Why vancomycin is not the answer
As I tutor of medical students I have noticed a few trends. I wanted to share just one of them today. Specifically I want to talk about a very specific antibiotic that many students think is the answer for so many infectious disease questions. That antibiotic is vancomycin. Now, just to clarify, I am not shaming anyone for not knowing. On the contrary, I want to help you to understand the right times to use vancomycin, so that you can get those pesky MCQ questions correct. Mo

Is that a normal EKG tracing?
When I was studying for the Step 1 I remember how much time I spent on memorizing pathology, biochemistry, and genetics. I spent hardly any time on minor areas such as biostatistics, EKGs (Electrocardiograms), and heart sounds. Now I did make the socially isolating decision early in university to minor in math, so I always felt comfortable with statistics. When it came to EKGs I was more looking for all those First Aid buzzwords like “saw tooth waves.” EKG’s are important not