July 21st, 2011 by iMedicalApps in News
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The recognition and management of cardiac arrhythmias is a must-have clinical skill for residents and physicians, and one that is often not well-taught at some institutions.
For example, deciding whether a patient is in a shockable rhythm, realizing what medications should or should not be given in a particular situation, or assessing the degree of atrioventricular block, can all be important considerations in patient care.
The Arrhythmias app, designed by Abe Balsamo, recently cracked the Top 10 list of most-downloaded medical apps in the app store. This app represents Mr. Balsamo’s first foray into the app world, though he has several other apps in development, according to his website AppsByAbe.com. The app’s growing popularity has been driven by its point-of-care abilities that appeal to healthcare professionals, especially emergency medical personnel.
Read below the jump to see how the Arrhythmias app can assist healthcare professionals with the recognition of different arrhythmias. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
July 12th, 2011 by Emergiblog in Opinion, True Stories
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Ah, the benefits of sand therapy!
Time for little Bettina’s daily afternoon face plant!
Not only does it appear my colleague is about to lose her grip on her patient, I’m concerned about her choice of body mechanics.
I predict a lumbar strain in 3…2…1……
(This photo is from the Library of Congress collection.)
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I love my pediatric patients. While it is hard to see children feeling sick, they can be bright spots in occasionally hellacious shifts.
I’ve blogged before on my observation that the kids seem to be the adults in the some families.
- They don’t want to undress for an exam, so they fight the parents who are helpless in the face of taking a shirt off a three-year-old.
- They have to be restrained so they don’t run rampant in the ER, and they slap their parent across the face. The parent doesn’t respond.
- They are told they need to cooperate with a procedure and they answer their parent with a loud, clear, “F*** YOU!” At the age of five. The parent retreats. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
July 2nd, 2011 by Happy Hospitalist in Health Policy, Opinion
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Over the last few years, you may have heard a lot about the value of checklists in ICU medicine and their ability to reduce mortality, reduce cost and reduce length of stay. But a recent study took the concept one step further and suggested that checklists by themselves may not be effective unless physicians are prompted to act on the checklist.
As reported in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Journal, a single site cohort study performed at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s medical intensive care unit compared two rounding groups of physicians. One group was prompted to use the checklist. The other group of physicians had access to the checklist but were not prompted to use it.
What they found was shocking. Both groups had access to the checklist. However, patients followed by physicians who were prompted to use the checklist had Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
June 5th, 2011 by CodeBlog in Expert Interviews
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Ready to learn more about nurses who work beyond the bedside? Nurses who work in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab (CCL) play an important role in cardiac care. Amy Sellers, RN BSN CCRN CSC CMC blogs at Nursing Influence and graciously agreed to give us a peek at what a nurse is responsible for doing in the CCL.
Amy has worked in the Cath Lab for about 6 months now. She previously worked in CVICU for almost 5 years before deciding that she needed a new challenge. She is paid hourly and works three 12 hour shifts per week (all daytime Mon-Fri) with lots of opportunities for overtime and call shifts.
A cath lab is an area of the hospital that uses fluoroscopy and contrast dye to check for narrowing/blockages in arteries or veins in the body. Using special equipment, they are able to perform angioplasty (open the arteries with a balloon), place stents, insert IVC filters (a filter that is inserted into a large vein which prevents blood clots that form in the leg from getting to the lungs) as well as inserting pacemakers/ICDs. ICDs are Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators. They detect if a patient’s heart goes into a lethal rhythm and provides a shock to the heart if necessary to get it beating correctly again.
What do you do all day? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at code blog - tales of a nurse*
June 1st, 2011 by Happy Hospitalist in Humor
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I’ve discovered the perfect tool to improve doctor-nurse communication skills. Let’s see. Hundreds of nurses. Dozens of floors. Day shifts. Night shifts. This pin pretty much sums it up. Any questions?
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
