a rhetorical question

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Veneficus

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When I was in EMT class, many years back, we were taught how to listen to heart tones.

The last few years, I noticed this skill has been dropped.

Most recently I am engaged in a debate in another thread over the appropriateness of this being performed by EMTs.

But I have a question.

If you listen to lung sounds, what is so different about heart sounds that makes them so intimidating?
 
I would answer but a rhetorical question by definition needs no answer.
 
That was my point...
 
Rhetorically answering

Heart sounds are more subtle and thus more of an "art", while ling sounds useful to basic level field folks (paramedics and EMT-B's) are easier, to a certain point, and thus more of a science. It is harder to teach art than science and more talent is involved.
 
Isn't lung sounds now watered down to the point of being "normal" or "abnormal?"
 
Veneficus said:
Are you trying to piss me off?
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If I really wanted to piss you off I would have mentioned that I got into an argument about a month ago with a professor who didn't believe that "rales" and "crackles" were the same thing.
 
abckidsmom said:
It's a true. I am precepting a new EMT-B right now, and she absolutely did not have the vocabulary to describe the lung sounds she heard.
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la la la la not listening :)
 
We are, in U.S. medicine anyway, consistently moving away from the human art and depending more and more on machines to do our work.

I don't think that lessens the mistakes. It just gives us something else to blame while minimizing the healing effects of human interaction.
 
Lung sounds are also more likely to be relevant to the type of field treatment and decision-making we usually make in the field, especially for BLS.
 
Brandon Oto said:
Lung sounds are also more likely to be relevant to the type of field treatment and decision-making we usually make in the field, especially for BLS.
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you don't think an apical pulse is?
 
I love me a good apical, but I wouldn't exactly call it advanced heart sounds.
 
Brandon Oto said:
I love me a good apical, but I wouldn't exactly call it advanced heart sounds.
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I didn't suggest advanced heart sounds,

but I don't think: "That sounds abnormal" is requiring too much.

For lungs I expect better.

But if you could skillfully listen to heart sounds, wouldn't that make you a very skilled (and therefore respected and valuable) EMT?
 
Hey, you'll never hear me say that EMT's shouldn't be improving their clinical assessments. But on the balance of things it's a difficult skill with limited opportunity to use it (really need a quiet space and some time), with not a great deal of probabilty to influence our care. There are other things I'd want someone working on first.

Edit: also somewhat hard to find educational resources on this.
 
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