Fun with Kortokoff
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005 at 4:58 pm
Just got back from the weekly Physiology laboratory. On the menu this week: Blood pressures. The lab called for taking a blood pressure on a partner, then getting a pressure taken by the partner. Following this, one member of the group was selected to get their blood pressure taken while laying flat, and then while standing, notating the different systolic/diastolic values as well as the pulse rate.
This would take me about 2 minutes or less. Maybe 10, if I wanted more accurate orthostatics. (lying flat vs. standing) So how long did this lab take? Oh, only about 2 hours…
As a "professional" blood-pressure-taker (professor's words, not mine), I basically ended up teaching my small group on how to measure blood pressures. For example, where to place the cuff, how not to cause tissue necrosis by leaving the cuff on the arm pumped still pumped up to the diastolic pressure, and learning to tell the difference between Kortokoff sounds, and the sounds caused by movement of the stethoscope over the skin.
I guess it's good to get back into clinical practice, no matter how trivial…
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That’s what experience gets you
Papa says, You’re overqualified.Go diving and see if you can buy the MD title or will they let you skip a semester and save money?
There must be an exam you can take to prove your skills.