#ekgs

[the-penguin-of-baskervilles]

I fear I may have become a massive EKG nerd. I just started trying to watch the first episode of The Pitt season two and had to rage quit about five minutes in. 😡😤

Below is an extremely nerdy (and possibly judgy) medical rant, proceed at your own risk…

That first scene where Whitaker, Santos, the new guy and Javadi are doing a resuscitation was so dumb. Like, insulting my intelligence level idiotic.

What well-educated medical provider would be unable to recognize Torsades de Pointes? You couldn’t pass ACLS without knowing this heart rhythm. It’s one of the most distinct heart rhythms in the study of EKGs. And these characters are supposed to be doctors? DOCTORS?!!

These idiots can’t even get it together enough to recognize TORSADES!!! Their medical schools should take back their degrees! (They have degrees this season right? I think Whitaker is an intern now? IDK, I quit watching after 5 minutes.)

Torsades is an easy heart rhythm. It’s incredibly distinct. You don’t even have to count, you don’t have to measure. There aren’t a bunch of other things that look like it. And they thought it was monomorphic (one shape) it is very clearly a polymorphic rhythm (multiple shapes)!

One shape versus multiple shapes. It’s not hard.

They put that on screen for .01 seconds and I recognized it immediately. And trust me, I’m no one’s genius. Did they show them making this mistake to try and make the audience members feel smart? Because if I was in an ER and the providers were mis-identifying Torsades, I’d be flying out of there at Mach 6. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I might need to stop studying EKGs so hard. It’s ruining my television watching experience.

On a good note though, at least they had the correct rhythm on the monitor once they identified it. I’ve seen a lot of television where they don’t even have the correct rhythm that they’re talking about up on the monitor during the scene. So I suppose this is an improvement.

I need to gather my strength and patience before I can continue watching the show. 😮‍💨

[imagine-loki]

Imagine Loki being super supportive when you decide to pursue a more advanced nursing degree than you already have. “Just think! I’ll be even better at my work, so I’ll have more confidence. And that means I’ll be able to be more help to my patients! And, hey, who’s to say I wouldn’t even get a raise?”

Naturally, your usually-mischievous husband is more than happy to take on a “study buddy” role to help you prepare for licensure exams, clinicals, and the like.

He even uses his shifting abilities to mimic various injuries so you can practice your trauma skills, and quizzes you at random times.

When did Loki become an expert on interpreting EKGs? Last night, of course.

[brattylikestoeat]

My mom don’t ever pick up when I call.

[morai-thoughts]

I don't want to keep playing to online school

[tramontane-fire]

Me: huh this 12 lead EKG looks Weird. Everything's all inverted, all these negative deflections, hardly any amplitude in the precordials ...

Me: oh wait it's upside down.

[not-great-not-terrible]

I realize when I post about work, it's mostly about covid and bummer patients so I thought I'd share something fun at work.

I've been working here for 5 years and in that time, I've seen a lot of stupid orders, mostly put in by residents. (They mean well and they're learning but sometimes it's just *deep sighhh*)

My favorite is an EKG for patients here for STD checks. And this happened so often that I came up with my own little poem to explain how a person has an STD just by looking at an EKG as a prank that I use on unsuspecting residents. (This is just a fun good natured joke to break up the the hours between violent people on meth, foreign body extractions 🍑🍆🦴👓🚿, and the cross-country traveling covid patients)

*resident looking at EKG*

Me: ooh bad luck, looks like she's got herpes.

Rezzy: what, really? How can you tell?

Me: well if you have ST depression in V1 and V2, you've got some goo. That would be chlamydia. In V3 and V4, you've got a sore, so herpes. V5 and V6, you've got the itch... gonorrhea.

Rezzy: really??

Me: Oh yeah, sometimes those infections left untreated can lead to pericarditis, thus the EKG.

Rezzy: Oh wow, thanks for the tip! I'm gonna write that down!

Me and Attending: OOOOOOHHHH PRANK!

[drdessertfox]

any idea why an electrocardiogram is called an 'EKG'? Here in New Zealand we call it an ECG and whenever i see 'EKG' in American movies or something it feels so uncomfortable, like seeing carrot spelled as Karrot.

EKG is based off of the German spelling (electrokardiographie.) I personally prefer saying and hearing EKG as to not get it mixed up with another abbreviated procedure, EEG. However, both spellings are correct and interchangeable here in the U.S. You’re more likely to hear EKG here in the states based on anecdotal experience.

[podapsiweb]

Rapid Interpretation of EKG’s, Sixth Edition Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, Sixth Edition by Dale Dubin