went to sgh for pbl today, and it was great. it reminded me, after studying all that physio and anat for three weeks, why i'm bothering to read up on such ( relatively )dry topics.


we were first brought to the CCU, where my prof caught hold of a registrar to bring us round. they didn't have any infarct patients, so she showed us this old man who came in with dizziness ( vasovagal syncope? ) and chest pains. they ran the ECG on him and we had a look at it. she did point out the abnormalous QRS complex, which made the ECG look like a camel as it only had two big bumps. then we looked at the ECG of his heart after they had placed a pacemaker in, and the new ECG was beautiful, everything ok.


she also showed us the chest x-rays of the patient, to locate the pacemaker which shows up as a thin wire that convexes upwards, not unlike the diaphragm. i vaguely could make out the borders of the heart she was indicating, and she taught us this heart:thorax ratio. if it's more than two-third the length of the thorax, uhm, i can't remember, but it ain't good. think she did mention this guy's case is complicated by his tachycardia. i don't know which type he has though; i've found at least three types in the physio book. then someone asked how they put the pacemaker in, and she proceeded to show us the point of insertion, at the femoral vein. she actually pushed aside his hospital gown to show us, and i wonder how that poor man felt. i mean, it wasn't indecent, his private parts were covered, but to have this bunch of youngsters come in and gawk at you when you've obviously had a nasty experience ain't very nice, is it?


so anyway, second part of the tour we went to the ICU, and there was this guy who had just come out of an operation. the sister explained all the details about how they monitored his vital signs and what they do to keep the b.p. down and why.


guess i came away feeling more interested in cardio than ever, never imagined i would. it was a terrific experience, and hope prof tay will do it for every single pbl lesson. imagine! first cardio, then ortho, neuro, a&e...my dream's coming true...