dr-exmedic.com

And this isn’t limited to EMS people by the way, but that’s where I have the most experience with it:  people who report vital signs as “stable” when they’ve only taken one set.  The dictionary definition of stable:  “8.  (of a patient’s condition) exhibiting no significant change.”  If you only have one set, you cannot tell whether the vitals are stable.  You can definitely tell whether the vitals are within normal limits, which is what these folks usually mean.  (Of course, there is an exception for dead folks, in which case a single set of vitals can, indeed, be called “stable.”)

Filed under: Medical Humor