About this podcast
Surgery Shelf Prep!
Get ready to crush your surgery shelf exam with Surgery Shelf Prep! – a podcast designed for busy medical students on the go. These quick, high-yield episodes break down challenging surgical concepts into bite-sized pieces you can listen to on your way to or from the hospital.
Each episode focuses on topics that frequently appear on the shelf exam, helping you reinforce key knowledge and build confidence for test day. Whether you’re reviewing for your rotation or cramming on your commute, Surgery Shelf Prep! keeps it simple, efficient, and focused.
If there’s a topic you’d like to hear covered, drop a suggestion in the podcast reviews—we’d love to hear from you!
Note: Episodes are generated using AI text-to-speech technology to deliver content efficiently.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 84 episodes
- Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury · 10 minYour postoperative patient stops making urine and the creatinine starts climbing. Is it hypovolemia, acute tubular necrosis, or simply an obstructed Foley? In this episode, Chris…
- Postoperative Delirium · 11 minYour postoperative patient suddenly becomes confused, agitated, or unusually sleepy. Is it dementia, medication effect, withdrawal, or postoperative delirium? In this episode…
- Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation · 9 minA postoperative patient suddenly develops a heart rate of one forty with an irregularly irregular rhythm. What comes first: rate control, cardioversion, or anticoagulation? In…
- Postoperative Myocardial Infarction · 10 minPostoperative myocardial infarction does not always present with crushing chest pain. In fact, many perioperative myocardial injuries are clinically silent. In this episode…
- Hospital-Acquired and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia · 8 minA hospitalized postoperative patient develops fever, purulent secretions, worsening oxygenation, and a new infiltrate. Is it hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-associated…
- Aspiration Pneumonitis versus Aspiration Pneumonia · 7 minA postoperative patient aspirates and suddenly becomes hypoxemic. Do they need antibiotics? Not necessarily. In this episode, Chris and Mars break down aspiration pneumonitis…
- Postoperative Atelectasis · 10 minPostoperative hypoxemia on day one? Don’t immediately call it pneumonia—and definitely don’t blame every early postoperative fever on atelectasis. In this episode, Chris and Mars…
- Postoperative Urinary Retention · 10 minYour postoperative patient has not urinated in six hours. Is the bladder full—or are the kidneys simply not making urine? That distinction is the key to getting postoperative…
- Intra-Abdominal Abscess · 10 minIntra-abdominal abscesses can be easy to miss—especially when the skin incision looks completely normal. On the Surgery Shelf, the key is recognizing the postoperative pattern…
- Surgical Site Infection · 11 minSurgical site infections are a Surgery Shelf favorite because one postoperative wound can test timing, diagnosis, source control, prevention, and even the need for emergency…
- Wound Dehiscence and Evisceration · 7 minA postoperative incision suddenly starts draining pink fluid—or worse, bowel appears through the wound. Knowing the difference between superficial wound separation, fascial…
- Postoperative Hemorrhage · 9 minPostoperative Hemorrhage Postoperative bleeding can be obvious—or remain hidden until the patient begins to deteriorate. In this episode, Chris and Mars review how to recognize…
- Anastomotic Leak · 8 minAn anastomotic leak may not announce itself with dramatic peritonitis. Sometimes persistent tachycardia is the only early clue—and missing it can be catastrophic. In this…
- Postoperative Ileus · 8 minPostoperative Fever: Timing, Differential, and Workup Postoperative fever may represent a normal inflammatory response—or the first sign of a life-threatening complication. In…
- Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis · 10 minPrimary sclerosing cholangitis can look quiet at first, but it carries major shelf-level consequences. If you see a young man with cholestatic labs, pruritus, and ulcerative…
- Liver Abscess · 9 minPyogenic liver abscess can look subtle at first, but on the shelf it is a big-time diagnosis. Fever, right upper quadrant pain, leukocytosis, and a rim-enhancing liver lesion…
- Liver Function Tests · 11 minAbnormal liver function tests can feel like a mess—until you learn the pattern. In this episode of Surgery Shelf Prep, we break down how to approach elevated liver labs the way…
- Complications of Cirrhosis · 9 minComplications of cirrhosis can show up in a lot of different shelf-style ways, and this episode helps you organize them fast. In this high-yield review, Chris and Mars walk…
- Cirrhosis · 11 minCirrhosis can look slow and chronic on the surface, but on shelf questions it shows up with big consequences fast. If you do not recognize the clues behind ascites, varices…
- GERD · 11 minGERD is one of those shelf topics that seems simple, but the exam loves to test the complications, alarm symptoms, and when surgery becomes the answer. In this episode of Surgery…
- Inguinal Hernias · 10 minGroin bulge on the shelf? Don’t get trapped by the anatomy. In this episode of Surgery Shelf Prep!, Chris and Mars break down inguinal hernias in a fast, high-yield way that…
- Hiatal Hernias · 9 minHiatal hernias are a classic Surgery Shelf topic because the exam loves the distinction between sliding and paraesophageal hernias. In this episode, Chris and Mars break down the…
- Achalasia · 8 minAchalasia can be tricky, and it is absolutely fair game for the Surgery Shelf. In this episode of Surgery Shelf Prep!, Chris and Mars break down the classic presentation of…
- Esophageal Perforation · 7 minIn this episode of Surgery Shelf Prep, Chris and Mars break down esophageal perforation, a rare but life-threatening emergency classically seen after forceful vomiting or…
- Pancreatic Cancer · 10 minPancreatic cancer can look subtle at first, but on the shelf it is a major diagnosis you cannot miss. Painless jaundice, weight loss, dark urine, pale stools, back pain, and…
- Peptic Ulcer Disease · 11 minBurning epigastric pain, meal-related symptoms, and sudden complications like bleeding or perforation make peptic ulcer disease a classic Surgery Shelf topic. In this episode…
- Pancreatitis · 11 minPancreatitis is a classic Surgery Shelf topic because the exam loves the presentation, the diagnosis criteria, and the management steps. In this episode, Chris and Mars break…
- Gastrointestinal Bleeding · 11 minGastrointestinal bleeding is a must-know Surgery Shelf topic because the first step is always the same: decide if it is an upper bleed or a lower bleed, then determine how sick…
- Small Bowel Obstruction · 7 minCrampy abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distension, and obstipation? That is classic Small Bowel Obstruction, and this is one of the most high-yield Surgery Shelf topics…
- Rectal Prolapse · 8 minRectal prolapse looks obvious… until the shelf exam tries to trick you with hemorrhoids, mucosal prolapse, and the wrong operation. In this episode of Surgery Shelf Prep, Chris…
- Hemorrhoids · 6 minHemorrhoids are common and easy points—but they’re a high-yield shelf exam trap, especially when the question is really testing anatomy, rectal bleeding workup, and when to…
- Anal Cancer · 7 minAnal cancer is the classic “hemorrhoids” misdirection—and the shelf loves it. If you miss the risk factors, the lymph node drainage, or the treatment algorithm, you’ll bleed…
- Anorectal Abscess · 8 minAnorectal pain with fever is a surgery shelf trap you can’t afford to miss. If the skin looks normal but the digital rectal exam is exquisitely tender, think deep abscess—then…
- Ogilvie Syndrome · 5 minOgilvie Syndrome can fool you: the colon looks obstructed, the belly is huge, but there’s no mechanical blockage. In this episode of Surgery Shelf Prep, Chris and Mars break down…
- Colonic Volvulus · 7 minColonic volvulus can go from “constipated and uncomfortable” to “ruptured and crashing” fast. If you cannot instantly tell sigmoid from cecal and know the next best step, the…
- Rectal Cancer · 10 minRectal cancer is where anatomy, oncology, and surgical decision-making all collide. In this episode, learn when to order pelvic MRI, when to give neoadjuvant chemoradiation, and…
- Colon Cancer · 9 minColon cancer is one of the highest-yield topics on the Surgery Shelf and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge – and one of the easiest places to lose points on subtle traps. This episode…
- Ischemic Colitis · 6 minIschemic colitis is one of the highest-yield gastrointestinal emergencies on the Surgery Shelf — and if you don’t know how to spot it fast, you’ll miss the diagnosis both on…
- Diverticulitis · 8 minDiverticulitis is one of those “can’t-miss” shelf exam topics that shows up again and again — and this episode breaks it all down so you’ll never confuse uncomplicated…
- FAP and HPNCC · 7 minFamilial Adenomatous Polyposis and Lynch Syndrome (Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer) — two hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes that look similar at first glance but…
- Ulcerative Colitis · 8 minUlcerative Colitis loves to test your nerves — and your shelf knowledge. Continuous inflammation, rectal involvement, and surgical decision-making make this topic a guaranteed…
- Crohn's Disease · 5 minCrohn’s Disease doesn’t play fair — it’s chronic, sneaky, and full-thickness. From skip lesions to fistulas, this disease hits every level of the gut, and it’s a shelf favorite…
- Anticoagulation Medications · 10 minPeri-operative anticoagulation, simplified. Chris and Mars hit the must-know hold times, monitoring, and reversals for Unfractionated Heparin and Low Molecular Weight Heparin…
- Bleeding - von Willebrand Disease, Hemophilia A, Uremic Bleeding · 7 minBleeding disorders are a classic shelf trap—know how to tell them apart or risk losing easy points. In this episode, Chris and Mars tackle three must-know causes of abnormal…
- Electrolytes - Hypophosphatemia and Hyperphosphatemia · 7 minPhosphorus doesn’t always get the spotlight—but on test day, it’s a game changer. From energy metabolism to bone health, imbalances can wreck patients and trip you up on the…
- Electrolytes - Hypomagnesemia and Hypermagnesemia · 6 minMagnesium derangements are sneaky but high-yield! In this episode, Chris and Mars break down hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia across classic scenarios you’ll see on the wards…
- Electrolytes - Hypocalcemia and Hypercalemia · 7 minCalcium disorders can flip a patient’s physiology upside down — and your shelf score with it. From post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia to malignancy-induced hypercalcemia, these…
- Electrolytes - Hypokalemia and Hyperkalemia · 8 minPotassium disturbances can make or break your shelf exam performance—and your patient’s outcome. Whether it’s a sneaky NG tube–induced hypokalemia or a burn patient at risk for…
- Electrolytes - Hyponatremia and Hypernatremia · 8 minElectrolyte imbalances can make or break your management on the wards and in the OR. Sodium, the OG electrolyte, has a way of testing your knowledge under pressure—whether it’s…
- Trauma - Electrical Injuries and Burns · 8 minHigh-voltage shocks and lightning strikes are devastating—but the hidden muscle damage, lethal arrhythmias, and silent toxins offer a chance to make a difference in a patient's…
