Primary Cast

Renal failure, diabetes and thyroid storm! Jacqui Downey joins me for this 2-in-1 episode covering all the key elements of renal/endo pathology. Some of these questions are from waaaay back so take them with a grain of salt (no renal pun intended).  

Jacqui is an awesome human being who navigates work-life balance in a way that is inspiring. We had a lot of fun recording this one and I hope you enjoy it. Nearly finished the content now! If there is something extra you want to hear please email me at charlottedurand@icloud.com or message me on Twitter/insta. 

Vertebrae, triangles and the larynx! Dr Susan Lammi joins Primary Cast to chat about all the things in the neck and spine. For this topic make sure you have looked at the anatomy photographs of the triangles of the neck & the anterior neck dissection. It is also essential to have looked at the airway models and be able to describe what you see as well as be able to identify which vertebral bone you have been handed. 

As always, the transcript and other notes are available online.
Please consider supporting the podcast buy buying a coffee on the website. 

Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and all kinds of antagonists! Dr. Sarah Oldfield sits down with me to cover the nitty gritty basics of pharm. These example answers are ones that I learned for the viva and are based on old questions and marking keys. Don't get tripped up by the different types of graphs that people use - just pick one style and go for it. 

In the episode we chat about Derange Physiology, the CICM Exam website by Dr Alex Yartsev. If you haven't seen the website yet then definitely check it out here as there is a lot of crossover between the two primary exams and I really like his pharmacology sections. 

Digestion, absorption and ALL the pancreatic enzymes. Dr Lou Gabauer takes a break from her rollerskating career to help me navigate the physiology of the GIT activities. 

Don't forget to check out the website for the show transcript and a copy of my own study notes for this topic. While you are there you can support the pod and/or send thanks via buying a coffee :) 

Thanks to everyone who keeps sharing this resource with trainees studying for the Primary Exam. 

Asthma, asbestos and ALLLL the pneumonias. Yes! Primary Cast is BACK after a hiatus where your host has been having a bit of downtime and living the locum life. I am hoping to get a few more episodes up in the lead in to the November Vivas so...watch this space. The incredibly lovely Dr. Issie O'Conor joins me on this episode to cover Resp Physiology.

Also - this episode is actually SPONSORED (I know, how cool is that?) by the fantastic team at BluGibbon Medical Recruitment. BluGibbon is actually my locum company that I've been working with this year and they reached out to offer to sponsor the pod. You might not know but it costs money every month for me to host these episodes online and also to maintain the website. It is not a very lucrative business so the support is really appreciated. If you decide to locum sometime after sitting these exams, have a look at them because they are excellent at ED placements and if you let them know you found them through Primary Cast, they might sponsor some more episodes.
Find out more about them at https://www.blugibbon.com.au/

If you'd like to support the podcast, you can buy me a coffee here 

The liver, ureters and branches of the aorta! Dr. David Monks joins me for episode 24 to chat about SUPER HIGH YIELD things that exist in the abdomen & pelvis. I've worked to condense a relatively massive topic into some streamlined but hard hitting questions with all the details in there. Anatomy is such an image heavy topic - so I have put a heap of pics of my notes on the episode webpage including some of the images we talk about during this episode. 

Insulin, thyroid drugs and all the magic of corticosteroids! For this episode Dr. Hannah Walravens joins me after a nightshift to go through some details of pharmacology. This is a small but mighty topic as these are some of the most common drugs we prescribe in the ED.

You can find out more about Hannah and her elite Quidditch (!!)  by following her on Twitter  @hannahwalravens

As usual, please send me your feedback/comments/questions via the website or via Twitter & don't forget to donate 5 bucks to Primary Cast to help keep it online via www.buymeacoffee.com/PrimaryCast

Wound healing, hypersensitivity and paraneoplastic syndromes. Look... it's a pretty dry episode but you have to know it for the exam so here we are. I'm joined by the wonderful Dr. Weeda Beg to go through some of those questions that are just really hard to get motivated for.  Hypersensitivity and paraneoplastic syndromes come up ALL the time in the viva so this is not one to miss. 

Thyroid hormones, calcium homeostasis and more feedback loops than any of us know what to do with. Dr Nick Lelos is back for another round, adding his trademark historical tidbits to the session on endo physiology.  Yes, this episode has come out quicker than usual because I'm trying to get some extra ones out there before the viva in May! 

If you appreciate the podcast and find it useful, please consider supporting via https://www.buymeacoffee.com/primarycast

As usual, you can find the study notes online at https://www.acemprimarypodcast.com/episode21

Orbits, neck triangles and more foramina than you can handle...Dr. Sophie Richards is in the podcast studio to discuss all things head and neck anatomy.  Another HUGE topic and one that I found particularly challenging. Listen to the end to find out which of these questions literally brought me to tears, then learn how to answer it!

Study notes are available at https://www.acemprimarypodcast.com/episode20 and include ALL my hand drawn stuff from these weeks.

Don't forget you can now support the podcast at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/primarycast :) 

It happens to most of us at some point in our careers, but what is it actually like to fail the Primary Exam? The enigmatic Dr. Sarah Stewart was kind enough to join me on this episode to discuss her experience failing the MCQ. We discuss how she navigated the path to re-sitting as well as some of the mental gymnastics that goes along with that. Sarah is the kind of person you want in your corner when life is not going how you planned it, so this is essentially the pep talk we all need right now. For those who have failed, who know someone who has failed or who just need some reassurance that everything will come out in the wash. 

Action potentials, neurotransmitters and nystagmus! Dr. Aruna Shivam is back for Episode 18 to chat about her favourite subject. We cover all of the 'must know' bits as well as a few of the more obscure but still possible questions from this area. I also give an update on how you can help support the podcast in order to keep it online as a free resource - check out more at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/primarycast

Staph, Strep and maybe even COVID...? Josh is BACK to cover the infectious diseases section of pathology. Most of these questions are about pathogenesis, clinical features and outcomes. There are quite a few 'regulars' in this topic - that is, many of these questions have come up across multiple years. We also reckon that the structure and clinical features of COVID might be far game within the next few years given *all of this* going on right now. 
Check out the transcript and study notes from this episode at https://www.acemprimarypodcast.com/episode17

Ibuprofen, paracetamol and fentanyl! Dr. Shireen Gujral joins me today to discuss some pharmacology. This is Shireen's second visit to the podcast after joining me back in episode 8.
It's a bit of a shorter one this time around because it's the week before the exam and I'm sure everyone's attention span is waning. You might hear that we kept in a bit more from the recording than I had originally intended...because who needs to take themselves too seriously these days? I hope it brings you all a bit of a laugh and some comfort in the week leading up to the exam.
Keep up the good work and don't forget to be kind to yourself. - Charlotte :)
Find the study notes for this topic on the blog at https://www.acemprimarypodcast.com/episode16

Menisci, cruciate ligaments and the muscles of the leg! Dr. Anna Morgan is back for the long awaited (at least by me) second instalment of Lower Limb Anatomy. Despite my persisting inability to say 'fibula trochlear' as part of an answer, we managed to get this one done just in time for those sitting their vivas this month.  

Hepatitis, cholecystitis and ischaemic gut! Episode 14 is jam-packed full of high yield path that is not only super relevant for the exam but is also kind of handy for your clinical life, too. I was joined by the effervescent & charming Dr. Kristian Heise, who divides his time between being an emergency registrar, an obstetric registrar and a fabulous 70's DJ at all our parties. 

For the transcript and study notes from this episode visit https://www.acemprimarypodcast.com/episode14

Please leave a review if you enjoy the podcast :) 

Blood pressure, ECGs and the cardiac cycle! For this episode I am joined by Dr. Nicola Pearson, an ACEM trainee who has passed her primaries and is currently rotating to ICU. There are a few important diagrams to know in this topic so don't forget to check out the study notes on the website at https://www.acemprimarypodcast.com/episode13

Great vessels, lungs and the thoracic inlet! For episode 12 I am joined by Dr. Aruna Shivam to  cover all the big topics from the bones, vessels, muscles and organs of the thorax. These come up so often, so you really have to have these ready to go without having to think about them. The images we reference in the episode can be found in the study notes. 

Local anaesthetics, nitrous and ketamine! Dr Nick Lelos joins me to discuss all things neuro pharmacology. Nick is an ED registrar who is interested in trauma, speaks multiple languages and reckons studying for the primary is worse than learning Russian. Go figure. As usual, the transcript from this show can be found on the website as well as my own study notes from when I covered this topic for my primary exam.  
Episode web page:  https://www.acemprimarypodcast.com/episode11

Have you ever wondered what your examiner is thinking? Well, luckily for you my guest for episode 10 is Dr. Nadi Pandithage, an ACEM examiner, emergency consultant (FACEM) and all around wonderful human being. She gives a great talk to the Darwin primary cohort about how to answer questions in a way that gets you the most marks in the shortest period of time. I LOVED this talk and so I asked her to join me for an episode so I can help her share these lessons with more candidates. Nadi would love to hear your feedback, so please leave a comment or review I can pass on to her.