Clinical correlations was easily one of my favorite courses of didactic year, as I was able to apply what I had learned in the classroom into realistic, patient-based scenarios. Starting the first semester of the course was nerve racking, as I felt nervous to participate in fear of saying the wrong thing or giving the wrong answer. However, it didn’t take long for that anxiety to fade. The professors created a supportive learning environment and consistently provided thoughtful feedback without judgement. This helped me gain confidence and engage more actively in discussions.

Throughout Clinical Correlations I to II, I learned to approach patients more holistically rather than focusing narrowly on a single organ system. A patient’s chief complaint cannot be evaluated in isolation and must be interpreted within the context of their demographics, past medical history, medications, family history, etc. During the first semester, I often centered my thinking solely on the presenting symptom and asked myself broad questions, such as “What can cause this?” or “What disease state presents with these symptoms? While these questions can be a helpful starting point, they did not always lead to clinically meaningful reasoning. Maybe I had been right about the diagnosis, but I found myself struggle in explaining why. As the course progressed, I learned to ask more targeted, patient specific questions that guided my thought process, such as “Given this patient’s age and comorbidities, what diagnoses are most likely?” or “Are there any medications that may have caused these symptoms?” This allowed me to explain my reasoning rather than just list differentials without demonstrating how I arrived at them.

Clinical correlations has also allowed me to gain more experience with research, using resources such as Up-To-Date and Access Medicine. The course pushed me to go beyond surface level knowledge and seek current guidelines and literature focused around my assessment. In addition, it significantly improved my public speaking skills. Prior to the course, presenting in front of a group made me uncomfortable, but over time I became confident in presenting my research and cases to the group and answering any questions that arose. Something that I can always improve on is articulating my thought process clearly.

One area in which I wish I had more exposure is the delivery of bad news to a patient and/or their families. While I have had the opportunities to observe providers navigate these conversations during clinical rotations, I recognize that being present is different from actively participating. Moving forward, I hope to gain more hands-on experience and practice these skills so I am able to communicate with empathy and professionalism during these emotionally challenging times for patients and their loved ones.