everyone carries trauma shears, but...

[jjesusfreak01]

Third, I'm pretty sure it's an OSHA thing anyway and illegal to throw nasty gray matter in a public place like an ambulance bay (hence the decon rooms at the ER entrances around here). And the following post confirms my suspicions.

I always thought that the decon rooms were primarily for people coming into the hospital rather than equipment going out, hence the showers often found outside the ER entrances. There is probably a protocol at the hospital for cleaning all equipment used in trauma cases.

 

[Sassafras]

Well, the one decon room I've had the displeasure of needing had the shower but also other stations for cleaning equipment...and it was gross...who decons the decon room? I threw nitril gloves on my feet!

 

[cristianb36]

Can you please explain to me why some EMTs find it necessary to carry a hemostat? Is there some unnamed purpose I am not realizing in prehospital medicine? Outer whackerdom?

I carried metal bandage shears for a while when I worked in a clinic for short period-- they provided for smoother cutting of gauze, but otherwise I found no functional difference. Trauma Shears are serrated, and beside being cleaned with cancer wipes, versus sterilization (?) for the metal shears, I don't see any difference...?

Haha, the same like the emtbs with 300 dollar littmanns or welch allyns...

 

[Sassafras]

Hey don't knock my litman. I seriously can't hear Jack out of other steths AND mine was a hand me down from my doctor friend who does NOT wear an orange jumpsuit.

 

[cristianb36]

I'm not knocking littmanns, they're great. I'm knocking emtbs that have 300 dollar cardiology steths.haven't seen a run sheets asking for heart sounds yet. A basic littmann is all you need unless u have seriously diminished hearing, in which case this doenstvapply to you since u do need a high end steth to hear lung soounds in the back

 

[Sassafras]

I don't even know WHAT litmann I have LOL. Wait lemme look...

o.k. allmighty google tells me I have the master classic II. All I know is I can hear pretty darn good with it and I'm the envy of the unit LOL.

 

[jjesusfreak01]

Ill eventually get a Master Classic, but I will probably hold onto the Classic Lightweight (v1) hand me down until I trade up.

 

[EMTSTRONG]

In answer to the original question. . .

As one who has used both trauma shears and bandage shears and has patents for scissors (trauma-shears.com), I can confidently say that there is nothing that a bandage scissor has over even the run-of-the-mill, new trauma shear.

Over time, the big difference would depend on the quality of the trauma shear since some are made without expectation for long term use and will go dull. Bandage scissors generally seem to have a longer life. I would point out that the blades on our trauma shears are one exception.

 

[thatJeffguy]

If you visit your local Central Processing department at the hospital, I'm sure they'd be happy to package and sterilize your shears.

I have no idea why you'd want to to that, but if 270 @ 70 for 15 makes you happy, rock out