Managing Shoulder Injuries

The American Family Physician is the peer-reviewed journal put out by the AAFP and they often have great stuff. This is an older article, but still incredibly relevant.

A shout out to my ortho roots...

Management of Shoulder Impingement Syndrome and Rotator Cuff Tears

EEG Readings

YouTube is a fantastic resource (well, mostly). Recently I found this great video explaining EEG readings. It is helpful. Enjoy!

http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/central/epileptic.html

Challenge Bowl Time

Interested in competing in the AAPA National Challenge Bowl this year? Check out some video footage from last year!

Challenge Bowl Video

Repleting K+

Electrolyte imbalances are something that you see a lot on your rotations - especially in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and surgery.

When thinking about repleting a potassium deficiency consider the following:

• Goal is of K is greater than 4 in any pt with active cardiac problems
• If your pt has nl renal function: 10mEq of KCl (IV or PO) will increase serum K by about 0.1mEq/L (so if your pt is at 3.6, about 40 mEq of KCl should help correct your patient)
• Don't replete if patient is on dialysis (consult the dialysis team)
• f your pt has compromised renal function: divide the mEq of normal repletion by the pt's Cr (example: pt has Cr of 3, then you use 1/3 of the nl repletion amount - so instead of 9mEq, you'd use 3mEq)
• PO can cause nausea
• IV can be painful
• Typical combos: 10mEq/100cc or 10mEq/50cc (peripheral IV) and 20mEq/50cc (central line)
• Be careful when repleting its with renal insufficiency or in pts with high risk of tumor lysis

*This is not meant to substitute for clinical judgement, just suggestions to think about when treating K+ deficiencies in your patients.
Source: 
http://www.eric.vcu.edu/home/curriculum/print/Intern_Ward_Survival_Guide_2009.pdf
http://www.surgicalcriticalcare.net/Guidelines/electrolyte_replacement.pdf

photo: http://mattrosenart.deviantart.com/art/Potassium-195578504

New PA Student Site

Check out the new microsite dedicated to PA Students! I was part of the team that worked hard to put this together and the AAPA was an integral part of giving us the funding to get this up and running. It is a "one stop shop" that was created BY PA students FOR PA students!

Check it out. Write a blog entry for the site. Submit a new scholarship that you found that is relevant. The continued success of the site is dependent on YOU the PA student to help keep it alive with content!

See the About Us section to know where to send your content!

www.PAStudentEssentials.com