BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE MEDICAL LECTURE

1. BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN PREPARING AN EFFECTIVE MEDICAL LECTURE PATRICK DUFF, M.D. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES • To describe the key features of an effective medical lecture • To describe the essential steps in preparing a well organized slide show and written syllabus

3. OVERVIEW • Selecting a topic • Preparing a written syllabus • Preparing slides • Making the presentation

4. CAVEAT • “We made too many wrong mistakes.”

5. THE MEDICAL LECTURESELECTING THE TOPIC • Should be of general interest to the audience not just to the speaker • Should be at the appropriate level of sophistication

6. THE MEDICAL LECTURESELECTING THE TOPIC • The most difficult audience to please is the "mixed audience" • Students • Faculty • Nurses • Physicians from different specialties

7. THE MEDICAL LECTURESELECTING THE TOPIC • Aim the presentation at the "majority" • Address unique situations that may affect the "minority"

8. THE MEDICAL LECTURESELECTING THE TOPIC • Presentation should be amenable to review in the allotted time • 30 minutes is ideal • 50 minutes is too long for an audience of clinicians (or students), even for the most attentive listener Wow, is the lecture over already?

9. THE MEDICAL LECTUREOPTIONS FOR THE WRITTEN SYLLABUS • “Bare bones” outline • Detailed outline • Monograph • Reproduction of slides • Slides plus text

10. THE MEDICAL LECTUREESSENTIAL SLIDES • Title slide • Learning objectives • Overview • Conclusions

11. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Major heading • Subheading • Text lines

12. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Offset each item with a bullet rather than a Roman numeral or letter

13. THE MEDICAL LECTURE SLIDE FORMAT • Use numerals only if numerical order is important • Example – the ABCs of CPR • Example – the most common cancers in women, in descending order of frequency

14. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Limit script on each line and number of lines on each slide so that the slide is easily visible from the back of a larger conference room

15. THE MEDICAL LECTURE“TOO MUCH” MATERIAL ON SLIDE • Criteria for the diagnosis of severe pre-eclampsia • BP > 160 mm Hg • BP > 110 mm Hg • CNS hyperexcitability • Visual changes • Headache • Pulmonary edema • IUGR • Thombocytopenia • Abnormal liver function tests • Oliguria

16. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Choose appropriate colors for the background and text so that the bullets and script are easily visible and the text reproduces uniformly

17. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT – BAD EXAMPLE • Be wary of color choices • Be wary of color choices • Some color combinations may not be easily visible • Some color combinations may not be easily visible

18. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Choose appropriate size lettering – especially when your lecture will be presented in a large room • Do not use font size < 28

19. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT - EXAMPLE • This script is too small • This script is too big • This script is probably just right

20. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Limit the number of narrative text slides to approximately 1 to 1.5 per minute • Proofread slides carefully

21. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • When you do not proofred yur slides carfully, you create the impression of hapharzardniss in your approash to science

22. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Use graphs, pie charts, and tabular summaries in lieu of narrative text when appropriate • Be certain that graphs and tables are labeled correctly and that they are easily visible

23. HIV INFECTIONRISK OF PERINATAL TRANSMISSION

24. HIV INFECTIONEPIDEMIOLOGY IN WOMEN

25. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Avoid use of complicated tables and figures • You should not have to apologize for a "busy slide“ because you should not show it in the first place

26. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Be wary of flash over substance

27. THE MEDICAL LECTURESLIDE FORMAT • Provide citations for key studies • Include pertinent clinical materials • Sonogram • MRI or CT scan • Anatomic specimen

28. CLINICAL MATERIALEXAMPLE

29. CLINICAL MATERIALEXAMPLE

30. PREPARING FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Be certain of the operation of the projector, remote control, and pointer • Be certain of interfaces • Computer projector • Flash drive computer • Versions of power point

31. PREPARING FOR THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Rehearse • Rehearse • Rehearse Goal = perfect practice

32. SURVEYING THE CONFERENCE ROOM • Review controls for room lights • Determine optimal lighting • Set comfortable room temperature

33. SURVEYING THE CONFERENCE ROOM • Insure that adequate seating is available – especially for late arrivals • Eliminate distracting noises such as pagers, cell phones, voices in adjacent rooms, and background music

34. MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Dress in an appropriate manner for the event • Stand erect

35. MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Speak at an appropriate rate and volume • Maintain eye contact • Do not continuously face the screen

36. MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Be appropriately formal but not at the expense of spontaneity • Avoid distracting mannerisms

37. MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Hold the pointer steady • Illuminate the device only when pointing at a specific feature of the slide • Do not wave the pointer haphazardly

38. MAKING THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Elicit interaction with the audience whenever possible

39. MAKING THE PRESENTATION HUMOROUS SLIDES • Must always be in good taste • Must be relevant to the subject

40. MAKING THE PRESENTATION HUMOROUS SLIDES • Use humor to make an important point • If humor alone is the point, do not use the slide

41. ANTIBIOTICSCEPHALOSPORINS

42. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF POSTOPERATIVE INFECTION

43. MAKING THE PRESENTATIONPODIUM AND MICROPHONE • Positioning of the podium • Fixed microphone • Portable microphone

44. MAKING THE PRESENTATIONRESPONSE TO QUESTIONS • Written vs oral • Repeat the question so that all can hear

45. EVALUATING THE PRESENTATION“AFTER ACTION” ASSESSMENT • Immediately evaluate your presentation • Correct obvious errors • Reassess when you receive your formal evaluation and then further modify the presentation

46. THE MEDICAL LECTURECONCLUSIONS • Select an appropriate topic • ADHERE TO THE TIME LIMIT • Follow the written outline • Prepare attractive slides

47. THE MEDICAL LECTURECONCLUSIONS • Rehearse the presentation • Maximize the ambient environment • Engage the audience • ADHERE TO THE TIME LIMIT !

48. THE MEDICAL LECTURECONCLUSIONS • Be at peace with the fact that you cannot please everyone no matter how hard you try