Monday, September 13, 2010

Heart Sounds Buzz Words

As promised, for NP Odyssey:

delayed rumble
machine-like murmur
opening snap
blowing
midsystolic click
crescendo-decrescendo
holosystolic
harsh-sounding
radiating
ejection click

My strategy is say them loud! Say them earnestly, and with confidence. If someone disagrees with you, point out the less than ideal conditions for auscultation (i.e emergency department or busy exam station). Then smile and hope to hell at least one of your buzz words was correct.

Or become a specialist. At one point this summer the radiologist was commenting on the fact he wasn't entirely sure if he was seeing a small effusion on a chest x-ray or not. He gave me a wicked grin as he dictated there was an effusion, clicked off the dictaphone and said, "Who is going to disagree with the radiologist's findings?"

Point.

4 comments:

Grumpy, M.D. said...

Occasionally I have a hospital doc disagree with me about a neurological issue.

I hand them my ID badge and say "Okay, here. You get to be the neurologist now" and walk away.

This has not endeared me to hospital security, as they have to make me a new badge 1-2 times a year.

NPO said...

Some of those words are enticing and almost make you want to say them whether appropriate or not.

Crescendo-decrescendo, until now I have only heard of them when applied to music, but interesting how it works with heart sounds too.

Good buzz words, funny comments thanks

Dragonfly said...

The orthopods will disagree. Every time.

ertwro said...

oh, I love to correct my resident with guides and articles...It just happened twice. But it felt so good!!!

Of course I paid for it.