Time On My Hands

I'm constantly amazed by the number of EMS providers I see that aren't wearing a watch. A watch is one of the most basic tools of our trade. You need one to get a pulse rate, count a respiratory rate, note the times of interventions on a call, and generally be on time.

I understand that we have a whole generation (More than one, probably.) that are dependent on their cell phones for telling time. Hell, they probably can't even read a REAL clock. Their world has always been digital. That is a fact that is NOT calculated to make those of us with analog brains happy. I still like clocks and watches that look like clocks and watches.

If you just want to know what time it is occasionally, your cell phone is a perfectly good way to check that. It updates itself every time it pings a tower, so it's more or less accurate at least half the time. I use my phone as an alarm clock at work, but that's the ONLY time I treat it like a clock. Other than that, I wear a watch all the time. If you need frequent time references, that's the only way to go.

If you're one of those phone people, let me ask you this: What do you do when your hands are wet, dirty, or full? Does digging a phone out of your pocket sound like a good idea now? I didn't think so.

Let's talk about checking a pulse. I don't know about your phone, but mine doesn't have a seconds readout unless I work my way through a couple menus to get to a clock app. Doable, sure, but I can also just tilt my wrist and watch the second hand sweeping around. Much easier. And what if it's a trauma? Do you want to dig into your pockets with bloody gloves, just so you can count a pulse. You'd better count one. Trauma centers hate guesstimates. A pulse can tell you a lot of things. Is it strong? Weak? Present at the radial? Carotid only? Regular? Irregular? You can't tell, because you're still trying to figure out how to get your phone out without sliming either it or your pants. I have already moved on to the next step. I'm counting respirations. You're trying, but since you're using a cell phone instead of a watch, the 15 seconds you used to count a pulse have eaten into your backlight time, and the screen just locked up on you. Sorry about that. I'd help, but my patient's only breathing six times a minute, so I'm bagging him. I can do that, because I have both hands free. I'm wearing a watch. You aren't, and you just dropped a $400 smart phone into a puddle of puke composed mainly of cheap beer. I don't think your warranty's gonna cover that.

Technology is a great thing, and it's made our jobs a lot easier over the years, but new isn't always better. Sometimes you just have to stick with what works. Put the phone down and go buy a watch.