Small Animal Cardiology Service

Catalog description

Students will participate in outpatient and inpatient cardiovascular examinations and treatments. Cardiology outpatient appointments are scheduled Monday through Friday. Cardiology surgical procedures are typically performed every other Wednesday. The Cardiology Service also performs consultations for other departments in the hospital. Cardiology accepts transfers from the Emergency Service every day of the week and assumes primary case responsibility for these patients. The group captain will develop an on-call schedule (seven days/week). The on-call student will assist with any cases transferred from the Emergency Service in the morning and will be on-call after hours in the event of an emergency procedure (e.g. pacemaker implantation). Student responsibilities include obtaining a complete medical history, performing a thorough physical examination with emphasis on the cardiovascular system, helping to facilitate any diagnostic tests, and working on the medical record (client discharge and SOAP notes). The medical record will be reviewed and finalized by the attending cardiologist. After orientation on the first day, students are responsible for recording and interpreting electrocardiograms as well as interpreting thoracic radiographs and pertinent clinical laboratory data. Students assist with performance of echocardiograms and are expected to become familiar with standard echo images and measurements. Students are also expected to summarize pertinent findings in cases under their care (outpatients and inpatients) at daily rounds and be able to discuss their significance. Didactic rounds occur in the morning most days. Specific rounds topics covered include: introduction to echocardiogram, intracardiac pressures and the modified Bernoulli equation, ECG introduction and interpretation, “Can’t leave cardio without knowing” questions, and thoracic x-ray cases. A quiz…