When patients at the UCLA emergency room experience symptoms of a stroke, the first response often comes from the Student Stroke Team, which is a small group of selectively picked undergraduates who assist emergency room doctors.
The team works seven days a week in the emergency room and serves as the “eyes and ears” of the stroke-team doctors, said Dr. Sidney Starkman, the faculty coordinator for the program.
In addition, the team serves as support for the patients when they enter the recovery period.
“When a stroke patient arrives, the students help determine whether or not the patient is having a stroke and what is the stroke onset time,” Starkman said.
The stroke onset time is when the stroke first occurred.
Since untreated strokes can debilitate patients in a matter of hours, Starkman said the rapid response of the stroke team is essential in reducing the damage.
“If we intervene in the first few hours, we can make a difference in how bad the outcome is,” he said.
He added that doctors could not make much of a difference in the aftermath of a stroke until recently because of technology advancements.
A stroke is identified when a patient experiences symptoms such as sudden weakness or numbness, confusion, trouble seeing, and a loss of balance or coordination.
Student participants in the team said they enjoyed the opportunity to receive real-world medical experience, even though they are currently undergraduate students.
“It’s an incredible experience running around the ER, working with stroke-team doctors and evaluating stroke severity and symptoms,” said third-year neuroscience student Paul Smithedajkul.
Antonio Moya, a fourth-year neuroscience student, said participating in the Student Stroke Team gives prospective medical students crucial skills when talking with patients and their families.
“A large part of the program is the fact that undergraduate students have the opportunity to conduct patient interviews, report back to doctors, and make sure (patients) are receiving the best care possible,” Moya said.
Moya added that it was a great responsibility and experience knowing that the patients are trusting the undergraduate students for their care.
Admittance into the Student Stroke Team is competitive; as many as 100 students apply for as few as five openings, Starkman said.
Fourth-year physiological science student Jeff Lee agreed that the Student Stroke Team is helpful for prospective medical school students, especially when developing interpersonal skills with patients.
“We develop a relationship with the patients … once we’ve helped them, we get to follow up and see how they do later on,” Lee said.
In addition to working with patients and doctors, the students learn about cutting-edge medical technology in treating stroke, Starkman said.
“(The Student Stroke Team) sees and works first-hand with the leading edge advancements being made through research and (is) able to apply this research by making a difference in an acute patient’s recovery,” he said.
Moya said the team has had the opportunity to attend stroke conferences and technology fairs and has the chance to see how robotic devices can reduce hemorrhaging in the event of a stroke.
Smithedajkul said being part of the team has helped him to overcome anxiety about speaking with families and friends of stroke patients and to pay attention to their duties as members of the Student Stroke Team.
“(We) are asked to maintain a professional demeanor and overcome our personal anxieties to not only be able to function in this setting, but to also focus on the task at hand: to provide the patient with the best possible medical care,” Smithedajkul said.