Listening to our patients: The sounds of an emergency department

By The DO Staff

12.01.23

The emergency department (ED) is a cacophony of sounds. We have ringing phones, overhead announcements, bleeping monitors, alarms, blaring televisions and people talking. Sometimes folks are yelling. We have babies crying and patients retching. Those of us who work in this chaotic setting learn to tune out the noise. Occasionally, we miss an alarm or a signal of importance. When we want to finish a task or enter a note into the electronic record, we need to concentrate.

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