This week, for a change, I thought we’d look at a medical teaching video in the hope of finding some relaxing material. Actually, that’s no change at all as we have covered this channel and this institution in a previous blog post.
In that blog post I concluded that the sound quality really wasn’t all there. I limited the post to just five videos, concluding that a number of them were not going to make it to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
However, there was the matter of the remaining videos to review, so I thought I’d give the channel a second chance, in the hope that there is a diamond in the rough as it were.
As previously indicated the tutor is Justine Ward who desperately needs a better microphone and quieter surroundings to get the best sound on her videos. Sadly she has neither here.
The channel is Dominican College. The purpose of this set of videos is not completely clear. I do not think they were designed with audio quality in mind.
In which case I think I will limit myself to reviewing just five videos on this occasion as well.
September 22, 2019
A bit longer than the last (previous blog post) at four and three-quarter minutes.
It shares the same limitations as the others reviewed so far, in that the voice of the teaching professional seems to be at the end of a long tunnel.
One thing that does come across is how gentle she is with the “patient” in this. It is also the first time I have come across a video in which a person with restricted motion is reviewed (left shoulder).
Again, the video ends abruptly (this has become somewhat of a theme).
This appears to be a duplicate of the video called “C-spine and UE ROM screen 9/22/19”. We only need one in the playlist so I’ll drop this one.
It is interesting that the focus is on reimbursement based upon Insurance Companies. This is strange to a person in an NHS system that money payment for treatment is a contingent process, like stage payments on a mortgage. Health obviously having a very definite value in such a system.
It appears to be a duplicate of the one entitled “C-spine goniometry 9/22/19” we only need one in the playlist so I’ll drop this one.
September 22, 2019
Again, we see the extreme care taken in manipulating. With feedback felt about where rotation should cease. Any pressure on joints is applied with care.
We can probably rattle through these barring any surprises because they are consistent in terms of sound quality.
C-spine Goniometry 9/22/19
We covered this above as the second September 22, 2019 video.
The Dominican College playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been working through that playlist repeatedly and some of the videos that were members have now fallen from favour. If any of your favourites are in there you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than excessive background noise.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
Another week and onwards towards a longer playlist and another set of videos (from YouTube) to review.
Today we have another set from a student, presumably this was originally created as part of an assessment process.
As is typical for this type of channel, the last update was some time ago and now the channel is not maintained. We have already seen that some videos can be taken down and these could become the same, so my advice is “get ‘em while you can”.
The channel is Jordynlee21 and the updates are nine years ago (2015). There are four videos, which as you will see, have pretty much the same title but feature different “patients”.
There are no playlists available on the channel so, in no particular order, this is the first one.
Head to toe Ashley Brehmer- South University
The camera pans the room in the most disconcerting way. The initial verbal description is a bit drony, as if it is narrated by someone who is just going through the motions.
There is an ever-present background noise (probably air conditioning). This is a situation with which we are now well familiar.
As is usual, the channel for South University does not include medical examination videos.
I’m always fascinated by the terms used by those using a stethoscope such as “Intercostal Space”, this gives a good definition:
“2nd intercostal space (i.e., the space between the second and third ribs).
3rd intercostal space (i.e., the space between the third and fourth ribs).
4th intercostal space (i.e., the space between the fourth and fifth ribs).
5th intercostal space (i.e. the space between the fifth and sixth ribs).”
At intervals the presentation does settle down to be more gentle and is more the kind of video that we’re looking for (or “hearing for” if that could be a term).
In this case the medical professional is Ashley, I am not clear who Jordyn Lee (the name of the channel) is. The channel has been around since 2009 so considerably before the video.
Callie Donnay head to toe- South University
Again, with the maniacal whirling of the camera about the room, presumably to demonstrate that there are no prompts in the room for the student. However, I would have thought it straightforward to pan the room initially and then introduce material subsequently, but maybe I’m over thinking this.
The medical professional is Callie Donnay, again, the video is posted nine years ago. The air conditioning noise remains ever present. The “patient” here is the medical professional from the previous video i.e. Ashley Brehmer.
Sensibly there are no comments permitted; we’ve seen negative comments against such videos before.
Eventually the video settles down and gets reasonably quiet. I wonder if initial nerves in such videos is the reason that they often set off loud and settle down later.
There is the occasional clatter as equipment is moved around. This is distracting but not massively off-putting.
Alana Haas head to toe- South University
Alana Haas is the medical professional. Again, the camera pans the room. The “patient” confirms it is actually a hospital and not a domestic setting as we have often seen before. The patient states her name as Jordyn Hutchinson. The surname isn’t Lee – so perhaps she is not the owner of the channel. The patient states the date as 2013 so the video is posted somewhat later than that (which seems a bit odd if it is part of an assessment process).
Like the previous videos, the voice isn’t spot on for ASMR and the background noise is always present. However, there are periods of calm. Again, there are clattering noises which are only marginally distracting.
Jordyn Hutchinson head to toe- South University
Here, Jordyn becomes the medical professional. I’m not sure how common the spelling Jordyn is seen (I’m more used to Jordan). However, it is conceivable that Jordyn married and took the name Lee and hence the channel belongs to the self-same Jordyn.
I’m not sure how that could be verified as the videos lack any notes.
As before the camera sweeps the room and the medical professional starts off loud, so far, so familiar.
The patient is Alana Haas who appears in the previous video.
It settles down and is moderately quiet. I do often hope for another Hollie Berry but I think these videos are adequate for getting to sleep.
They’re going into the playlist and I’ll rely on the review process to sweep them into the archive list if they cease to be appealing.
The Jordyn Lee playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been working through that playlist repeatedly and some of the videos that were members have now fallen from favour. If any of your favourites are in there you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than unwelcome loud equipment noises.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
Recently, I am finding some variability around the efficacy of using just the ASMR videos to get some sleep. Some nights very effective, some nights a distraction, and some nights just not effective at all.
On such nights, I tend to lie on the sofa and tune into the dreariness that is late night television (dreariness is probably advisable as really compelling television is only going to keep you awake for longer).
However, there are other things to try, for example, there are free online meditation resources. Some people I am told find the discipline of meditation really diverting. I have until recently found focusing on meditation to be one more thing I do not want to do when I am tired and I want to sleep.
However, never say never, I recently have received a gift subscription to Calm and I am giving some of the meditations a try. So far without positive outcome, but you never know.
Meantime I am back to finding more ASMR videos. I am trying to stay ahead as I notice that some of my blog posts already have blank spaces where videos used to be. Videos are obviously being taken down.
Previously, we have dealt with the Sterling Freeman part of this partnership.
Now we have Olivia Rabone and, as we saw in that previous blog post, this looks like it is a video designed as part of an assessment.
Head-to-toe physical assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
As we have heard before, the ever-present air conditioning to provide an audio background for us. In this, Sterling Freeman is the “patient”.
Olivia Rabone attended Howard College Texas until 2022
Howard College has (as we’ve come to expect) has its own channel.
However, the badge on the shoulder of Sterling does not look anything like that on the Howard College Channel.
Sterling also studied at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
This college also has a YouTube channel. However, the badge is not like that on the uniform.
Sterling early in the video confirms that they are both at Howard College, Big Spring Texas. (Perhaps the college has subsequently changed its branding).
We also get the confirmation that this is 2019, which was very likely Sterling’s final year there (although Olivia appears to have attended for longer than that).
I always find it amusing that in these videos the students provide privacy by drawing an invisible curtain. We have seen this before of course.
I’ve seen a few applications of a blood pressure cuff in these videos. Given how far Olivia has to wrap that cuff around Sterling’s arm I think it might be bit on the large side.
The assessment proceeds at the pace of an express train. This makes me wonder if trainee health professionals are under the cosh to get things accomplished in the smallest amount of time possible.
Olivia seems to be reciting from a mental script as the empathy quotient in this video is not obviously high.
Against that, the tone is really pleasant; it is not excessively loud. It makes a good Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
The channel, unsurprisingly, is called Olivia Rabone. It has eight videos on it, which is a number I think I can cover here without over stretching your attention. (The Procrastination Pen playlist is at the end of this article if you want to skip to that point, simply scroll down to find it).
Although Olivia hosts this one on her channel the medical professional here is Sunny and the “patient” is Olivia.
Sunny has her own channel which might be worthy of a future review.
Judging by Sunny’s shoulder badge (which is the same as Sterling’s in the previous video) this is also filmed at Howard College.
We have the constant drone of force-driven air to keep the ears entertained. In this case the medical professional’s volume is not aligned with this background noise. It is quite difficult to hear what Sunny is actually saying. This might be ok if the air conditioning noise was more restful but I do not find that it is.
The camera appears to be a huge distance from the two participants. This is unusual for videos of this type. However, given we are mainly here for the listening experience I cannot judge this video solely on that basis.
Sunny at intervals seems to be distracted. Potentially she is trying to follow some standard assessment checklist.
This does make it a little difficult to relax into the experience (and fall asleep to it for example).
Overall, I think the sound quality discounts this video from the Procrastination Pen playlist.
This continues in the vein of the last video, with a high background noise in relation to the main spoken audio track.
Stacy Kuykendall is a remarkably common name in Texas it turns out (including one woman whose children were killed). The upshot of which is that I have been unable to determine if Stacy has a YouTube channel.
To be honest given this is set up exactly like the last one it didn’t stand a chance from the outset so I will not be adding it to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
The background noise on this is really intrusive, including what sounds like a whole flock of rock doves trying to outcompete one another.
There are a number of non-medical and non-ASMR comments with this video. But none of these have any interest to us.
There is the noise of overflying planes. At one point Olivia starts laughing, which given the challenges involved in filming here, is probably unsurprising.
If you’re watching as well as listening, there are also some strange artefacts coming from sunlight across the lens.
As before, there are occasional gaps as Olivia consults a checklist so it is a little staccato in approach.
It just isn’t there in terms of ASMR, so it will not be into the Procrastination Pen playlist.
CN’s & Musculoskeletal-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
Here we are straight back to the partnership that we started this blog item with. Although the partnership is the same, it appears that someone stuck the microphone actually inside the air conditioning outlet.
The audio track is nearly completely occluded by the constant whirr that is going on.
It is a shame because in all other respects this is the equal of the video that we started with in this article, but I don’t think it can really go through to the Procrastination Pen playlist.
Respiratory & Cardiac assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
Yet again the background noise is high. However, I think this is just acceptable. It is very calm and considerably more methodical than some others featured in this blog post. However, it may well suffer an early weeding if it proves to be distracting on subsequent review.
A louder vocal track would have compensated for the air conditioning. Perhaps YouTube videos of the future will incorporate an air conditioning filter designed to eliminate all that excess noise.
HEENT assessment-Olivia Rabone and Sterling Freeman
This seems to start a bit louder, but so does the air conditioning. I could probably provide a good service to listeners if I could somehow process all the sound tracks to eliminate background noise. Sadly, however I am no sound engineer.
There are relatively few comments but just shy of seven and a half thousand views, which sounds remarkable.
To be honest, I’m not certain it is a great Procrastination Pen playlist candidate.
NG tube/EN/PN discussion
This is so much quieter than the others which must be down to the change of venue. This is filmed inside someone’s house. The start of the video though is not restful. It is almost in the format of a lecture with the delivery a tad hesitant.
Someone off camera starts coughing and Olivia is merely reading from a script.
This one isn’t for the Procrastination Pen playlist either.
The Olivia Rabone playlist on the Procrastination Pen is here:
The Procrastination Pen playlist (which is no-doubt what you have all been reading this in order to locate) is found here:
I have been listening to that playlist most nights and some of the videos that were members have now been removed. If any of your favourites are missing from that main playlist you can find them here in the archive list:
Quite often the videos getting removed have no faults other than occasional intrusive noises.
The playlist of items that are great for ASMR (but contain an age verification function), usually a great way to interrupt your listening in the middle of the night, is here:
I hope that you find the playlists restful and that you get a good night’s sleep.
Hope to see you again back here for the next blog article.
If you liked this blog item why not subscribe to this blog.
Continuing in our search for medical videos which may induce ASMR in some listeners (or at the very least induce enough relaxation to see you napping) we have today’s video:
Hip Extension and Hip Abduction MMT
This one is from the channel Dominican College which has just seven hundred and three subscribers as at today’s date (this seems a little low for a college). There are one hundred and ninety-four videos at the time I’m looking at it. This is a tad too many for any single blog post. There are seven playlists but many of these have a high number of videos in them. So in this case using playlists to narrow the field may not be effective. This is thirty-eighth in a thirty-nine video playlist “PT541 Basics of PT (2022)”
I do not think that we will be covering thirty-nine videos in any single blog post even though some of them are quite short.
Today’s video is obviously filmed in a classroom setting, there is a general hubbub happening as for people chatting in the background. The sound is quite muted and the background noise is prevalent (I’d guess air conditioning again). It ends rather abruptly as well which might be off-putting.
It is marginal in terms of the purpose that we wish to put it to (engendering restfulness). This is no Hollie Berry or Vicki Scott. I’ll let it sneak into the Procrastination Pen playlist but it might be subject to future weeding.
The channel tells me very little about the college itself – merely that the channel was established in 2018.
Checking for Dominican College online I find that it has been rebranded to Dominican University now. I think I’ve found the correct one as it offers a PT programme (which is the subject of the playlist).
It is located in New York and has an interesting history.
Whilst we’re in the playlist let’s see if there are any others worthy of examination.
Given the large number of videos in this playlist I think we’ll need to arbitrarily cut the number. I’m going to choose five and then revisit on another occasion.
Gross UE ROM Screen
I wonder if the small number of subscribers is because it was posted for a specific reason, say a class during a time of Covid or something similar.
The tutor is Justine Ward. Sadly there is no channel for Justine, there might have been a chance to find something with better audio quality.
The sound quality is no better on this video and given it is less than three minutes it isn’t worth adding to The Procrastination Pen playlist.
Assessment of knee flexion end feel
A short video at just over a minute. Sadly the sound quality does not improve, the teaching professional really needs a lapel mic. Given it is so short, again, I don’t see the point in adding it to The Procrastination Pen playlist (it might have sneaked in had the sound quality been better).
The theme of these videos is they all seem to end abruptly which is even less great given it gives the opportunity for a loud YouTube advert to kick in immediately afterwards.
UE strength screen
This is two minutes long and the sound quality is not great. There is however no classroom banter in this one which helps. Someone does clear his throat part way through (I assume the person holding the camera).
There is a repeat of the “don’t let me move you” phrase we’ve encountered before. Again, I don’t think this will make it to The Procrastination Pen playlist.
Assessing ankle DF and elbow ext end feel
This is very short at just over one and a half minutes and the noise quality is not the greatest here. It’s noisy to begin with, slightly better as it settles down later on.
It’s also unnerving in places. I’m sure if some of the manipulations were tried on my elbow for example, I’d be nursing it for a long time afterwards.
It doesn’t belong in The Procrastination Pen playlist.
There is only one candidate video this time. As a consequence I will not create a playlist on The Procrastination Pen for Dominican College.
However, the playlist for all videos covered on The Procrastination Pen so far is here:
I recommend you view it on YouTube (rather than on this blog) then you will be able to use the shuffle function so that the videos play in a random order.
The archive playlist of videos that were in the above playlist but found after repeated review not to make the grade, is here:
I keep this in case subscribers to the Procrastination Pen have personal favourites that they want to hear.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
I can’t be bothered to stop trying to relax in order to log on, this interrupts the listening experience. You may not mind this in which case this list is for you.
I hope that you find the playlists restful and I hope you get plenty of sleep.
If you liked this blog article why not follow this blog.
I hope you find the playlist relaxing, any feedback is welcome.
As promised in an earlier blog item, I decided to follow up on “ROM and MMT” as a search term. This results in a great many videos with the kind of unpleasant noises in them which prove to be distracting.
There are however, a multiplicity of videos on this theme. It is a matter of persistence to find one which doesn’t have the air conditioning pretending it is a steel band.
UE Evaluation Review
The title is: “UE Functional Assessment ROM & MMT Screening Pinch & Grip, Edema & Pain”.
(I was pretty sure that was oedema – but obviously not.)
Janey is the medical professional in this one, Lisa is the “patient”. It is not as relaxing as Vicki Scott but is pretty calming. At only seven minutes thirty-nine seconds it is quite a good length for a medical exam. Fortunately, it lacks much in the way of obtrusive background noise.
Janey Detommaso is the channel. There is nothing posted here more recently than four years ago. This video is the shortest one. There are four videos and Lisa only features in this one.
With only four videos and none of these any longer than fourteen minutes thirty-four seconds, it’s worthwhile running through the others to see if they are any good ASMR-wise.
Shoulder & Elbow ROM and MMT
The title at the start of the video is “Range of Motion & Manual Muscle Testing ROM of the Shoulder, Elbow and Forearm” which is handy as that fits with the search term I was originally using.
In this one Janey is a bit loud from the start. The camera angle is a bit odd. It is probably just propped on a table somewhere. But it isn’t the visual aspect of the video that is the reason for us being here. At intervals, Janey tones it down a bit and actually gets to quiet. It is a shame she doesn’t do this the whole way through the video because when Janey chooses to do this she has a great voice.
Subsequently the filming switches to a bedroom – which leads me to suspect the whole video is part of some student assessment process. I would guess that otherwise it would be filmed in a medical establishment.
At fourteen minutes thirty-four seconds this is the longest of the four videos on this channel. There are twenty-three subscribers but no comments. It is conceivable (though not probable) that no one in the ASMR community has yet reviewed this one.
The sound on this one is really poor. It seems to have been filmed in a group situation in which people are paired off.
Other people are talking away in the background. It is difficult to distinguish the main track in this video. This really wrecks it for ASMR sadly.
This is not one for the playlist then.
The badge on Janey’s top seems to indicate it is at an establishment with the acronym TWU. This is potentially Texas Women’s University who seem to offer occupational health courses at Dallas and Houston locations.
It is a shame about that sound quality.
Hand & Wrist ROM/MMT
This video is twelve minutes fifteen seconds so it is the second longest video on this channel (and the final one available). Mr Hernandez crops up again (we saw him in the “Shoulder & Elbow ROM and MMT” video earlier).
Again, the interior appears domestic rather than medical. At the start of the video there is a strange flickering light behind the window Mr Hernandez is sat in front of. This is distracting, but only if you’re watching. As we’re all about the listening experience here, I’m ignoring it.
The sound is quite good, there is no background noise and Janey seems at her most calm here compared to any of the videos covered in this article.
This one seems well worthy of the Procrastination Pen playlist as it is quite relaxing.
The playlist for Janey Detommaso is here:
The overall playlist for all videos covered so far in this blog is here:
The archive list of videos that once made it into the overall playlist but upon reflection did not make the grade is here:
That list only exists in case I remove someone’s favourite video.
The playlist of videos requiring age verification is here:
Warning this list will cause you to stop in order to log on to verify your age. If you’re happy with that then this playlist is for you. Personally I just ceased watching any material that requires that logon.
If you liked this blog article why not subscribe to this blog.