You are an attending physician supervising a new resident.Together,you decide to treat a patient with a steroid drug.The resident administers the drug and watches the patient anxiously."It's not working," he mutters.How do you respond?
A)"You're right,it doesn't seem to be working.Let's increase the dose,since we need to achieve high steroid levels in the blood."
B)"Why don't you go on your rounds and come back? Steroid hormones need several hours to work,since they regulate gene expression.Transcription and translation take time."
C)"We forgot to administer the carrier protein to get the drug across the cell membrane.We can add that now."
D)"Let's grab a cup of coffee and then check again.Activating the G-protein coupled receptor and its downstream kinase cascade can take several minutes."

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Option B is the best choice because it provides the correct information about the time needed for steroid hormones to work. It also encourages the resident to continue with their duties and not to panic. Increasing the dose (option A) might lead to adverse effects, and option C is irrelevant since carrier proteins are not always needed for steroid hormones. Option D is also incorrect because the G-protein coupled receptor pathway is not always involved in steroid hormone action.

You Are an Attending Physician Supervising a New Resident