Exams are over, coursework is in, and I’ve FINALLY got some time to devote to TSP, so I’ll endeavour to post updates with the same level of regularity as I did a few moths ago. It’s been a while since I added anything other than study pages, so it’s proving difficult to get back into the swing of reflective writing. I shall try to be clear, however.
The first week of my 15 week placement has been an interesting and challenging one. I’ve been in pacing clinics (the third of which allowed me to have some hands-on experience), tape clinics and have analysed my first full 24 hour ECG recording, so the amount of information I’ve absorbed has been of a high volume in a short space of time.
I’m not going to comment on tape analysis or clinics just yet, as I’m yet to have my completed work assessed, so I’ll wait until I’ve gained some feedback on my current performance. Pacing, however, is extracurricular, so I’ll glady share my experience.
Pacing checks were very fun; during eight or so hours of lingering/observation, I was gradually allowed to do a bit more with regards to clinical practice; analysing lead outputs and EGM readings, setting up programming equipment and learning my way around each box-specific bit of software, etc.
The majority of patients that came into the clinic were annual follow-ups, and six week post-insertion assessments, wherein the overestimated pacing parameters are altered so as to preserve battery life, and due to their nature, each was simply a case of checking each value and adjusting accordingly, meaning each 15 or 20 minute consult went off without a hitch, and I got a feel for the regular procedure and could have some of the physics explained to me. It also allowed my tutors to ask me questions and test me a bit.
The third and final clinic, however, allowed me to assume the role of primary (under strict supervision, of course) and perform threshold tests on my patient. It’s amazing how quickly it’s possible to forget everything you’ve spent the last few days learning, when it comes to actually doing it; the sudden pressure of being thrown into practical learning caused my mind to go completely blank, but with a bit of time, I settled into the role and things started to make sense as I was doing them. There’s a really overwhelming feeling of resposibility when you’re charged with manually increasing or decreasing your patient’s heart rate during threshold tests, and in addition, spotting the loss of atrial capture is, in most cases, far more difficult that that of ventricular capture. It was an exillerating experience, though, and I really felt like I had accomlished something at the end of the clinic. In three days I felt like I could quantify my progression, so the first week has left me feeling excited for the rest of the placement block.
Until this week, I’d never considered pacing as a future specialism – I was focussed on echo – but getting some real exposure has shown me how much I could enjoy a future in the discipline. I can’t wait to do more.
I’ll write more about my own research into pacing as I do it, so keep an eye out for that.
Thanks!
The Student Physiologist 