Educational Theory: Cognitive behaviour - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Furthermore, their behaviour in emergency and stressful situation would be assessed if they were faced with a similar situation. This paper also provides a comprehensive discussion on the appropriate management of the common arrhythmia. Arrhythmia According to Nordqvist (2009, p. 11), arrhythmia is a problem with the heartbeat’s rhythm or rate. For the period of this problem, the heart could beat very slow, with an irregular rhythm, or very fast. A heart-rate that is normal has 50-100 beats for every minute. A heartbeat, which is very slow, is often referred to as bradyarrhythmias or bradycardia with less that 50 beats per minute, whilst a very fast heartbeat is known as tachyarrythmias or tachycardia with faster than 100 beats per minute. Too irregular heartbeat is known as fibrillation, whereas too early heartbeat is called premature contraction. Body organs such as the heart and the brain could be damaged if there is no blood flow (Kastor 2010, p. 11). Arrhythmias refer to problems with the heart-rhythm and typically happen whenever the electrical impulses to the heart which coordinate the heartbeats do not work correctly, thereby making the heart to beat in an inconsistent manner, or very slow/rapid. It is of note that the majority of arrhythmias are not dangerous although some could be grave or very serious to one’s life (Marriott & Covoner 2006, p. 8). Everyone intermittently gets to experience heartbeats which are not regular that might feel like quivering or like a racing heart. Nonetheless, some arrhythmias, particularly when they veer very far from a usual heartbeat or lead to a damaged or weak heart, might result in worrying or possibly mortal symptoms. For the duration of arrhythmia, the heart might be unable to pump adequate blood to the body (Moses 2008, p. 13). Thought process of junior doctors in recognition of common arrhythmia In evaluating a patient with arrhythmia, the first question that a junior doctor asks himself/herself is: what type of arrhythmia is it? Is it tachycardia or bradycardia? There are various arrhythmias that the junior doctor will come across in clinical practice such as tachycardia, when the heart is beating very rapidly; and bradycardia, when the heart is beating in a very slow manner. Whenever the pumping function is decreased greatly for more than a few seconds, the circulation of blood is stopped, and there could be organ damage shortly afterwards. The junior doctor also asks himself/herself if the arrhythmia is harmless or life-threatening. If the identified arrhythmia is ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, the junior doctor will note them as life-threatening. In recognizing common arrhythmias, the doctor’s cognitive behaviour will also concentrate on where they happen within the heart, that is, ventricles or atria, and by what occurs to the rhythm of the heart whenever they happen. Those that begin within the atria are generally referred to as supraventricular, that is, above the ventricles. Conversely, those that start within the ventricles are called ventricular arrhythmias (Sinz 2008, p. 19). Cognitive behaviour of junior doctors in recognition of supraventricular arrhythmias The junior doctor tries to establish if the arrhythmias start above the ventricles and will ask him/her the following question: is it atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal supraventricular tachyc ...Download file to see next pagesRead More