Do you use walkie talkies at work?

[Dorali]

Ive been thinking about asking my facility to get some for us. I was wondering how beneficial they are, if it makes your job any easier, etc. What's your experience using them?

Also, what brand do you have? Are there any brands that are better than others?

I appreciate any input!!

Dondie

[yousoldtheworld]

At mine, front desk is in charge of them and each shift signs them in and out when you clock in and out. That way they stay charged up (they're plugged in when not in use) and don't get lost. It can be a pain to have to line up to get/give walkies, keys, pager, etc. at the beginning and end of each shift, but it works as far as making sure they're there and working when you need them.

That's a really good idea. One of the reasons we don't have them at our facility is because no one even bothers to charge the lifts, so they can't imagine anyone charging anything else, either. (Which, knowing my coworkers, is a very valid concern. They drive me nuts.)

[Dorali, BSN, LPN, RN]

When you ask for help, do you use names or are you supposed to use room numbers?

[LaterAlligator]

Room numbers, unless the pager goes off letting us know the alarm is in a public area, then we can just say "going to check the 2nd floor men's room" or whatever it was.

If anyone wants more details about how we keep track of the walkies, just message me. I don't want to type it all out & bore everyone but if you're trying to pitch it to your facility I can explain our system in detail & maybe it'll help you get some :)

[Caridrbe]

For those of you that are using the walkie-talkie's in your long term care setting - do you all have your own headset? Did the facility purchase the headset for you? Do you have a headset preference?

We are looking at getting walkie-talkie's at our facility (four units for a total of 167 beds). Our desire is to roll out the walkie-talkie's with the best success and that for us means that they get used effectively and that the other issues we've had with pagers getting lost or just unused is not a problem.

Thanks.