[BlkQueen075]

Originally Posted by Tweety

Count for 15 seconds and multiply times four. That's all the time it takes.

I agree that there isn't time to do anything by the book. But when you document respirations, unless it says "estimated count" you're falsifying medical records by guessing what you think it is. The time it takes you to look at them and guess, you could actually get a true count.

Your kidding....
That's too cute.

[jill48]

Well of course! Your charting it so you better be doing it.

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by BlkQueen075

Your kidding....
That's too cute.

No I'm not kidding. Don't patronize.

Like most experienced practioners I can look at someone and tell if they are tachypic or not. However, guessing someones respirations and then documenting it as a true factual count is at it's worst falsifying information. Besides "cute" what would you call it?

[MOOSEMAN]

If you document that you did vital, I can only hope that you truely did!!!!

[jill48]

Originally Posted by Justhere

Had one nurse when I was an LPN and she the RN, that stated a patient had a RR of 40 during her assessment, I had just taken the patients vitals and the RR was 20. So both of us went down to the room to count. Come to find out patient was a RR of 20, she was counting the inhale as 1 and the exhale as 2, so 20 turned into 40. She wouldn't believe me that she was counting wrong.

Oh man. How does this happen? That is scary.

[jill48]

Originally Posted by new_grad06

Honestly,there just isn't enough time in one shift to do everything strictly "by the book", especially in a nursing home setting where you have 30-40 patients at a time-not to mention that most are stable anyway. I voted for,
"based on medication or diagnosis".

I strongly disagree with this and it really scares me that some nurses feel this way.
1. It doesn't matter how many patients you have or how much you have to do; if it is your job to obtain the vital signs, you obtain all of them. (And, yes, I also have 30-40 patients at a time.)
2. They are called VITAL SIGNS for a reason. Respirations are just as important as temp, bp, and pulse.
3. If you are not counting respirations, what are you writing down? Are you falsifying information, or just leaving it blank?
4. If I found a nurse or CNA routinely skipping respiration counting, I would write her/him up in a heartbeat.

I totally understand it if you can't get the resp. because they are talking to the doctor or on the phone, but you can come back later and get them.

[bethin]

When I first started med surg (we were not allowed to do vitals in LTC) I was getting vitals on a pt. I was pretending to get the patient's pulse radially and looking at my watch. She told me "you can just guess, I do it all the time and I'm right most of the time."

How do you know if you're right if you don't count?

[jill48]

Originally Posted by bethin

When I first started med surg (we were not allowed to do vitals in LTC) I was getting vitals on a pt. I was pretending to get the patient's pulse radially and looking at my watch. She told me "you can just guess, I do it all the time and I'm right most of the time."

How do you know if you're right if you don't count?

That is just ridiculous.

[crissrn27]

Originally Posted by Angie O'Plasty, RN

Vamedic, is that a typo??????

I realize this question was asked a while ago, but I thought I'd answer it anyway. I believe this nurse works with kids/babies and I have seen some babies with RR over 120 with RDS, etc. Normal for term newborn is 30-60.

BTW, I've seen your screen name dozens of times and it just dawned on me what it says............love it

[jamminworld]

I have pts on vents that are on set rates not breathing on their own and we get all kinds of RR recorded on them. I like checking things for myself.