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I work in a hospital; the system I'm in finally deactivated our physical pagers last week. One thing that I really liked about pagers was the social element. I
by carbocation 3y ago
I work in a hospital; the system I'm in finally deactivated our physical pagers last week.
One thing that I really liked about pagers was the social element. If I receive a page to a physical pager while talking to a patient, they have no question about whether the incoming message is of a clinical nature. In contrast, when I get a message and glance at my phone, it's not possible for them to know. I'm sure they give me the benefit of the doubt, but with a pager that wasn't necessary.
- gerdesj 3y agoSet a custom notification tone for whatever app or number "pages" you. Make it sound like a pager.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- carbocation 3y agoThanks, that's a good idea.
- skissane 3y agoMy mother is a GP (in Australia). Many times I have interrupted one of her consultations with a patient by calling her. She tells me she is with a patient and keeps the conversation brief. I’ve never experienced that from the patient’s viewpoint, but I wouldn’t be upset at the doctor if I did. I’m a parent too, if my kid was calling me I’d be inclined to pick up just in case it was something serious. Last time we took our son to see the paediatrician, he spent 5 minutes on the phone talking about another patient-the hospital called him to ask what to do about some seriously ill infant. That didn’t bother us at all.
- carbocation 3y agoWhat you are saying totally makes sense. A phone call is a brief, observable interruption where you can sort of follow along with how close it is to ending. The issue with getting rid of pagers is that it means people are now texting using a special app, rather than calling. (I should have been more clear about that detail.) I think that staring quietly at your phone is a little bit more fraught than answering a page or a call.
- dillydogg 3y agoI totally agree. I am checking my phone in patient rooms all the time now to look at epic messages in case they are urgent. I have to say the good ole days of pagers were much better.