No More Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Hello everyone, my name is Wyatt and I'm less than a month away from taking the state exam for EMT-Basic here in Queens, NY. I have a thousand questions due to amount of info we've had to ingest in less than four months, but I'll start with a simple one that I hope doesn't come across as foolish. I am going on my first ambulance rounds next week and I know I'll be taking BP readings for the EMTs. I have to buy a cheap but effective watch and I'm curious if anyone has any good, fast rules for why a digital face would be better or worse than a chronograph with a second hand? IE: Do any of you find it can confuse you unnecessarily to look at digital seconds count down while trying to count heartbeats? Hope that makes sense and I promise I'm not trying to sweat the small stuff, just don't want to waste money. Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERDoc Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 The first thing you should do is ask yourself why you need a watch for BPs. Next, everyone is a little different. Some people can visualize the second hand better than dealing with digital numbers and vice versa. Try both and see which works better for you. There are plenty of cheap watches out there, just go to Target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramedicmike Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 What Doc said. Trial and error. Find what works best for you and run with it. Unless, of course, you're carrying scissors, too. Never run with scissors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No More Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 What do you mean, ask yourself why you need a watch for BPs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctickat Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Ugh, I tried quoting Doc but my tablet messes up the text entry when I try to quote. Silly Goose doc, he needs a watch so he can write down what time he checked the blood pressure. That's charting 101. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramedicmike Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 1 hour ago, Wyatt Wakeman said: What do you mean, ask yourself why you need a watch for BPs? Think about what he said. Your thread title asks about a watch to check a blood pressure. Why do you need a watch to check a blood pressure? The rest of your post content has been addressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctickat Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 A little projective thinking has me concluding that when the OP states BP, he actually means VS in which case he would need a watch for RR and HR. I would recommend using a watch with a second hand.....that way you can use it for a compass if you ever get lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Stop guys, my side is hurting. maybe a GPS watch with a second hand is more appropriate????? Do watches even take blood pressures? My watch does everything except check my glucose, yeah I know, it's getting to the technology to be able to do that as well, but until then I will still stick my finger with those shiny pokey things, but seriously, why do you need a watch to take a blood pressure. My recommendation is to get a dual faced watch, yes they have those, I have one on my samsung gear watch, it's an analog watch on one side and a digital watch on the other side, damn confusing at times though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ERDoc Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I wasn't trying to be funny, I wanted the OP to seriously think about what he said. It is good for someone that is new (and us old folks) to think through our mistakes. It helps us understand that which we don't understand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubanurse Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 I personally have the apple watch, and one of my watch faces is configured for work with a stop watch one tap away. This is helpful when I'm recording in codes. In the ER though, when I feel for a pulse, it's more for quality not rate. On the ambulance, I always had an analog watch with a second hand, too many numbers in my head confuses me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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