New. And need some questions answered!

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SammSamm

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Hello all.

My name is Samantha, and I am going to be a student to get my EMT.
To clear that up, I was a student in my high school that provided free EMT classes. I have some notes left over, and I got the book with me.
Now, I don't remember what we put on our palm of the glove. I know we need to put the patients name, DOB, why they called, blood pressure, GCS..Just don't remember what else!
I am studying on my own because I learn better that way. I am, in the fall, going to go back into school, and start from fresh.
 
What to put on your glove palm? Anything you want.... Nothing at all... That really makes absolutely no difference at all. I've never once written anything on my glove, nor been told I need to.
 
Really? I've been told that we should write down some information on our glove..
 
If it helps you remember, sure. I've heard use your glove, I've heard tape on your leg. We always just have one person working the computer and inputting everything on the spot.

What to write on your glove is by no means testable information. It's more of an aid to help you if you can't remember the information or can't immediately record it. If you decide to do it, write down whatever the hell you want.
 
Everyone is different.

My palm at the base of my thumb has name, DOB and age. Palm at the base of the fingers is vitals. Chief complaint goes on the back of my hand between my thumb and pointer finger on the meaty part along with any other notes.

History, allergies and meds go on the back of my hand.

Palm side of fingers is for height, weight, smoker? ETOH? Drugs? Flu/pneumonia/tetanus shots, primary care doc + any pertinent specialist.

Lots of people do it their own way. Either in the back of the box or at the hospital I transfer it all to either a paper towel or the back of an ECG and toss the glove.
 
See, I think that's a good idea. I like doing that. That's probably how I am going to do it, just different. I think its a good thing EMT/Paramedics should write things down, so they won't forget. Even if they have a computer to type it down. You can forgot a lot when you are under so much stress.
 
It's really not as stressful as you think...
 
SammSamm said:
Well, I am excited to see how it is.
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Oh, it's definitely enjoyable, don't get me wrong. If its stressful, then you need to become more comfortable and confident with your abilities (I realize you're new, don't expect to feel that way right off the bat).
 
To be honest, if I wasn't comfortable doing this, then I wouldn't of picked the career. You know? I've seen some videos, I've been around in some accidents. I think what EMTs and Paramedics do is really cool, and amazing. (Hope that didn't sound rude, because that wasn't the intention.)
 
I hear ya, and not rude at all, but I was referring to being comfortable with your knowledge base and ability to competently care for your patient, not ability to not get queasy.

Best of luck with becoming an emt or medic. Stick around and browse the forum. There's a tremendous amount of knowledge to be shared here.
 
Oh. Okay. I'm just ready to get my career going, and see new things. Thanks.

Yeah, I was a bit confuse on how to use this forum. LOL.
 
Writing on the glove is a habit hard to break. Now that I'm out of EMS, I still assume the position and start taking notes on my hand with a bic. People look at me like I'm nuts.
 
I wrote everything down..... on a tablet I am holding, or if I have a student, they do it for me. I never once have written on my glove. I use gel pens and they smear, and I snag them, and they look messy and then I'm lost. So I carry a memo pad.
 
I've never written on my glove, I've always just written that stuff down on my PCR. Now when I'm getting a report from a nurse and they never follow any set format I'll write that down on a little pocket notebook and then transfer the info. My partner likes to use the back under the signature sections, other people like to use the little tab at the top that connects all 5 pages of the PCR packet, and yes, I have seen a couple guys use their gloves.

Heck my FTOs discouraged writing on gloves. Not specifically writing on them, but by constantly changing them. Put a pair on the assess and take vitals or whatever, but as soon as I was done touching the patient, the gloves went into the trash before I wrote anything down.

In the end it all comes down to personal preference. Don't think you have to write everything on your gloves just because everyone does because not everyone writes on their gloves. If that's what works for you, write on them all day long, otherwise don't be afraid to use a notebook or tape on your leg or anything else you can think of.
 
PoeticInjustice said:
It's really not as stressful as you think...
Click to expand...

Agreed.

I'll add that I don't carry a notebook because of the contamination risk. We're dumb and touch things we shouldn't then touch our notebooks as well...if I use my glove then transfer it to a piece of paper or whatever at the ER I don't have to deal with carrying a germ infested notepad with me everywhere.

It's also very true that its personal preference a d do whatever works for you.
 
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I found it difficult to write on my glove on scene without smearing it.

One of the departments I'm on took the 'field notebook' and enlarged it on the copier until it was a full-size page. There is a large stack of those pages in a clip-board and we use that for taking notes. It also leaves a blank column on the left hand side for a medication list, or other notes. I keep a couple of those pages in my jump bag for the rare occasion where I may need to take my bag and go direct instead of catching the ambulance first.
 
I feel like I've chimed in a million times already so I'll leave it alone after this.

The truck to writing on your glove is a sharpie. Your standard sharpie with a new tip is awesome. Once they get blunted it gets tough to make it legible though.

The tape on the leg trick is cool if you're seated constantly (ie. in the back of a helicopter) but when I tried it it seemed too awkward to me to constantly have to bend over to get to your notepad to write something down.

I wear a sleeve on my left arm to cover my tattoo, I was thinking of trying to get a football quarterback style armband that I could write on and erase as but haven't been able to find that yet.
 
I dont write stuff down on scene, but that will change when i get my medic. I can retain enough information to know if its ALS or BLS. When we determine BLS we go the the truck and finish there. If its ALS, note taking falls on my partner, who typically takes the same approach.
 
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