Receiving/Giving pt. Reports

[MRE]

You would have to be a bit carefull with this, but you could probably take the radio to a dealer that does programming and have them remove the delay and the transmit timeout. You might even be able to get them to do it for cheap or free seeing as they don't have to sit and enter frequencies. You would just need to weigh the possibility of your agency finding out and having a problem with it. Personally I wouldn't think twice about doing it, the way my service works, but i'm sure many others are different.

Our new radios piss me off. My reports have never been THAT long, but they have been set to automatically cut off after three seconds. Combine that with the fact that it's set to make you wait three seconds after you depress the switch before it keys in to prevent us from stepping on each other, you have about twelve seconds to lay out a report before the "BEEP BEEP" comes. You have to let go, rekey (another three seconds) and continue.

End result is that your reports come out sounding broken and disjointed. Even the most experienced medics are complaining about the things, and everyone is just buying their own personal radios to not have to deal with it.

 

[PapaBear434]

You would have to be a bit carefull with this, but you could probably take the radio to a dealer that does programming and have them remove the delay and the transmit timeout. You might even be able to get them to do it for cheap or free seeing as they don't have to sit and enter frequencies. You would just need to weigh the possibility of your agency finding out and having a problem with it. Personally I wouldn't think twice about doing it, the way my service works, but i'm sure many others are different.

Unfortunately, no. The department wants us to do this so that we don't step on each other and tie up the radio unnecessarily. This was on purpose... I didn't know either of these was an issue, honestly.

 

[MRE]

Unfortunately, no. The department wants us to do this so that we don't step on each other and tie up the radio unnecessarily. This was on purpose... I didn't know either of these was an issue, honestly.

If the dept wants your radios to have the delayed key-up and timeout, then would they let you use your own radio that was not equipped with that feature?

Also, you may have mentioned this, but is your service fire/ems? If it is, then the relatively short transmissions might be ok for relaying directions and such for fire and dispatch purposes, which might be all that the dept looked at when ordering radios. They might have overlooked the EMS side and the longer reports that we do. You could probably appeal to them to have your radio changed (maybe add a few things about the receiving hospital not being able to understand you, and the detriment the radios are to good patient care) That might get you somewhere.

 

[PapaBear434]

If the dept wants your radios to have the delayed key-up and timeout, then would they let you use your own radio that was not equipped with that feature?

Also, you may have mentioned this, but is your service fire/ems? If it is, then the relatively short transmissions might be ok for relaying directions and such for fire and dispatch purposes, which might be all that the dept looked at when ordering radios. They might have overlooked the EMS side and the longer reports that we do. You could probably appeal to them to have your radio changed (maybe add a few things about the receiving hospital not being able to understand you, and the detriment the radios are to good patient care) That might get you somewhere.

We can use our own personal radios, but I'm not really into paying that much for one right now. But no, we are an all EMS service. This was a decision passed down from on high.

 

[TransportJockey]

You use your handheld to call reports to the local EDs? When I worked for the local service, our handhelds were truck to truck or to dispatch. We had a separate med radio in the back to talk to the EDs in the city

 

[PapaBear434]

You use your handheld to call reports to the local EDs? When I worked for the local service, our handhelds were truck to truck or to dispatch. We had a separate med radio in the back to talk to the EDs in the city

We have a separate CORE radio, but I've never used them. Nor do I even know how, for that matter. We just use the 800 in the truck, or we can use our portables on our hip by changing the band.

 

[EMTstaroflife]

I understand....

When I obtained my certification in SC as an EMT-B I NEEDED a job and i needed a job fast, so I started out working for a non-emergent Transport Service. I understand the feeling you talk about during your transport. We did transports for pt leaving a hospital and going to a Rehab hospital which was only .7 mile away. By the time is loaded the pt, got my stephoscope, and BP cuff we were at the hospital. So what info did I have to give to the receiving hospital...ummm not much. Half of the time I didn't even have time to read the discharge paper work. Needless to say, I didnt get better at giving and receiving reports until I started working in 911 service about a year ago.

I've now been a Basic for one year and currently in Paramedic School. My reports have gotten better but I still struggle sometimes. I start ride time this week so sink o swim, ready or not, here I am. I am learning to use the acronym (Priority)CC-MOI/NOI-LOC-ABCDE-V/S-interventions-ETA

Priority-Emergent/Non-Emergent
Chief Complaint
mechanism of injury/nature of illness
Loss of Consciousness/Level of Consciousness(AVPU)
Airway
Breathing
Circulation
Disability
Expose
Vital Signs
Interventions(what i did to help pt/improve/worsen)
Estimated Time of Arrival

I am a believer of think twice act once and also Think smarter, not harder. If you can incorporate what you already do to assess your patient and give a shorter more concise version that might help.

 

[AJ Hidell]

We have a separate CORE radio, but I've never used them. Nor do I even know how, for that matter.

Just for the sake of technical and historical accuracy, that is COR, not CORE. It's Motorola's brand name for the old orange Coronary Observation Radio. The newer (late 70's and beyond) white models were the APCOR, or Advanced Portable Coronary Observation Radio. There were several models of each. And if it's not Motorola, then it is technically neither a COR nor an APCOR.

 

[PapaBear434]

Just for the sake of technical and historical accuracy, that is COR, not CORE. It's Motorola's brand name for the old orange Coronary Observation Radio. The newer (late 70's and beyond) white models were the APCOR, or Advanced Portable Coronary Observation Radio. There were several models of each. And if it's not Motorola, then it is technically neither a COR nor an APCOR.

True enough, but our radios are actually labeled with a big "CORE" sticker. I don't know if someone didn't know what you just pointed out or what. And I'll be honest and out myself: I never knew what it stood for. I knew what it was for, theoretically, but never bothered to learn the background.

Either way, what you said, but we don't use them. They trust our medics to read the three/four lead, and though they trust them to read a twelve lead the LifePack as a built in transmitter, so no hooking up to a radio is necessary.

I imagine most people run it this way these days. At least in any non-rural area, anyway.

 

[mikeN]

try to observe in an ED or become a tech in an ED. You'll see BLS and ALS give reports so you'll know what info the nurses need to know and what questions they'll probaably ask. It's been helpful for me improving my reports.