I used to love my books when I was a student and I still do. I loved all books of Obstetrics and Gynecology, because I loved that subject. But I loved two more than others - Operative Gynecology by Munro-Kerr and Practical Obstetric Problems by Ian Donald. They were masterpieces like many others, no doubt. But what made them more enjoyable was that there were stories in them - what people call anecdotes - which left a lasting impression on the reader's mind. I enjoyed anecdotes told by my teachers too. When I became a clinician and a teacher, I started telling my own stories when I taught, and believed they enjoyed my teaching more because of the stories. I even recall an undergrad who had told me that lectures were boring, and teachers should be taught how to make their lectures interesting. So anecdotes must be good for students' learning.
I was teaching the undergrads ectopic pregnancy. I told them a couple of stories, one of which was in my opinion particularly moving and the lesson it taught was very important. It was about a 28 years old woman who was being operated on by the Registrar when I was a Lecturer. She had an unruptured ectopic pregnancy. There was no endoscopic surgery in those days. When he was holding the ectopic pregnancy and the ovary in his hand and was about to remove them both, I told him "remove only the tube, not the ovary." That was important because she needed her ovaries for the hormones they produced.
"Remove the ovary" instructed the Boss, who I believe did it to spite me rather than for any scientific reason.
"Where is the other ovary?" I asked.
"The other side is buried under adhesions. The ovary should be in there somewhere" the Registrar said.
"Remove the ovary" the boss repeated. Since they both wanted to remove the ovary and the Boss had passed her decision to do so, I kept quiet. When we were taking a ward round the next day and reached this patient, the Registrar told us,
"She brought her old case papers. She had undergone an exploration in the past for an ectopic pregnancy, at which time the other tube and ovary had been removed."
There was silence for a few seconds. Then I broke it.
"You have given her surgical menopause at the age of 28 years" I said. The Boss said nothing. The Boss did not learn to take my valid suggestions and continued to act in exactly opposite way for years afterwards, which hurt me because it hurt a lot of patients.
I told the students to remember never to remove the ovary in a case of tubal ectopic pregnancy. It had been in a class of 180 students. I did not know how many of my clinical posting students were present that day. So I asked them the next week if they had attended the lecture. Most of them were noncommittal. Some looked doubtful. So I asked them to tell me the story I had told them during the lecture. Then 4 out of 10 admitted they had been absent, three maintained they were present but did not remember the story, one remembered another thing that happened to him during the lecture, and only one said the story was something about removal of an ovary.
That destroyed my belief that anecdotes made students remember things taught in lectures better.
I was teaching the undergrads ectopic pregnancy. I told them a couple of stories, one of which was in my opinion particularly moving and the lesson it taught was very important. It was about a 28 years old woman who was being operated on by the Registrar when I was a Lecturer. She had an unruptured ectopic pregnancy. There was no endoscopic surgery in those days. When he was holding the ectopic pregnancy and the ovary in his hand and was about to remove them both, I told him "remove only the tube, not the ovary." That was important because she needed her ovaries for the hormones they produced.
"Remove the ovary" instructed the Boss, who I believe did it to spite me rather than for any scientific reason.
"Where is the other ovary?" I asked.
"The other side is buried under adhesions. The ovary should be in there somewhere" the Registrar said.
"Remove the ovary" the boss repeated. Since they both wanted to remove the ovary and the Boss had passed her decision to do so, I kept quiet. When we were taking a ward round the next day and reached this patient, the Registrar told us,
"She brought her old case papers. She had undergone an exploration in the past for an ectopic pregnancy, at which time the other tube and ovary had been removed."
There was silence for a few seconds. Then I broke it.
"You have given her surgical menopause at the age of 28 years" I said. The Boss said nothing. The Boss did not learn to take my valid suggestions and continued to act in exactly opposite way for years afterwards, which hurt me because it hurt a lot of patients.
I told the students to remember never to remove the ovary in a case of tubal ectopic pregnancy. It had been in a class of 180 students. I did not know how many of my clinical posting students were present that day. So I asked them the next week if they had attended the lecture. Most of them were noncommittal. Some looked doubtful. So I asked them to tell me the story I had told them during the lecture. Then 4 out of 10 admitted they had been absent, three maintained they were present but did not remember the story, one remembered another thing that happened to him during the lecture, and only one said the story was something about removal of an ovary.
That destroyed my belief that anecdotes made students remember things taught in lectures better.
