*This episode was recorded before the extraordinary circumstances caused by covid-19* On this week's episode the panel are joined again by medical school expert David Brill, as they discuss how to approach practical exams and manage nerves, as well as their OSCE disaster stories Our expert guest David Brill is an FY2 doctor in London. He successfully navigated studying medicine as a graduate with young children and wrote a book about how to survive medical school "Making a Medic: The Ultimate Guide to Medical School."

This episode was recorded before the extraordinary circumstances caused by covid-19* On this week's episode the panel are joined by medical school expert David Brill to discuss all things written exams - preparation in the weeks and months leading up to the exam, and what not to forget on the day. Our expert guest: David Brill is an FY2 doctor in London. He successfully navigated studying medicine as a graduate with young children and wrote a book about how to survive medical school "Making a Medics: The Ultimate Guide to Medical School."

This week we dig into shame in medicine - how students are taught using shame, how shame affects patients, and why the phrase "we ask this question to everyone" might not be the most useful way of signposting in a conversation between a doctor and patient. You can read Lucia's six-part series for the Wellcome Trust about shame here: https://wellcomecollection.org/series/XnIR1BIAACoAdpbI Our expert guests: Lucia Osborne-Crowley is a writer and journalist. Her news reporting and literary work has appeared in Granta, GQ, The Sunday Times, HuffPost UK, the Guardian, ABC News, Meanjin, The Lifted Brow and others. I Choose Elena is her first book. Her second book, My Body Keeps Your Secrets, will be published in February 2021. Dr Chloe Beale is a consultant liaison psychiatrist and the suicide prevention lead for East London NHS Foundation Trust.

So much learning for medical students has moved online - with varying degrees of success for both teachers and learners. This week we hear some of our listeners' top tips for protecting your wellbeing whilst staying somewhat productive, hear from our resident remote learning expert Andrew, and reflect on the challenges of learning at home. Listen to the episode of Deep Breath In on teleconsulting with patients: https://soundcloud.com/bmjpodcasts/teleconsulting-with-trish-greenhalgh-and-fiona-stevenson?in=bmjpodcasts/sets/deep-breath-in Our contributors: Catriona McVey is a third year medical student at the University of St Andrews. Vinay Mandagere is a fourth year medical student at the University of Bristol. Seb Casalotti is a recent graduate and honorary clinical teaching fellow at UCL medical school , with interests in peer-led learning and resisting Hostile Environment policies in the NHS as a member of Docs Not Cops.

Could you just have a look at...? It's a question lots of medical students and junior doctors encounter from friends and family - rashes, moles and sometimes even haemorrhoids all seem to be fair game to ask about! But what are our ethical (and legal) responsibilities when helping our loved ones? And what about "Good Samaritan" treatment in out of hospital emergencies? You can read the GMC's guidance Good Medical Practice here: https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/good-medical-practice Our expert guest; Dr John Smyth is a registered doctor and former GP with more than 25 years’ clinical experience. He has worked at the GMC in its Fitness to Practise directorate for 14 years where he is Assistant Director of the Case Examiner Team. His work at the GMC has included helping to adapt the fitness to practise processes to be more supportive to vulnerable doctors.

The panel are joined by one of Anna's academic heroes to discuss competition in medicine. Whilst we all agree a little friendly rivalry can help us learn, how can we make sure competitiveness doesn't affect our wellbeing as med students and new doctors? Our expert guest: Dr Heidi Lempp is a Reader in Medical Sociology at King's College London. Her work around medical students includes discussion of the hidden curriculum of medicine and the study of first in family students. Here's the paper Ryhan spoke about: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194096#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20competitive%20learning,provide%20a%20pleasant%20classroom%20environment. Here's Heidi's 2004 paper on the hidden curriculum: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC520997/

This week the Sharp Scratch panel are joined by BMJ podcast veteran Helen Macdonald, one of the hosts of The BMJ's Talk Evidence. We talk evidence based medicine, including getting your head around the fact a yearly health screen might not be the best thing for you... You can listen to Talk Evidence here: https://www.cebm.net/bmj-talk-evidence-podcast/ To find out more about the Rapid Recommendation series Helen mentions: https://www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i5191

This week, the Sharp Scratch team is joined by Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief of The BMJ to talk about what it's like to leave clinical medicine, and how it can be challenging to lose your medical identity. Our expert guests Fi Godlee is the first ever female Editor in Chief of The BMJ. Mayank Bhandari left medicine at the end of his foundation training to pursue a career in management consultancy.

This week the Sharp Scratch team welcome two brand new panel members to talk about interesting jobs outside of medicine, and what we might be able to learn from a crappy Saturday job. This week's contributors: Alisha Webb is a third year medical student at Newcastle Medical School, who talks to us this week about a variety of interesting jobs she had before she began studying medicine. Dr Patrick Lynch is a new graduate of Queen's University Belfast who tells us how playing the church organ helped him develop skills for medicine.

**This podcast was recorded before the extraordinary circumstances due to the covid-19 outbreak.** Following on from our episode on what to wear on the wards, this week the Sharp Scratch team and expert guest take a closer look at the stereotypes around what doctors look like. This week's expert guest Dr Devina Maru is a GP specialty registrar in London, who has loved fashion from a young age, having grown up with a grandfather who is a tailor and a cousin who is an international fashion designer. You can follow her on Twitter: @Devina_Maru To read the BMA's dress code click here. https://archive.bma.org.uk/advice/employment/contracts/consultant-contracts/dress-codes