How to Use Walkie Talkies for Nurse to Nurse Communication

Nurses must work in teams to accomplish their primary goals: quality and efficient patient care. Different care facilities have different methods of allowing nurses to communicate with one another. When emergency strikes, some nurses turn on a code light, some nurses shout for help and others use walkie talkies. Though the use of walkie talkies in nursing is still rare, "Health Communication in the 21st Century," written by D. Wright, shows the uses and practicalities of walkie talkies in nursing. Walkie talkies allow nurses to communicate specific messages without having to leave the bedsides of the patients. Follow a few simple steps when implementing the use of walkie talkies in your facility.

Things You'll Need

• Walkie talkies
• Clips to fasten the walkie talkies to scrubs

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Instructions

• 1

  Provide each nurse with her own walkie talkie. Avoid the temptation to have nurses on different shifts share walkie talkies because if a nurse works overtime you will want to ensure that there is a walkie talkie available.

• 2

  Train the nurses to use the walkie talkies. Though use of walkie talkies is generally self-explanatory, ensure that your nurses know how to turn on and charge the walkie talkies. Also, ensure that the nurses are aware of which channel their floors will be using to communicate and know how to set their walkie talkies to those channels.

• 3

  Develop emergency code words to be used when explaining the entirety of a situation is not practical. Ensure that all nurses are aware of these code words.

• 4

  Provide nurses with clips or other devices in which to fasten the walkie talkies to their scrubs. Walkie talkies simply placed in pockets could be dropped and damaged when nurses bend over; therefore, clips or other fastening devices are necessary.

• 5

  Practice using the walkie talkies during times of non-emergency, such as during staff meetings and briefings. Nurses will need to be efficient in using the walkie talkies under pressure, so it is important that they have plenty of practice.