns
- Graves
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Alzheimers
- Lou Garrick's
- ALS
- Parkinsons
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Huntington's
- FAS
 
Airw4ves said:
Hello,

I am currently on summer break, and feel that it is great time for me to get caught up some of the areas which my schooling may have not touched on. For a background, I'm an EMT in Alberta, currently taking my EMT-Paramedics course.
What I am looking to do is create a list of common diseases or conditions which I may come across in the field, and research each of them in order to give myself a better understanding, and awareness of them. Although I may not be required by the school to understand them all, I feel that it is important for me to have knowledge on them, if even to keep in my back pocket.
What I am asking of you guys/gals is to add any which you may have come across, that you feel a (hopefully) future medic should know about.
Thanks in advance!

So far this is my list:
- MS
- Crohns
- Graves
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Alzheimers
- Lou Garrick's
- ALS
- Parkinsons
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Huntington's
- FAS
Click to expand...

Lou Gerrigs and ALS are the same.

Bi polar
Munchausen's
Asthma
COPD

Yeah that about sums it up lol
 
Whoops, my bad
Thanks though, never would have thought to add Münchausen's and Bipolar.
 
Start with the stuff you will see most often. Things like Asthma, COPD, HTN, Coronary Artery Disease, Seizures etc. Learn the most common causes of abd pain in various age groups. Learn the most common causes of chest pain. It is good to be familiar with the less common diseases/disorders, but you need to have a good foundation in the stuff you will see the most.
 
Just curious, what are you using for your resource? Google? UpToDate? Something else?
 
I would also give some serious time to psychiatric disorders (some of which have been mentioned already):

-Depression
-Eating disorders (such as bulemia, anorexia, etc)
-Substance abuse
-Schizophrenia

Just to name a few!

Airw4ves said:
Hello,

Although I may not be required by the school to understand them all, I feel that it is important for me to have knowledge on them, if even to keep in my back pocket.
Click to expand...

Also, bravo on this!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Airw4ves said:
Hello,

I am currently on summer break, and feel that it is great time for me to get caught up some of the areas which my schooling may have not touched on. For a background, I'm an EMT in Alberta, currently taking my EMT-Paramedics course.
What I am looking to do is create a list of common diseases or conditions which I may come across in the field, and research each of them in order to give myself a better understanding, and awareness of them. Although I may not be required by the school to understand them all, I feel that it is important for me to have knowledge on them, if even to keep in my back pocket.
What I am asking of you guys/gals is to add any which you may have come across, that you feel a (hopefully) future medic should know about.
Thanks in advance!

So far this is my list:
- MS
- Crohns
- Graves
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Alzheimers
- Lou Garrick's
- ALS
- Parkinsons
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Huntington's
- FAS
Click to expand...

I applaud your motivation to do more than the minimum, but as a student I'd strongly suggest spending your time really mastering the basics: physiology, pharmacology, and whatever (primarily acute) disease processes that your curriculum covers.

Really master the basics now, and when you are done with school you'll have a good foundation and plenty of time to expand on our own.
 
Perhaps I miss-worded my post. Basically Im looking to get an overview of each. Im not really concerned with current treatments and how exactly each affect the body at this stage. More so that if a patient says "I have _____" I can go "Oh, thats has an effect on _____ so that _____ they are doing is normal"

I have plans to look at more common ones in a lot more depth in the coming weeks. Im working industrial for the summer, so I have quite a bit of time to study.
 
As for where I am getting my information from. Most I am getting from their respective organizations websites. Ie. mssociety.ca
 
Cardiovascular disease is a great subject, as Aidey stated, CAD is good too.
 
Airw4ves said:
Perhaps I miss-worded my post. Basically Im looking to get an overview of each. Im not really concerned with current treatments and how exactly each affect the body at this stage. More so that if a patient says "I have _____" I can go "Oh, thats has an effect on _____ so that _____ they are doing is normal"
Click to expand...


Rapid Review of Pathology, while a bit overkill (common review book for medical students), pretty much has exactly what you're looking for.

http://www.amazon.com/Rapid-Review-Pathology-Revised-Reprint/dp/0323084389
 
Thanks for all the help and suggestions
I have researched all the things I needed, and will definitely be doing some further review and reading on the more major conditions I will see.
:D
 
These are diseases that are either common and nice to know about or because they have relevant sequelae/ mimic serious problem. Certainly not exhaustive.

Chronic pain
Diverticular disease
Cancer- side affects of treatments, common complications, ESP febrile neutropenia.
ID - hep c, HIV, TB, meningococcal disease, MRSA, VRE, other 'super bugs'.
Septic arthritis
Cellulitis
The various cardiomyopathies
Cystic fibrosis
A really solid understanding of A-fib outside of ACLS rubbish.
Liver failure complications especially hepatic encephalopathy.
Renal failure dialysis issues.
Sinus node dysfunction.
Ankylosing spondylitis
Hypothyroidism
The various common substance dependants issues and common health problems caused by them.
Dementia
Post-hermetic neuralgia.
Disk prolapse
Cauda equina
 
Become an absolute expert on the common stuff first, like asthma, copd, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, CAD and all of the PATCH4MD reversible causes. Then really study the pediatric illnesses like croup and epiglotitis. Seriously, become an expert in those and you will learn everything else as you go.

Also, I would start using something like skillstat.com to start memorizing basic rhythms. It will help you when you're starting to learn to analyze them.
 
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