are we too dependent on assistive devices?

[leslie :-D]

namely, the pulse oximeter.....drives me crazy.

too many times, i've gotten readings of 96% on ra but the patient's rr is 40/min, diaphoretic and using accessory muslces to breathe.

but the feedback i get from other nurses is "but his o2 sat is 96%".

so are we too dependent on machinery, thus forgetting patient presentation?

everything is electronic now.

yet i insist on taking my own vital signs, and assessing the patient and not the machine.

the other day i had a resident say the same thing "her o2 sat is 93%" and with much exasperation, i told him to "look at the damned pt."

so this resident got his superior for assistance.

this patient had bil pneumonia. :stone

sometimes i wish they would just do away with all of these electronic conveniences, as some have lost the skill of doing their own assessments.

BIG pet peeve of mine.

leslie

[leslie :-D]

that's exactly my peeve marla.

these technological conveniences have definitely replaced the concept of critical thinking and even more pathetic, not so critical thinking.

i won't let my kids use calculators unless it's to doublecheck their work.

all these gadgets have made us even lazier and less motivated.

leslie

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

Calculators were absolutely FORBIDDEN in our house until the eldest child was in fourth grade, when she at least had some concept of the basics. Unfortunately, their use was not only allowed but encouraged in the classroom by the time my boys came along, and the 16-year-old never really understood WHY things are done the way they are, or that math is one of the few constants in life: you add two and two, and you get four every single time. On the other hand, my 13-year-old is in 8th grade, but he's taking high-school level math and doing well in it, so that sort of shoots my theory in the butt.