Introduction
The overall aim for this assignment is to look at the proposal for change regarding re-establishing manual blood pressure machines (sphygmomanometer) into practice in order to promote patient safety. The ward I have been placed on routinely use Electronic Blood pressure machines also called Non-Invasive Blood Pressure (NIBP) in order to record a patients observations. I find this of interest as patient outcome and satisfaction relies on reliable results. However, there is a lot of debate on how reliable they are. Throughout this assignment debate for and against the use of manual blood pressure machines will be discussed. The author of the assignment is a Third Year Student, studying BSc (Hons) in Adult Nursing at Liverpool John
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Firstly, the most common error is using the wrong sized cuff. A cuff that is too large for the patient will give a false low Blood pressure reading, whereas a cuff too tight will give a false high reading. The second mistake commonly made is the incorrect positioning of the patient, the standard reference of measurement is normally in line of the heart, positioning a patient in an upright position with their arm down by their side is the most accurate way to take a patient’s Blood Pressure. Thirdly, the cuff is placed incorrectly on the patient, the cuff should be placed on the upper arm, on bare skin. Another mistake that exists, is that as humans, we are often creatures of habit, and therefore when taking manual blood pressures, we often have a tendency to “hear” a normal blood pressure reading. We prejudge readings based on earlier observations. Lastly, NIBP machines sense air pressure changes in the cuff caused by blood flowing through the cuff extremity. These sensors approximate the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) and the patients pulse. Software in the machine uses these two values to calculate the systolic and diastolic BP. It is important to verify the displayed pulse with an actual patient pulse. Differences of more than 10 percent will seriously alter the unit’s calculations and produce incorrect systolic and diastolic values on the display …show more content…
I propose to make it an integral part of each patient’s care, that their blood pressure is measured precisely and accurately. The implementation of manual blood pressure machines will require staff training to ensure that all healthcare professionals have the ability to obtain accurate
...t. Yet, since this was a pilot study more research in the area is needed to determine other factors discussed before suggestions are made and the study suggestions are implemented on a larger scale in hospitals. Nevertheless, triage nurses can use the information presented in the study to request manual blood pressure devices to use on patients outlined in the study who specifically need precise orthostatic hypotensive measurements.
Blood pressure is measured by two pressures; the systolic and diastolic. The systolic pressure, the top number, is the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts. The diastolic pressure, the bottom number, measures the pressure between heartbeats. A normal blood pressure is when the systolic pressure is less than 120mmHg and Diastolic pressure is less than 80mmHg. Hypertension is diagnosed when the systolic pressure is greater than 140mmHg and the diastolic pressure is greater than 90mmHg. The physician may also ask about medical history, family history, life style habits, and medication use that could also contribute to hypertension
For example: if hypertension goes untreated then it could potentially lead to stroke, heart attacks, and untimely death. Early detection and improve patient outcomes by educating the patient on lifestyles changes and effective drug treatment. It is important for the patient to alter their eating habits, as well as their sedentary lifestyles and monitor their blood pressure levels. Feasible and affordable screening approved by the patient is also important: for example, electronic monitoring can make it easier for the patient to obtain their levels without causing harm and cost effective. (page 125)
Pre-exercise: For this activity, each group member needed to be familiar with taking and reading another group member’s blood pressure. Many types of instruments exist for measurin...
According to the Registered Nurse (RN) Scope of Practice Position Statement, “the RN is responsible for providing safe, compassionate, and comprehensive nursing care to patients and their families with complex healthcare needs” (Texas Board of Nursing, 2011). Nurses often care for five to six patients at one time; therefore, in order to provide the best quality care, patients are often connected to monitoring devices such as, physiological monitors, venti...
There was a series of people used in this experiment to look at blood pressure. The first step was to take the subjects normal blood pressure, then after showing them a scary clip retakes the blood pressure. While taking blood pressure consider age, weight, family history, commitment and gender to see if the subject has low or high blood pressure normally. After receiving all the data the charts that were made were based on age and gender.
Remembering that prevention is the best cure, we are going to discuss what is high blood pressure, how to easily measure it, and how to effectively prevent it. (Thesis)
Blood pressure is a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body. Hypertension is another term used to describe high blood pressure. This common condition increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death for Americans. High blood pressure contributed to more than 362,895 deaths in the United States during 2010. Approximately 67 million persons in the United States have high blood pressure, and only half of those have their condition under control. An estimated 46,000 deaths could be avoided annually if 70% of patients with high blood pressure were treated according to published guidelines (Patel, Datu, Roman, Barton, Ritchey, Wall, Loustalot; 2014).
The Mongols built an empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea. One of the richest parts of that empire was the land of the Rus - but how did the Mongols conquer it so quickly? This lesson examines how, as well as how the Mongols ruled their new territory.
An audit of patient records completed in 2005, revealed a low incidence of respiratory rate recording. An initial audit completed revealed that only 7% of 341 patients had a respiratory rate recording (Butler-Williams 2005). Due to this worrying outcome, the priority was to implement appropriate training to raise respiratory rate significance. Due to the audit being completed hospital wide and with no prior warning, it is an accurate indicator of an overall attitude of practice towards the recording of respiratory rate. Various studies have been conducted in order to gain an understanding as to why this precious sign is so often ignored. Jacqueline Hogan explored the paucity of patient monitoring on acute wards, completing qualitative research using focus groups in 2004. Four major themes were identified, firstly the issue of the nursing workload. Many participants acknowledged the expansion of the nurse’s role and with this added responsibility, the need for delegation of activities such as patient observations. Observations are often delegated to junior staff members such as healthcare assistants and student nurses. Although many nurses admitted to delegating this vital activity, 73% of nurses did not consider healthcare assistants possessed the required knowledge to interpret observational results. With this lack of knowledge comes the absence of appreciation for the completion of such vital signs, and
The leaflet “Blood pressure” by British Heart foundation, issued September 2001 7. The website http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/blood/articleView.asp?MessageID=579 8. The website http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/16/sosteacher/biology/32764.shtml 9. The website http://www.reutershealth.com/wellconnected/doc14.html
Discussing potential risk issues associated with using automated blood pressure/pulse machine in relation to contemporary practice.
D. standing near her room, breathing sharply. While asked what has just happened, she answered, ‘I feel dizzy and can faint!’ Mrs. D. then explained that she rose up from her chair in the television room and felt lightheaded. I decided to bring her to the room hoping she would feel less dizziness if she could sit. After consultation with my mentor and third year unit nursing student, I decided to perform measurement of her vital signs. Since only electronic sphygmomanometer was available for me that time, I had to use it for my procedure. Gladly, I discovered that I have already used such equipment in my previous nursing practice. Using the standard sized calf, I found that her blood pressure was 135/85, respirations were 16, and her pulse was 96 beats per minute (bpm). However, I decided to recheck the pulse manually, founding that it was irregular (78 bpm). The patient stated that she felt better after rest. Immediately after the incident I made a decision to explore carefully the medical chart of Mrs. D., along with her nursing care plan. That helped me to discover multiple medical diagnoses influencing her
This reflection of vital signs will go into discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of each vital sign and the importance of each of them. Vital signs should be assessed many different times such as on admission to a health care facility, before and after something substantial has happened to the patient such as surgery and so forth (ref inter). I learned to assess blood pressure (BP), pulse (P), temperature (T) and respiration (R) and I will reflect and discuss which aspects were more difficult and ways to improve on them. While pulse, respiration and temperature were fairly easy to become skilled at, it was blood pressure which was a bit more difficult to understand.
Schnall, P., Landsbergis, P., Belkic, K., Warren, K., Schwartz, J., & Pickering, T. (1998). Findings In The Cornell University Ambulatory Blood Pressure Worksite Study: A Review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 697.