June Rolls In

With the start of month, comes another progress report and a fresh set of monthly goals.

First up is the progress on May's goals. I satisfactorily completed the gathering of materials and the standard views, but could have done better on the standard measurements. However, standard measurements are included while learning about disease processes so it's not a big deal.

This month, I'm focusing on reading chapters from The Echocardiographer's Guide. It's a well written book on the basics of echocardiography and I plan to read it in its entirety. Last month I read the first two chapters, pertaining to physics and the standard echo examination respectively. This month I'll be reading chapters 3-6 and possibly starting on 7 which deals with valvular heart disease.

June 2008

• Refresh myself on last month's goals
• Evaluation of left ventricular systolic function
• Evaluation of right ventricular function
• Evaluation of diastolic function
• Coronary artery disease

Progress Report and a New Monitor!

Last update, I completed gathering all materials necessary for my echo learning process. This update, I've reviewed all standard echo views but I'm not content enough to mark that goal as completed.

I'm slating the next update for after the holiday, hopefully with a short article on an echo view that I was unfamiliar with before a few days ago.

On a slightly related note, I've received my Samsung T220 monitor. I may post my thoughts on it after more thorough usage, particularly for reading ebooks. My initial opinion is that it's quite impressive and better than the ones I've viewed in stores. I'm optimistic that it'll remain a solid purchase for me.

Acquisition of Materials

The initial step in a prepared journey is having a destination. The second is envisioning the path that leads to that destination. I currently don't have that firm path, but flexibility is beneficial. So the progress I have today is a wide range of learning materials to help me establish that path. Reading and studying goals will be developed as my May goals are completed.

In order to accomplish my goals, I have a combination of printed books, ebooks, and more experienced practitioners in my clinic. The materials mentioned go beyond echo into the realms of Respiratory Therapy and Advanced Cardiac Life Support, which will be part of future goals.

Printed Books

• Echo Made Easy
• Echocardiography Pocketcard Set
• My worksite Echocardiography Workbook

As I progress in knowledge past the basic echo exam and delve into disease processes, you can expect articles written on related topics of interest.

Everybody Has Their Roots

This blog is about one man's learning experiences in the healthcare field and eventually charting progress into other fields and eventually even personal life like fitness. It's a motivational journal to keep me on track to achieving my short and long term goals over the next few years. So with that in mind, I'm setting my first two goals for today related to Echocardiography.

Echocardiography is the skill needed to obtain 2D and with new technology, 3D images of the heart using sound waves. But for an echocardiography (echo from here on out) technician, only obtaining quality views of the heart is insufficient. A large emphasis is put on cardiac anatomy as well as cardiac disease processes. The reason behind it is simple: You have to obtain all of the information the cardiologist needs to make a diagnosis. When dealing with structures varying in size from fractions of a centimeter to a few centimeters, precision and experience is key to preventing an errant diagnosis.

Echo Goals

• Long Term
• Be able to perform clinical echocardiograms without assistance
• Short Term
  • May 2008
  • Obtain echocardiography materials for learning
  • Review and learn standard anatomy of all 7 standard transthoracic views
  • Gain familiarity with normal values for anatomical measurements