March 2023 – The Procrastination Pen

Sleeping With ASMR

In a previous blog post I mentioned that Dr James Gill was sufficiently prolific in the world of medical exams that it would be inevitable we would return to his own channel at some point in this blog.

I’m not sure if it is built into the YouTube algorithm but every time I look for a medical exam video Dr James Gill will occur at least once on that list. He is obviously dedicated.

This is one I chose for today’s blog:

Respiratory Examination Master Class

But this is one of a great many

Examining the YouTube channel Dr James Gill we find approximately one hundred and sixty nine videos as at todays date. The longest blog item I ever did was twenty three and I feel that was far too long.

In time honoured tradition (for this blog anyway), I will refine this number down using one of Dr James Gill’s own playlists.

As luck would have it we have been on the subject of cranial nerve exams recently – and I find that he has a playlist for this here:

Ten videos all incorporating Dr Gills calming voice (I have the feeling he must have cultured that over a long period of training).

How to Examine Cranial Nerve I – Olfactory Nerve – Clinical Skills – Dr Gill

A funky intro tune (which I could do without) and the constant accompaniment of air conditioning as background noise. These are all things we are used to after the blog item on Warwick Medical School.

However the voice of Dr Gill makes this seem unimportant. Lovely and quiet and calm. He seems consistent in this respect, I have only occasionally found a video of his in which this is not the case. This is one in which he seems quite young. However it was posted only two years ago, which probably shows how old I am.

As one of the commentators relates – we’re not here for the education but we’re getting one anyway.

How To Perform Optic Nerve Examination – Cranial Nerve II Examination OSCE – Dr Gill

Dr Gill is if anything even quieter here. Intra-video volume is a problem. If you’re playing my playlist regularly you may notice that you have one video at optimum volume for sleep and you can’t hear the next one. Worse still the next one kicks in like Trumpet Voluntary and blasts you from a nice relaxing dose.

I may soon be weeding the existing list to reflect only the highest quality, so some high-volume ones may get archived.

The biggest issue with these videos I find is because they have breaks in the track, YouTube introduces adverts into those spaces. Sometimes these are quite jarring adverts that are not toned to the content of the video or the time of day.

How to Find Your Blind Spot – Clinical Skills – 4K

This appears to be out of order. It refers to a cranial nerve exam yet to come which is in fact the video above in this playlist.

I love the comparison of the cranial nerve with a wiring point for the eye. It’s this kind of thing which must really help students to comprehend what is going on.

I also managed to map my own blind spot which is a piece of fun (I’m unlikely to be paid for doing this).

Cranial Nerves III, IV & VI Explained – What do they do and how to examine them – Dr James Gill

Entitled “Ultimate Guide to…” and just less than six and a half minutes. Quite astounding he could cram it in so effectively. Again with the air con but I think the vocal volume is better here. In all of these videos the best ASMR is definitely during the brief exam part of the video.

Cranial Nerve V: The Trigeminal Nerve – Your Ultimate Guide To Cranial Nerve Examination – Dr Gill

Again, the exam part of the video is best in ASMR terms.

Cranial Nerve VII – The Facial Nerve – Ultimate Guide to Cranial Nerve Examination

A very odd background noise at the start like a light metallic sound, almost as if the sound was vibrating through a duct or similar. This settles down as he gets into the motor neuron part of the video.

The video actually explains some of the behaviour we have seen in other cranial nerve exam videos.

Cranial Nerve VIII – The Vestibulocochlear Nerve – Ultimate Guide to Cranial Nerve Examination

Age related hearing loss strikes home, I am certainly starting to lose mine. Which presumably, eventually, will ultimately impact on any ASMR.

Dr Gill seems to repeat himself in this video, when discussing hearing loss due to old age, that can be distracting. I’ll keep this in the playlist but it might be one that is subject to future weeding.

Glossopharyngeal & Vagus Nerve Explained – Guide to Cranial Nerves IX and X – Dr Gill

So much quieter at the start and so much easier to relax to as a result.

Cranial Nerve XI & XII – Accessory and Hypoglossal Nerve – Ultimate Guide – Dr Gill

This again at the start lacks the air conditioning noise – ah peace.

Cranial Nerve Examination Demonstration – 4K – Clinical Skills OSCE – Dr. Gill

For me, the exam is always where Dr Gill is at his best ASMR wise so this is the pinnacle of this particular set.

The Dr Gill playlist is here:

I have no doubt we will be covering more of his videos in this blog

The overall playlist of videos covered so far in this blog is here:

I hope that you find them relaxing.

If you liked this blog item why not follow this blog:

Photo by S T on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

I recently had a nasty shock when posting an ASMR article. For each embedded video, rather than a nice image of the video from YouTube there is a rather abrupt message from YouTube stating that the content of the video can only be shown on YouTube itself.

I don’t see this as a problem. I was anticipating that in reading this you were eager to get to the playlists at the end and see what new joys of ASMR I had found for you. However, it does look rather unattractive.

I apologise for this. I do not know a workaround other than to delete the video from the blog altogether. That seems a bit counterproductive since you wouldn’t get to experience the video at all.

If anyone has any suggestions as to how the ugly warning box can be dispensed with and something more attractive put in its place, I would welcome that kind of input.

Today’s video subject is another nerve examination – they are a rich source of ASMR material. I have no idea how the medical education process seems to churn out so many people with calm quiet voices but long may it continue and long may they continue to post their videos.

Quick Neurological Screening Examination

Judging by some of the comments I am not the first to divine that this is a great ASMR video. I’m hopeful that you find it soporific, if you’ve decided to use the playlists to get off to sleep, as I do.

Prashant for that is the YouTube channel has posted just ten videos but has 4.06K subscribers as at today’s date. This makes me wonder if there are a shed-load of ASMR devotees out there.

A number of the videos could have been effective but they are in a language I do not understand and hence there is a risk I’m posting something that I shouldn’t. Therefore, I have discounted them.

This next one features Dr Prashant himself. He has quite a good voice, but I’m not sure the coronavirus is a very restful subject so I am discounting it from the playlist.

Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Which leaves only one video:

Mental Status Examination

This takes a while to wind itself up, the exam proper does not really start till six minutes five seconds into the video. Sadly whilst it is the sole remaining video in this channel worthy of consideration, I don’t think it really made the grade. (Your experience may differ). So one more video for the playlist, remember it is found here:

I hope you find it restful.

If you liked this article why not subscribe to the blog.

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Sleeping With ASMR

Another segue in terms of video subject this one is osteopathy. The voice is not as restful as in some previous videos – nonetheless I find this one relaxing. (However this is no Dr Gill).

PE: Neurologic Exam – OSCE Prep – 2022

The notes indicate this was filmed at the University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNTHSC – TCOM).

This has a YouTube channel TCOM Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, but it does not include this one.

Here OSCE is Objective Structured Clinical Examination.

The intro tells us that it was filmed in 2022 which is positively up to date in terms of the ASMR videos I’ve covered so far. Neither the “patient” nor the medical professional are introduced so I’m none the wiser.

As the exam continues the medical professional’s voice gets a lot quieter and that is a lot better ASMR-wise. This is a playlist candidate.

Again it is worthwhile checking out the resulting channel to see if there are any gems hiding in there.

The channel is Osteopathic Clinical Skills, and contains about ninety-two videos as at today’s date which again is far too many for any single blog item (perhaps we’ll venture back here at some future date).

Fortunately, Osteopathic Clinical Skills has been kind enough to supply a playlist containing the featured video, which is here:

There are only seven videos in here (which is a more manageable number).

We’ve covered the above one, the remaining six are:

Common Palpatory Landmarks for Physical Examination and Osteopathic Structural Examination

It starts a bit loud for me, obviously the presenter is in education mode rather than examination mode. (Well for most people performing an examination they are quite a bit quieter).

Unfortunately this style continues with the rest of the video making it unsuitable for our ASMR purposes. For this reason this video isn’t going to be in the playlist.

Standing Postural Examination – Osteopathic Structural Exam (OSE) Screening

It starts out loud as it is after all a teaching video. Sadly this isn’t useful in ASMR terms so it will not be in the playlist.

Lordosis – inward curve of the spine in neck or lower back.

Upper Extremity Palpatory Landmarks for Physical Examination and Osteopathic Structural Examination

Appreciate – to detect or to find.

This is still presented as in a classroom – perhaps less noisy than the previous one but still not quite there.

FIGS by the way is not a name label for the “patient” but a range of medical apparel.

Somatic Dysfunction: Clavicle (SC and AC Joint)

It starts reasonably quietly but still not Shane Brun. For me this is still a bit loud so it will not be in the playlist.

Sternoclavicular – link between the collarbone and the breastbone.

Acromioclavicular where the collarbone meets the highest point of the shoulder blade.

Thoracic & Lumbar Spine Palpatory Landmarks for Physical Examination & Osteopathic Structural Exam

I think that these are probably great instruction videos – this one has fourteen thousand five hundred subscribers for example. But it really isn’t any good for ASMR.

Pelvis & Sacrum Palpatory Landmarks for Physical Examination and Osteopathic Structural Exam

As before, a no-doubt great instruction video but it doesn’t make the playlist.

So no Osteopathic Clinical Skills Playlist (only one video made the grade).

The overall playlist for videos covered so far in this blog is here:

I hope you find it relaxing.

If you like this article why not follow this blog.

Photo by Jem Sahagun on Unsplash

Sleeping With ASMR

This one is a confessed cheat. Where to find an ASMR video? Well why not choose a channel dedicated to ASMR? However, if anyone watching this can identify the original source of this video, I would be very grateful – perhaps I’ll follow up with a further article to show the original video unadulterated by editing.

Hand and Wrist Examination (ASMR)

In fact this might be a way forwards for me as I have been trying to stick to the more po-faced approach of avoiding those videos dedicated to ASMR and trying instead to find ASMR videos by choosing a subject area – i.e. accidental ASMR videos. But hey, why not get a leg up from the work other people are doing in this area.

I notice it is entitled “ROM and MMT”. Here ROM is Range of Motion, MMT is Manual Muscle Testing.

This perhaps will give me a new category of ASMR videos to search for in the future.

Trace is the “patient” and Jane the medical professional. Judging by Jane’s T-shirt design she is working in Occupational Therapy. However, the entwined snake emblem (Caduceus it appears to be called) is widely used it seems (from a Google image search), so this does not reliably tell me where she works.

Jane has a pretty good voice in terms of ASMR and Trace does not get a lot to say. The surroundings are not typically medical, I would guess someone’s front room. It was uploaded six years ago, but potentially it is older than that. Presumably this video was once on a medical channel and has been snaffled and probably edited to enhance the ASMR effect.

I would make a guess that the two know each other and that potentially this is a student video used for assessment. (There are a large number of these and I guarantee some will appear in future blog items).

Not unexpectedly, ASMR exams – for that is the channel we are dealing with – has a great range of videos. Because the channel owner has done all the work for me, in general the videos are excellent for ASMR.

Twenty six videos as at today’s date ranging in posting date from nine years ago to five years ago. (Which is sad as it looks like the channel is no longer maintained).

It would not be the first time I choose to blog about an item that is now thoroughly out of date.

There is one playlist on the site:

This features only six of the twenty-six videos for some reason, and all seem to have been posted nine years ago. It does not include my chosen video above. You get that as a bonus-extra on this occasion.

This gives me a nice shortlist of videos to cover in one blog post. However, given the other content is good, I will make a point of following on with the remaining twenty (probably spread over a few blog posts to avoid those articles getting too long).

Apologies for the sequential nature of these articles.

I suspect you’re keen to get to the playlist – in which case scroll to the end and there you will find it.

Physical Examination #2 (ASMR)

Fans of this blog should be familiar with this one. It has had an entire article dedicated to it and it is already in the playlist.

Physical Examination #3 (ASMR)

The title at the start of the video is “Abdominal Examination” there is no indication of the originating channel.

The participants are Dr Thomas and Mr Jones the “patient” apparently. It gives on screen prompts to indicate which stage the examination has entered. Dr Thomas’ voice is good: lovely and quiet. No Vicki Scott but great anyway. Both characters could easily be of Welsh extraction (I’m not great at accents) but there is no other clue as to which institution this is.

The abdominal exam looks positively painful but Mr Jones seems completely unfazed by it. It is all very calm.

Strangely at 5:48 it suddenly changes to “Cardiovascular Examination” and Dr Thomas introduces himself to Mr Jones again. Then at 12:18 it becomes “Respiratory System Examination” and Dr Thomas introduces himself to Mr Jones again.

This is the sort of video I dislike – one that was several distinct videos edited together to make one long one.

This is a shame because Dr Thomas has an excellent voice but it’s right down there with ASMR loop videos for distraction – it will not be in the playlist.

I wish I could find the original, separate, videos as they would be of a quality that I would definitely include in the playlist.

Physical Examination #4 (ASMR)

The video quality is not marvellous. In fact, I think I could describe it as fuzzy.

The intro states it is health assessment 3310. The closest I can find is NSG 3310. This seems to have been offered through an institution called Troy University.

There is a channel for Troy University and it has a great number of videos (read too many to count right now). Checking if there are 3310 assessment videos for Troy University we get a list (for example

and

) but I was unable to find this one.

The “patient” is Luke. Presumably students watching this would know who the medical professional was here. At nearly forty-five minutes this is another lengthy exam video, they must be covering every angle.

The voice here is marginal in ASMR terms (I’ve probably been spoiled by Hollie Berry).

Still it is good enough for inclusion in the playlist. (Perhaps it will be one that falls victim to a future weeding process).

Another term I was not clear about prior to this is “Auscultate” – listening to sounds from the chest.

Associated with this is the term “egophony” this is the use of the E sound. If the E is heard to sound like an A then it is diagnostic.

“Stereognosis” the ability to perceive what a solid object is without actually looking at it.

“Graphesthesia” recognising writing on the skin by touch only.

“Brachioradialis” a muscle of the forearm.

Luke seems about as entertained as a small child being asked to “stay still and stop making a noise”. I’m sure he went on to develop a fantastic medical career but he certainly isn’t keen here. Possibly because this is being recorded on a Sunday and he could be out relaxing and having a good time.

Barack Obama is the president so we know this was recorded between 2009 and 2017.

Physical Examination #5 (ASMR)

Twenty-five and a half minutes so a more usual length. This time we get an introduction which tells us it is the Northeastern Physician Assistant Program 2010.

A search on this reveals this channel: redbreadproductions

Where we get the same video but in three parts – this looks like it is going to be one featured in a future blog post

Out of interest the three videos are:

and

I will cover these properly in a future blog post.

This means that this one must be a compilation

Initially it is entitled “The General Physical Examination”. It is going well until the clunking sounds of the weighing scales which are designed to awaken the dead. After that though it calms down a reasonable amount. The medical professional and the “patient” in this seem to be having a lot of fun making the video. I am guessing it is educational in intent.

At the end the thanks go to Rebecca Scott Ph.D, PA-C and Rebekah Saunders, PA-SI.

I’m guessing Rebecca did the exam and for our purposes she has a very good voice. If the video is a compilation this is invisible so it can go into the playlist.

Physical Examination #6 (ASMR)

This one starts with an intro stating “Stritch School of Medicine IPM Physical Exam Series Head to Toe Examination on a Male”

Stritch School of Medicine redirects to Loyola University Chicago

The only one that references Stritch appears to be this one:

Entertaining I’m sure but zero on the ASMR scale.

So how does our video size up?

Dr Michael Koller – searching for him indicates that he has a page of original videos which will be worthy of a future blog post perhaps.

John is the “patient” here. Dr Koller does not at first seem to have your classic ASMR voice. This improves as the examination commences. Although he isn’t going to be a James Gill. The video at just over forty minutes is getting on the long side. It is also on the fuzzy side so we are to be thankful it is the sound that we are focused on. It’s good enough I think so I’m going to add it to the playlist.

Yes I know that there are only five videos here – for some reason YouTube informs me that one of the six videos in this playlist is hidden. I’m still not clear why this is.

I’ll split up the remaining twenty and post them in the next few blog posts.

The playlist for ASMR Exams is here:

The playlist covering all videos featured in blog posts thus far is here:

It may be possible to identify the source organisations for some of these videos, in which case I may do some follow up articles delving more deeply into them.

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