[Suninmyheart]

[quote=
When I was on med-surg, I ALWAYS counted. I remember an experienced nurse once telling me that I couldn't have 19 as a resp rate because RR are always even numbers LOL. I told her, that is what I counted!

Dawned on me later that she must have been thinking of a manual BP where the dial is only calibrated in 2pt increments.
[/quote]

I usually count for 15 secs and multiply by four - of course is why I always get an even number. I know most of the nurses on our unit fudge the rr. I don't. I pretend I am taking a pulse and use that time to also check for skin color, posture, etc.

[CritterLover]

When I worked ICU, I would verify with my first assessement the the monitor was accuratly reflecting their resp count. After that, I wouldn't cout myself, just look at the monitor, unless something changed. If they were on the vent, sometimes I would use the count the vent had. Just depended on the situation.

When working ER, I don't always do a resp count with DC VS. If they came in for a non-cardiac, non-resp complaint (such as ankle pain) and don't get any narcs, then I just leave that spot on the VS form blank. Probably not "by the book," but not falsifing records, either. Part of the reason is that most of our rooms don't have functional clocks. I don't wear a watch (allergic to the metal), so I frequently have to use the timer button on the thermometer. Thermometers (at least ones that work) can be difficult to find. (But it can be useful to count resps while the thermometer is in their mouth. Esp for those who won't get off the phone)

When I do count, I usually count for 15 sec and multiply by 4, unless the results are high/low OR they appear to be breathing irregularly or in distress.

[Suninmyheart]

[quote=
When I was on med-surg, I ALWAYS counted. I remember an experienced nurse once telling me that I couldn't have 19 as a resp rate because RR are always even numbers LOL. I told her, that is what I counted!

Dawned on me later that she must have been thinking of a manual BP where the dial is only calibrated in 2pt increments.
[/quote]

I usually count for 15 secs and multiply by four - of course is why I always get an even number. I know most of the nurses on our unit fudge the rr. I don't. I pretend I am taking a pulse and use that time to also check for skin color, posture, etc.

[SteveRN21]

All our babies are on vents or at least monitors. I look once to see if the monitor waveform is correlating with the baby's actual respirations.....then it's monitor vitals from then on...

[LCAlpn]

it is one of the vital signs after all

[papillonailes]

I am a CNA and I count them for 15 sec, then multiply by four; unless their RR is irregular, then I'll count for 30 - 60 sec (and multiply by two, of course, if counting for 30 sec.) I haven't figured out how to do it yet without feeling like I am making them uncomfortable by staring at their chest, lol! Sometimes the TV is on and I pretend I am watching the pt's. TV while "Molly Dolly" (as one pt. calls the Dynamap vitals machine) is reading the pt's. BP.

[SheriLynnRN]

When I work in the cicu, I set my monitor to show the resp parameter. When I am working in the surgical unit, the CNA's routinely take vitals. If I do a set I do usually count resps. I wouldn't ever make up a number though. If I don't count, I just don't chart a RR for that set of vitals. If the pt is in resp distress, or I have any reason to be suspicious, i count resps.

[Sterren]

Originally Posted by CritterLover

When I worked ICU, I would verify with my first assessement the the monitor was accuratly reflecting their resp count. After that, I wouldn't cout myself, just look at the monitor, unless something changed. If they were on the vent, sometimes I would use the count the vent had. Just depended on the situation.

This is what I do too. I count for myself every 4 hours but in between I will trust the vent if it appears to correlate with my count. On non-vented patients I count for 15 seconds and multiply by 4, every time. If a patient's RR is really high or really low on a vent I will also count for myself to verify.