Tag Archives: physical exam skills

Short Coat Podcast

Med Students Check Out the Undercarriage

Audio October 29, 2026 Dave Etler

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Podcast (video): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:21 — 8.8GB)

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[Content warning: this episode contains frank discussions of male anatomy exams]

It’s 12:15, the exam is at 3:30, and one student is deciding which fingernails will be sacrificed

The M2s are just hours away from their Penis, Scrotum, and Rectum teaching sessions. Lillian Schmidt, Asmi Patel, Melia Patrick, and Mukund Viswanadha join Dave and last-minute guest Audra King to discuss this important (but a bit awkward) lesson involving paid patient instructors who bare it all in the service of our students’ learning this important physical exam skill. Also, the other things we’re still learning, like left verses right, brown is really dark orange, American Sign Language–a class Audra started for the med students–and our poorly-led and played game of Imposter.

Housekeeping note: the video version of the show is now available on Apple Podcasts! Check it out.

Episode credits:

Producer: Dave Etler
Co-hosts: Melia Patrick, Lillian Schmidt, Asmi Patel, Mukund Viswanadha
Guest: Audra King
Production: SCP Media Lab–Anna Royer, Cyrus Barati, Isa Perez-Sandi, Zach Grissom, Sarah Upton, Srishti Mathur, David Lee, and Jacob Thompson

01:49 — The PSR session
03:14 — How do M2s feel about doing a genital and rectal exam on real patient instructors?
08:43 — Fun fact: rectal exam simulators have adjustable sphincter tension, and that’s necessary.
15:00 — What is it like to be colorblind (and is brown really just dark orange)?
19:36 — What languages do we speak, and how do you say “welcome back”?
25:17 — How did a medical ASL group start at Carver College of Medicine?
30:40 — GAME! Imposter

The views and opinions expressed on this podcast belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa, the Carver College of Medicine, or the State of Iowa. All discussions are intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Nothing said on this podcast should be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any medical condition. Always seek qualified professional guidance for personal decisions.

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Short Coat Podcast

From Perfect Plans to Grease Fires: The Med School Spectrum

Audio May 1, 2025 Dave Etler

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Behind the façade lies chaos, confidence, and occasional kitchen fires.

What do med and PA students really think about their lives? We check the vibes. Jeff Goddard (M3), Kim Fairhead (M1), Gabbi Bullard (PA1), and Annie Dotzler (PA1) for a game that checks med student experiences on their vibes. The group tackles the truth about reflex hammer skills, confessing to the internal chaos that underlies a fake-it-till-you-make-it confidence during physical exams. Annie and Gabby share their structured yet surprisingly “vibes-based” approach to studying before exams, complete with coffee-shop meetups and rapid-fire knowledge exchange. Meanwhile, Annie’s meal prep aspirations take a dramatic turn when studying fatigue leads to an actual kitchen fire. The conversation weaves through medical curriculum frustrations, the evolution of study techniques from pre-clinical to clinical years, and the underlying question of whether we’re just “hallucinating large language models” ourselves.

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The Short Coat Podcast is FeedSpot’s Top Iowa Student Podcast, and its Top Iowa Medical Podcast! Thanks for listening!

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Short Coat Podcast

Hacks to Build Patient Rapport In An Instant

Audio May 26, 2022 Dave Etler

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How medical students learn to start off patient interactions on the right foot

Short Coat Listener Josh wrote in to share some hacks he uses to get grumpy patients on his side the moment he walks into the exam room.
Co-hosts Jessica, Aline, Hannah, and Riley share their own techniques on managing those first few seconds of the patient visit.
Plus, many tangents along those lines, such as when not to use ‘quips’ and humor with patients and bosses.

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Short Coat Podcast

Real, and Fake, Research Day

Audio April 20, 2017 Dave Etler

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public health photo — Photo by Arenamontanus

We’ve got a crowd of M1s in the house rapidly approaching the end of their first year. This past week, Kylie Jade Miller, Levi Endelman, Adam Erwood, and new co-host Irene Morcuende took their physical exam skills practical exam; and they discussed some research they did at the intersections of medical and society–the public health implications of the American-as-apple-pie cycle of incarceration, the effects of Medicare expansion have had on access to mental healthcare, what happens when substance abuse sufferers are offered clean needle and Narcan, and whether taxing sugary drinks have an effect on obesity. Dave, seeing an opportunity to torture his co-hosts, put them through a Pop Quiz: can they discern if the research he presents to them is real or from the depths of Dave’s mind? Kylie uses the occasion to let her secret gunner out. Listeners, we offer free advice! Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime, or email us at theshortoats@gmail.com.

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Short Coat Podcast

‘Fake Patients’ and Students: a Meeting of the Minds

November 13, 2013 Dave Etler

Few students like exams. That probably wasn’t close-to-mind when, in 1999, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredits medical colleges, decreed that the Carver College of Medicine would incorporate clinical skills assessment into the curriculum. Then, in 2004, the National Board of Medical Examiners began using the Step II Clinical Skills test as part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. This Step, one of the three that seeks to ensure students are becoming competent doctors, required students to demonstrate their clinical skills on live actors. These actors played standardized roles so that the examination results would be meaningful.

So it was that the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and MD programs across the country, created the Performance-Based Assessment Program. The PBA program was charged with preparing third-year students for this new exam. They did this the exact same way the NBME did it: by hiring actors to portray patients with various complaints to test what third- and fourth-year students had learned about interviewing such patients.

Since then the program has grown tremendously. Now they don’t just test medical students, but they teach them as well. Things like general physical exam skills, PE skills specific to male and female patients, communication skills, and a lot more.

On this episode, students Cole Cheney, Senuri Jayatilleka, Michael Zhang, and Keenan Laraway joined simulated patients JC Luxton and Mary Nell Jackson meet for a little debate and an exchange of views on their roles as students and ‘fake patients.’

Listen to Episode 026 – Who Are These People, Anyway? Simulated Patients and Students.

The opinions expressed in this feed and podcast are not those of the University of Iowa or the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.