As possible stroke victims enter the emergency room of the busy Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, they are met by undergraduate UCLA students trained in detecting the symptoms of the condition.
The Student Stroke Team, formed in 1992 by UCLA neurologist Dr. Sidney Starkman, is one of the only programs of its kind in the United States.
It gives UCLA undergraduates an important role in helping detect stroke victims, said Marissa Campbell, a fourth-year physiological sciences student and Student Stroke Team coordinator.
The student team is critical in this early detection process because like a heart attack, treatments for stroke patients are time-dependent, Campbell said.
Searching for hallmark symptoms, such as headaches, the inability to communicate and unresponsiveness on certain sides of the body, members of the student group work in the emergency room to screen incoming patients.
Once a suspected stroke victim has been identified, Student Stroke Team members immediately notify Starkman, who confirms the diagnosis and immediately notifies the UCLA Medical Center’s neurologists.
Strokes are caused by the interruption of blood flow to parts of the brain. Even a few seconds of stopped blood can cause permanent damage.
“If a stroke occurs in a part of the brain that is very vital for that person’s job or very vital for that person’s interactions with daily life functions, then it will be very debilitating for them,” Campbell said.
While the undergraduates do not have the medical clearance to be a direct part of the treatment process, the stroke team members are allowed to observe as the neurologists take over in the treating of patients.
In addition to probing into the patient’s medical history and checking the patient’s current symptoms, Student Stroke Team members also contribute to the treatment and prevention procedure.
The team is involved in a study called the “Acute Biomarkers of Stroke,” in which students help compile a national database of biomarkers in stroke patients’ blood, said Noel Ayoub, a third-year physiological sciences student and Student Stroke Team member.
This study could help to develop new detection strategies that could be used in conjunction with or could even replace the current techniques, including MRIs or CT scans.
The organization gives undergraduates responsibilities usually reserved for medical students and an opportunity not found elsewhere, said Tirth Patel, a fourth-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student and an educational coordinator for the group.