schemp001

Well what is a bp, anyway. It's just a measure of whats going on at that time, right then. Accurate b.p. trends is what you are going for. The whole 6 years I've done this job as a medic I have yet to see an EMT take B.P. measurements every five, or ten, or any set interval of time. It's usually done when they remember whenever to do it, or asked to get another one. There is not much for a basic to do when in the back when a medic is treating. most of them write their charts on the way in to the ED. Might as well do the one part that is your job to do. Now to say that the technology in the machine is more accurate than you is a bit much. There is tons of literature out there that says they are in fact more accurate. How many triage nurses take a manual BP when the triage a patient. Almost all the beds in the ED use machines to trend, and doctors count on them to be accurate. Its not that the staff is lazy to take one, but they are accurate. Now they are mechanical, and true stuff breaks, that's why you carry the manual ones right. I challenge you to use a machine, than compare the results to what you get through auscultation, I bet the number of times its totally different, is very minimal.