Ch. 4 Communications and Documentation Vocabulary Flashcards
Base station
Any radio hardware containinng a transmitter and receiver that is located in a fixed place.
Cellular telephone
A low-power portable radio that communicates through an interconnected series of repeater stations called cells.
Channel
An assisgned freqeuncy or frequencies that are used to carry voice and/or data communications.
Chief complaint
The reason a patient called for help; also, the patient’s response to questions such as “What’s wrong?” or “What happened?”
Chief concern
The condition requiring the most urgent intervention as determined by the provider’s assessment of the pt; it is not always the same as the chief complaint.
Closed-ended questions
Questions that can be answered in short, single-word responses.
Communication
The transmission of information to another person - verbally or through body language.
Cultural imposition
When one person imposes his or her beliefs, values, and practices on another because he or she believes his or her ideals are superior.
Dedicated line
A special telephone line that is used for specific point-to-point communications; also known as a hotline.
Documentation
A redorded portion of the EMT’s patient interaction, either written or electronic. This becomes part of the patient’s permanent medical record.
Duplex
The ability to transmit and recieve simultaneously.
Emotional intelligence
The ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions and properly respond to the emotions of others.
Ethnocentrism
When a person considers his or her own cultural values as more important when interacting with people of a different culture.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The federal agency that has jurisdiction ofer interstate and international telephone and telegraph services and satellite communications, all of which may infolve EMS activity.
Handover
The transfer of pertinent patient information and the responsibility for the patient’s care; often involves the physical movement of the pt and associated equipment; also known as the handoff.
Health infromation exchange (HIE)
A system that allows EMS providers to access relevant health information data (eg, past medical problems, medications, allergies, end-of-life decisions), avoid unnecessary duplication of effort in data entry, and view patient outcomes related to hospital care.
Interoperable communications system
A communication system that uses voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) technology to allow multiple agencies to communicate and transmit data.
MED channels
VHF and UHF channels that the FCC has designated exclusively for EMS use.
Mental model
The picture an individual has in his or her head of “what’s going on” in a given situation.
Mission-critical communications
Any communications where disruption with result in the failure of the mission at hand.
Mobile data terminal (MDT)
A small computer terminal inside the ambulance that directly recieves data from the dispatch center.
Multiplex
The ability to transmit audio and data signals through the use of more than one communications channel.
Noise
Anything that dampens or obscures the true meaning of a message.
Open-ended Questions
Questions for which the pt must provide detail to give an answer.
Paging
The use of a radio signal and a voice or digital message that is transmitted to pagers (“Beepers”) or desktop monitor radios.
Patient care report (PCR)
The legal document used to record all patient care activities. This report has direct patient care functions but also administrative and quality control functions. PCRs are also known as ‘prehospital care reports’.
Rapport
A trusting relationship that you build with your patient.
Repeater
A special base sation radio that recieves messages and signals on one frequency and then automatically retransmits them on a second frequency.
Scanner
A radio reciever that searches or scans accross several frequencies until the message is completed; the process is then repeated.
Simplex
Single-frequency radio; transmission s can occur in eiher direction but not simultaneously; when one party transmits, the other can only recieve, and then the party that is transmitting is unable to recieve.
Standing orders
Written documents, signed by the EMs system’s medical director, that outline specific direction, permissions, and sometimes prohibitions regarding patient care; also called protocols.
Telemetry
A process in which electronic signals are converted into coded, audible signals; these signals can then be transmitted by radio or telephone to a reciever with a decoder at the hospital.
Theraputic communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication techniques that encourage patients to express their feelings and to achieve a positive relationship.
Trunking
Telecommunication systems that allow a computer to maximize utilization of a group of frequencies.
UHF (ultra-high frequencies)
Radio frequencies between 300 and 3,000 MHz.
VHF (very high frequencies)
Radio frequencies between 30 and 300MHz.
