No more sounds of silence

Smartphones are now ubiquitous in every hospital in America (probably everywhere else, too). With over 500,000 phone applications already available, and many of them being useful in the practice of  medicine, these babies are not going away. As their technical prowess increases with every new generation of operating system, human behaviors are going off the rails, in terms of phone abuse. The careless habits of "professional" phone users (and the inability of Hospitals to enforce rules), place our patients and their families at risk.

When an employee is on break, go for it dude, whip out the phone and be entertained! Just stop doing it when your attention should be on your patient in Room X, Y & Z.

Earplug Attention

Earplug attention
Dude is unaware,
He deserves a notorious mention
Because his patient slipped out of the chair,
His mind is on his music
A mantra and a movie,
The patient had a cardiac arrest
He didn’t notice, ain’t that groovy?

Smartphone distractions
In the midst of Intensive Care,
If this one be your nurse
It’s like playing double-dare,
With his earpiece blocking sound
Your survival is in doubt,
I have noticed he’s doesn’t hear
I practically have to shout.

Smartphone abuse is out of control
In two thousand seventeen,
You can call me Mr. Grumpy Nurse
And say I’m being mean,
But with thirty years experience
I know listening, is a specialized skill,
If you don’t hear what goes on around you
You’re not worth a two dollar bill.