Stroke unit

At long last I had my stroke unit clinical this morning. The rotation had been postponed twice due to various conflicts that arose on the hospital's end, but I got in today and it was well worth the wait. Unlike most clinicals, this was done in groups of three. The preceptor gave us a quick overview of the most common procedures performed there and brought us around for a tour of the facility before the day's procedures got underway.

I saw some truly remarkable stuff. As I watched from the next room, the doctors inserted a tiny catheter into the femoral artery and advanced it all the way up to the carotid artery and then into the brain. Once everything was in position, they placed a stent inside the artery to help improve blood flow. And through it all, the patient was awake and talking to the doctors. I'll never do anything like this in the field, but it's not uncommon to transport stroke patients, and it was fascinating to see what kind of care awaits them at the hospital. One of my fellow paramedic students was equally impressed, if more acerbic in his praise: "This is the first clinical I've been to where I'd actually feel comfortable coming in here as the patient."

Elsewhere on the health front, the American Psychiatric Association recently announced that it had discovered a number of new mental disorders. I recognize that advancements in research and clinical practice often lead to breakthroughs, but some of these new conditions seem ridiculous. Children too prone to temper tantrums might have "Temper dysregulation with dysphoria?" Come on.

Some observers have suggested that pharmeceutical companies were behind the plethora of newly minted conditions. This may be true, but it seems likelier that self-justification was the primary impulse here. In order to justify its own existence, baseball's Hall of Fame election committee elects new members to the Hall every single year whether they truly deserve to be inducted or not. Similarly, the APA may be feeling that its continued relevance depends on showing breakthrough findings, no matter now silly they sound.

Lastly, a cardiology pun: Q. What do you see when you look at the EKG of a healthy pig? A. Normal "swine-us" rhythm.