Can you guess a disease in 60 seconds? What goes spinning through your head?
In a recent video by popular medical content creator Medschoolbro, students are challenged to diagnose a patient’s condition in just 60 seconds. The interactive format has quickly gained attention among medical students eager to sharpen their clinical reasoning skills under pressure.
The video opens with a scenario: a 45-year-old woman presenting with episodes of dizziness and hearing loss. Medschoolbro invites a fellow student, Jake, to diagnose the condition in under a minute. As Jake works through the case, viewers are encouraged to think along and test their own knowledge in real time.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis
Jake starts by ruling out cardiac or syncopal episodes, asking whether the patient experienced a loss of consciousness. After confirming there was none, he shifts focus to the nature of the dizziness. The patient describes true vertigo, prompting Jake to consider central nervous system causes, such as ischemic events. However, the absence of CNS symptoms like nystagmus or dysarthria leads him down a different path.
As Jake continues, he investigates the possibility of tinnitus, which the patient confirms. With this symptom in mind, he rules out conditions such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and infections like otitis media or upper respiratory tract infections based on further questioning.
Finally, Jake pieces together the classic triad of episodic vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus—leading him to confidently diagnose Meniere’s disease, a disorder of the inner ear.
Why Medical Students Love This Format
Medschoolbro’s rapid-fire approach to diagnosing conditions resonates with students because it mirrors the high-pressure situations they’ll face in clinical settings. By working through the case in a structured, logical manner, Jake demonstrates how to apply textbook knowledge to real-world scenarios, all while staying calm under the clock.
