counting baby's heart beat resource?

[ldnk]

Originally Posted by doctorbetty

Thanks for all of these suggestions... They have re-inforced the importance of considering the big picture in relation to single assessment findings. I don't think my "gut" is very reliable yet. I tend to worry about many different findings about my patients - even if there is nothing to worry about. Perhaps my gut will be a better guide with more experience! I need to remind myself to look at the bigger picture.

I'm very concerned at the novice HCP that relies on their gut to make decisions. It should almost entirely come from experience, because aside from some common sense stuff, you just don't have the wealth of experience of draw upon subconsciously to make the right "gut" decisions.

Gut decisions aren't wild guesses, they are just doing short hand division rather than long hand because you know the steps in between.

[doctorbetty]

Originally Posted by ldnk

I'm very concerned at the novice HCP that relies on their gut to make decisions. It should almost entirely come from experience, because aside from some common sense stuff, you just don't have the wealth of experience of draw upon subconsciously to make the right "gut" decisions.

Gut decisions aren't wild guesses, they are just doing short hand division rather than long hand because you know the steps in between.

I agree! This is why I mentioned that I need more experience before my gut will be useful at all.

[Birdy]

I'm sorry to intrude on this part of the forum, but this caught my eye as I was reading and I thought I'd make a suggestion, though it may seem a bit odd.

Do you have a cat, or have a friend with a cat, or perhaps a small dog?

A small dog's heart rate and a cat's are around 160 beats per minute at rest. It's a bit easier to hear than an infant's (I have pets and kids as well as a stethoscope, curiousity, and occasionally too much time on my hands...) but it's around the same pace as a normal-to-high infant's heart rate.

Probably sounds a bit odd, but I thought I'd suggest it anyway. I'm not a med student yet, so feel free to take that with a grain of salt.

/reverting to lurker status in this part of the forum now...