confused in america

[lynn bee]

I need some advice .I am going to school for nursing I have only one more semester before i graduate as an lpn.I have two instructors that are down on me about blood pressures.Saying that i cannot take b/ps. I worked as a aide off and on for ten years taking b/ps.These two individuals constantly says that they are never wrong.They think they are perfectionists.can two nurses take a b/p at different times and get a slightly inaccurate reading.I would love some of your responses. please respond to my post. down on my luck in the midwest!

[nur20]

Hello Lynn Bee and welcome. I don't quite understand what your instructors are saying??? Of course two different people at different times can get a different B/P reading. B/P's fluctuate. You can also get a different reading in left arm vs. right, if the patient is standing or sitting, before and after activity, etc. Sometimes you can't hear it at all and have to palpate. Don't lose your confidence. There are so many reasons why B/P readings are different

[CVSDnurse]

yes BP's vary from second to second-that is why patients in critical care have artial line pressure monitoring. Working in the cath lab, the md's call out pressure numbers and often wait and give an average due to variations in bp's with respirations.

The accurate way for instructors to evaluate your use of a cuff is to have a special stethescope with two head pieces that share a bell so you are both listening at the same time. I would ask if that type of stethescope is available to avoid arguments.

Word of warning-we all take BP's much faster than we should so in school, you need to go painfully slow with the release of the pressure to make sure that there is time for a full beat on the individual lines to be accurate. Unfortunately this makes having your blood pressure taken quite uncomfortable but by the book is how to learn.