Dermatology is a broad specialty, encompassing patients from young to old, medicine to surgery, biochemistry and physics to healthcare delivery research and epidemiology. There is a lot to remember!
Electronic record systems, MEDLINE and Google are helpful tools for accessing information. Mnemonics are simple tools that can help as well. Acronyms are one of the most popular learning devices used in dermatology. A good acronym should result in a word or words that are tied to the condition/issue; an acronym unrelated to the issue at hand may be as hard to remember as the issue itself. Consider the mnemonic CA2B3S for recalling the factors for the severity of illness assessment score for TEN/SJS (SCORTEN scale):
What does CA2B3S have to do with TEN/SJS? The use of superscripts adds to the difficulty of recall. Simplifying the acronym and having an acronym that is related to characteristics of the disease facilitates information retrieval. While the older acronym suggested how to recall the specific values, its inclusion in this learning device clouds the intention of recalling the criteria topics. Mnemonics should be used to retrieve the big picture information quickly, and the details can come afterwards.
Searches for memorable acronyms may yield many unrelated words, like the one above. These can easily be readjusted to a relevant acronym by using a scrabble approach. There are online websites such as scrabblecheat.com where a random assortment of letters can be submitted to produce a list of possible words (a far better use of the site than cheating at Scrabble). Words most relevant to the disease process should be selected as the new acronym. This process allows better recall due to the word’s newfound applicability and is reinforced by the creation process itself.
While acronyms are a favorite, there are times when one of the words in the recall list does not have a vowel or there is not a relevant word that can be formed. This is when phonetic mnemonics can come into play. The following is an example for the treatment of Mycobacteria marinum:
Using words that sounds similar to create a coherent sentence can aid in recall, but bolding the phonetic similarity can reinforce it more by combining visual and auditory learning. New information (Clarithromycin in the example) should not be first introduced in the side notes, but instead added into the mnemonic. Adding extra information without it being in the learning device makes the material cumbersome and defeats the purpose of using one.
The variations and vastness of dermatologic mnemonics may deter their use. However, these should not be used for everything being learned throughout residency and continued medical education. Mnemonics should be sought out as an aid for lists of information that just won’t stick. To dispel the notion that dermatologic mnemonics are more difficult to recall than the original information, mnemonics need to be more succinct and relevant to the topic it is covering. Rightly created and used, mnemonics can greatly enhance recall of complicated material.
Reference
- Dermatology O. Dermatology mneumonic database. 2010–2015 ed 2010–2015:2. Available from http://osuderm.org/Mnemonics.aspx. Accessed October 4, 2015