When couples get old, they communicate with fewer words or sometimes just a look.
I am feeling that way about my EMS reports at the ED.
Where I used to rattle off every detail I could think of (from brand of cereal they had for breakfast to the number and locations of the moles they had removed a month prior), nowadays I try to keep it short.
Here are some examples:
“Last drink two days ago, got the shakes. 2 of Ativan and some fluid.”
“Low speed, belted, neck and back.â€
“History of seizures, had a seizure.â€
“It’s Curtis, same old…â€
“Sugar of 20, forgot to eat, gave her D10.â€
“He thinks he’s the Devil, gave him 10 of Versed.â€
“Cold and flu.”
“They shot him in the leg.â€
“Eight years old. Acting up in school.â€
“ETOH.â€
“Coughing up green phlegm for two weeks.â€
“2 of Narcan IN.â€
Sometimes, I don’t say anything at all. I just point to the patient. Every picture tells a story.
It helps if the nurse or doctor I am giving the report to has been around as long as I have. They just nod like all those times before.
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