Medical knowledge

[Kaz747]

Yesterday I had my minor eye surgery without any dramas. The staff at the eye hospital were wonderful but I was a bit concerned with the nurse who did my admission. She had my paperwork with my history and asked me lots of questions. She wrote down AF then VT. I said that should be AT - atrial tachycardia - so she changed it. A little while later she looked at my notes which said SVT so she said see, I was right with the VT. “No”, I said, “SVT is SUPRA ventricular tachycardia, meaning above the ventricles which means it’s in the atria. VT usually means you’re in a lot of trouble.” **face palm**

[Kaz747]

Perhaps she was an enrolled nurse rather than a registered nurse.

[radagast58 in reply to Kaz747]

Glad to hear your eye surgery went well. Abbreviations should never be used in healthcare and doctors are the worst. Just a quick point, my wife is one of the few enrolled nurses still practicing in the UK and she is a senior nurse in a Regional Spinal Unit

[BobD Volunteer]

When I had myfirst ablation a local nurse thought I meant I had varicose veins removed. We all need to be experts in ouselves!

[Kaz747 in reply to BobD]

That’s for sure Bob. I’m amazed when I talk to people who don’t know what medications they are on or what it is for.

[Finvola]

Glad it went OK Kaz and you're through it. Why do some people need others to be wrong for them to be right? The nurse only needed to confirm AT as she didn't $%£&** well understand what she was talking about. We certainly do need to be our own experts as far as we can.

[Nugger]

My first visit with the so called heart nurse, I asked her what’s the reason I have to take blood thinners , she said so you don’t have a stroke, alright, why am I at a higher risk ?

Because your hearts not pumping properly lol

I had to explain to her about the left atrial appendage & that there’s even an operation called the watchman to do away with blood thinners, sure she didn’t believe me!

[Aus19]

I have sinus node dysfunction. Some people, including nurses, seem to think it’s a problem with my nose! Glad it went well, Kaz747.

[Finvola in reply to Aus19]

😂😂😂

[Kaz747 in reply to Aus19]

😂😂😂

[jedimasterlincoln in reply to Aus19]

You just need a good sneeze

[Dickydon]

I raised the abbreviations issue recently. Posters really, should think of others when posting and especially when using abbreviations, NOT everyone knows what they all mean, so please posters, you really need to explain your VT's, AF's, PAF's, etc... etc... in longhand and abbreviate in brackets.

Thank You

[Kaz747 in reply to Dickydon]

That’s very true - I was just amazed that a nurse could think that SVT (Supra Ventricular Tachycardia) and VT (Ventricular Tachycardia) were the same thing (when one is in the atria and one is in the Ventricle and VT can cause sudden cardiac arrest so can be deadly).

[jedimasterlincoln in reply to Dickydon]

healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

[Eric48]

When I was nursing I knew about the different chemistry and their actions etc but wouldn’t have been able to tell you the difference between VT and SVT, I was an oncology nurse, not a cardiology nurse! I wouldn’t expect an ophthalmology nurse to be au fair with cardiology terms.

[Kaz747 in reply to Eric48]

It wasn’t so much that she didn’t know it, more so her comments when I was trying to explain the difference.

[realdon]

It's surprising how useful the Latin some of us learned (or did not learn) at school comes in handy when trying to work out what medical terms mean. One of the meanings of "supra" in Latin is "above." There are lots of others in the AF canon which can be used to decode the medical jargon.

[jedimasterlincoln]

We have this in Orthopaedics quite a lot, we forget how specialised we are particularly with spines. When something else comes along that isn't a bone or a joint we often struggle with their abbreviations and treatment.

However, when someone comes in "out of area" who is totally at sea with Orthopaedics, I give them an A4 list of abbreviations and definitions I put together a few years ago so at least if they see them floating around the terms aren't totally alien to them.

Of course, when I'm teaching, I remove the answers and make it a bit more fun for the students!

On the forum at least, there is an abbreviations post for reference.... which new or unfamiliar posters can refer to.

In other care settings, would a pre op nurse for eyes, specialising in eyes, need to or remember specialist terms for cardiology? Perhaps not since their training or rotation as a student nurse.

I do sometimes wish people would listen to and accept the patient's explanations though, there's no shame in admitting you "haven't got a clue" and listen to the patient, even if you have to go away and get it verified.

In my experience, there's been quite a lot of times people with AF and other long term medical conditions like diabetes, arthritis, parkinsons and epilepsy convey the impression they know their condition inside out including all its foibles and should be listened to.

[Kaz747 in reply to jedimasterlincoln]

It wasn’t so much her not knowing (I know the body is very complex), more so her attitude when I tried (very nicely) to explain the difference between SVT and VT. That little “S” makes a big difference 😃

[Dickydon in reply to jedimasterlincoln]

Thanks! Is your Orthopaedics one available to look at online anywhere?

[jedimasterlincoln in reply to Dickydon]

Sadly not, its specific to my teaching hospital as a local resource! But if there's anything you're struggling with Ortho-related it's been in my blood for 15 years so I'd be happy to help

[Dickydon in reply to jedimasterlincoln]

No worries, I've clicked follow, so anything Ortho, I won't hesitate.

Thanks