I believe every single PT student should do their first clinical rotation in an acute care setting. Here’s why: You see most everything a physical therapist does all in one setting:

• Orthopedics- if you work in a major hospital chances are you will work with a s/p joint replacement of some sort. Hips, knees, shoulders…you name it. It’s all there.
• Cardiopulmonary- CABG, Cath, AV valves, Respirators OH MY! You better know your sternal precautions.
• Geriatrics- Not everyone in the hospital is old, but the majority certainly are.
• Neuro- CVA, spinal cord stroke, GBS, SCI… It’s all here folks.
• Multidisciplinary learning- you are surrounded by Nurses, OT’s, Speech Pathologists, Respiratory Therapists, Dieticians, MD’s, any many other disciplines. Wonder what they all do? I’m sure your CI would love to let you spend half a day shadowing one of them.

I believe it is the perfect place to start on your first clinical because it will provide you with a nice foundation for the rest of school. You will learn patient care skills, bedside manor, and you will be able to understand where your patients are coming from. Unfortunately, this acute rotation is my last. It has been a nice summary of everything I have learned, but if I could do it all again I would most definitely choose acute care first. So, if you are wondering where you should go, find a hospital that will take you and make the most of it. I promise you will not regret it!

If you are a visual learner like myself, you might enjoy this little gem I ran across while researching strokes.  It mainly provides general information and associated photos with signs and symptoms of a stroke and what will follow afterwards.

If you would like to view this visual guide to the stroke, click here.

Drinking coffee appears to offer protection against stroke, a major study of women concludes.

Women in the study who drank more than a cup of coffee a day had a 22% to 25% lower risk of stroke than those who drank less, according to findings reported Thursday in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the USA, behind heart disease and cancer.

Swedish researcher Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm followed 34,670 women ages 49-83 for an average of 10 years. The questionnaire completed by the women did not inquire whether their coffee was regular or decaffeinated, but the authors say the number of people who drink decaf in Sweden is very low.

To read the rest of the article click here

The National Institute of Neurological  Disorders and Stroke have given new light to the fact that patients who participate in intense physical therapy at home show the same amount of improvement compared to using expensive high tech body weight supported treadmill devices.

These researchers also demonstrate that these patients continue to improve walking ability up to a year following the initial stroke. This is yet another pat on the back for those of us in PT who work so hard with patients during the recovery. Neuroplasticity is a very slow and sometimes agonizing process for the therapist and patient. Read the full story

I don’t normally post youtube videos but I guess I am just on a roll! Also these videos are flipping sweet! As a matter of fact their entire website/videos are flipping sweet! Anywho here are two videos regarding the MCA. Enjoy!

Middle Cerebral Artery Stroke – USML Entertainment

Left Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) Stroke – USMLE Study Songs

to see more of USMLE’s amazing videos click here

Current work with patients who have had a stroke tends to lean more toward the explicit side of motor learning. Basically giving the patient a series of directions to instruct them on how to perform a task. A recent research article from the Journal of Physical Therapy suggests a completely different approach.

The new direction that the research suggested was an implicit approach to task instructions. Simply put, you give the patient no instruction and let them figure it out in an error free environment. Implicit learning is not a new concept but it is a unique approach especially when working with patients that have decreased mental processing from a stroke. Read the full story

I recently came across an article about an infant who was showing signs of developmental delay. The infant had a closed fist on the right hand and weakness in the right leg. Sounds oddly familiar doesn’t it? Before reading this article I didn’t know that it was possible for an infant to have a stroke. Take a look at this article from northjersey.com and I think you will be as surprised as I was. Read the full story

New Study Suggests Yet Another Potential Benefit of Chocolate Consumption
By KRISTINA FIORE
MedPage Today Staff Writer

March 30, 2010—

Willy Wonka may have been on the right track — chocolate may be a sweet way to control blood pressure and thus protect the heart, according to a report from German researchers.

But before you stock up on chocolate bunnies, consider this: the chocolate benefit was greatest among people who consumed about 7.5 grams of chocolate daily. That works out to about a quarter of an ounce, which is barely a nibble from a typical Hershey bar, which weighs in at 1.55 ounces.
Read the full story