Preparation for the Board Exams

Preparation for the Board Exams 

Last few weeks can be a stressful time for all students–I know it used to be for me. Knowing how to properly prepare is the key to avoiding stress and acing not only in Forensic Medicine but in every single paper.

1. Plan your study, give enough time:- Don't leave it until the last minute. While some students do seem to thrive on last-minute 'cramming', it's widely accepted that  this is not the best way to approach an exam. Set out a timetable for your study.

2. Condense your study material, use flow charts and diagrams:- Visual aids can be really helpful when revising. Closer to the exam, condense your revision notes, getting your ideas down in brief format can then help you to quickly recall everything you need to know during the exam.

3. Practice on old exams-question papers (at least of past 10 years):- One of the most effective ways to prepare for exams is to practice taking past versions. This helps you get used to the format of the questions, know the instructions that might be given to you in question paper and---if you time yourself---can also be good practice for making sure you spend the right amount of time on each question.  

Pictures might be asked in theory as well as viva, try to get exposed to as many pictures as you can. You can get few here at this link---- Forensic-Medicine Pictures  OR go to this-------- http://www.pinterest.com/abhishekkarn/forensic-medicine/

MEDICAL ETHICS

MEDICAL ETHICS

Dr. Abhishek Karn

Dept. of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology

·      Medical service is the most humane of all the services to humanity.

·      Ethics is the understanding of moral values.

·      Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. It deals with the moral principles which should guide members of the medical profession in their dealings with each other, their patients and the State.

·      A common framework used in the analysis of medical ethics is the "4 principles" approach postulated by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress which are to be judged and weighed against each other, with attention given to the scope of their application.

·      The 4 principles are:

1.  Respect for autonomy - the patient has the right to refuse or choose their treatment.

2.  Beneficence - a practitioner should act in the best interest of the patient.

3.  Non-maleficence - "first, do no harm"

4. Justice - concerns the distribution of scarce health resources, and the decision of who gets what treatment (fairness and equality).

Other values that are sometimes discussed include:

1.  Respect for persons - the patient (and the person treating the patient) have the right to be treated with dignity.

2.  Truthfulness and honesty - (Informed Consent--refers to the idea that a person must be fully informed about and understand the potential benefits and risks of their choice of treatment. An uninformed person is at risk of mistakenly making a choice not reflective of his or her values or wishes. It does not specifically mean the process of obtaining consent, or the specific legal requirements, which vary from place to place, for capacity to consent. Patients can elect to make their own medical decisions, or can delegate decision-making authority to another party. The value of informed consent is closely related to the values of autonomy and truth telling.

TORTURE

TORTURE

Dr. Abhishek Karn

Asst. Professor

Dept. of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, UCMS

Torture of human beings is as old as human race itself. 

In order to increase influence over others, strong human beings have always beaten the weak folk.

Reasons for torture can include punishment, revenge, political re-education, interrogation or coercion of the victim or a third party.

It is considered to be a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The U.N. convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment has defined torture as:

“Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or third person has committed or is suspected to have committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.”

Aircraft Crashes & Disaster Planning

Aircraft Crashes & Disaster Planning

                                                                                                                  Dr. Abhishek Karn

Since 1949 - the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal - there have been more than 70 different crashes involving planes and helicopters, in which more than 700 people have been killed….. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26222528)

The Nepali skies saw 65 air mishaps in the last two decades…..

Aircraft accident

Defined as an occurrence that is associated with the operation of an aircraft and takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with intention of flight and such time as all such persons have disembarked and the engine/s or any propellers or rotors come to rest, being an occurrence in which:

·         a person is fatally or seriously injured

·         the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure

·         the aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible.

Serious Injury means any injury that is sustained by a person in an accident and that:

·         requires hospitalisation for >48 hours, commencing from within 7 days from the date of injury; or

·         results in the # of any bone, (except simple #s of fingers, toes); or

·         involves lacerations, severe haemorrhage, nerve/muscle/tendon damage; or

·         involves injury to an internal organ; or

·         involves 2^nd / 3^rd degree burns, or any burns affecting >5% of the body surface; or

·         involves verified exposure to infectious substances/injurious radiation.

Should civil aircraft carry systems that would detect an incoming surface to air missile???

Of all the tragedies in a war, the most unfortunate is the loss of innocent lives. We see the human drama played out nightly in the conflicts between Russian separatists in the Ukraine, and elements of Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip, not to mention plenty of other places throughout the world. A certain degree of innocent suffering is expected for those who live in the area of the conflict, but rarely does it reach into the skies to affect those who have nothing to do with the war below.