# PROBELLS acronym



## SD_EMT (Dec 16, 2009)

..I'm drawing a blank on some of these, and I can't seem to find it in my notes or text ??  Can anyone help?  Gosh, I feel so dumb!


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## wyoskibum (Dec 16, 2009)

Never seen that one before.


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## zmedic (Dec 16, 2009)

Are you sure you aren't thinking of DUMBELLS? What was the context, what is it supposed to help you remember?

Also if a mnuemonic doesn't help you remember, it isn't doing it's job. I find I always do better when I make up my own.


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## daedalus (Dec 16, 2009)

Like I VINDICATE? For etiologies?

Idiopathic, Iatrogenic 

Vascular
Infectious
Neoplastic
Degenerative, Drugs
Inflammatory
Congenital
Autoimmune
Traumatic
Endocrinal and metabolic
Allergic


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## SD_EMT (Dec 16, 2009)

P
R
O
B
E
L
L
S

It's an acronym for listing vitals in order.


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## JPINFV (Dec 16, 2009)

How exactly does the acronym work? If it's something like "Pulse before blood pressure" I'm going to have a stroke.


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## EMSLaw (Dec 16, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> How exactly does the acronym work? If it's something like "Pulse before blood pressure" I'm going to have a stroke.



Sir, can you smile for me?  Lift your arms?  Grip my hands and squeeze...  h34r:

Okay, I've never learned this one, so I'm thinking Pulse, Respirations, not sure about O, Blood Pressure, Eyes, Lungs, not so sure about the other L or S, either.  Maybe it's lungs twice, for front and back?    

Do you really need a mnemonic to remember how to take vitals?


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## Shishkabob (Dec 16, 2009)

Pulse
respirations
no clue
bloood pressure
no clue
no clue
no clue
no clue 


Never heard of that abbrevation before, let alone any order. 


The vital signs are pulse (rate), respirations, bp, temp, and new/fifth pain level. I don't know of any more.


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## DigitalSoCal (Dec 16, 2009)

Pulse, 
Respirations, 
Blood Pressure, 
Eyes, 
Lung Sounds, 
Level of Consciousness, 
Skin/Scars

According to google


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## EMSLaw (Dec 16, 2009)

DigitalSoCal said:


> Pulse,
> Respirations,
> Blood Pressure,
> Eyes,
> ...



Isn't LOC the FIRST thing we check?  A verbal response to the "Hey, buddy, you okay?" question is a strong indicator of breathing.


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## DigitalSoCal (Dec 16, 2009)

I didn't say I agreed with it


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## JPINFV (Dec 16, 2009)

EMSLaw said:


> Isn't LOC the FIRST thing we check?  A verbal response to the "Hey, buddy, you okay?" question is a strong indicator of breathing.




That's the big issue with how EMS assessments are taught. It's taught to be this somewhat rigid order where you have to ask or check things in a specific order. A real assessment is much more fluid and organic, with findings leading to new questions and different things to check. Additionally, a lot of things (including LOC) are essentially figured out in the first 10 seconds of a patient encounter.


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## EMSLaw (Dec 16, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> That's the big issue with how EMS assessments are taught. It's taught to be this somewhat rigid order where you have to ask or check things in a specific order. A real assessment is much more fluid and organic, with findings leading to new questions and different things to check. Additionally, a lot of things (including LOC) are essentially figured out in the first 10 seconds of a patient encounter.



I agree with you.  But whether the patient is conscious or unconscious, and if conscious how A&O they are, is going to be one of the first things you notice about them, and will determine how much of the rest of your initial assessment is going to go.


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