Anyone fail out of nursing school for not being able to take a bp???

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Kidding, kidding...I hope, lol. I have my check off Saturday using the simulated manequin and I am worrying myself silly over here. I bought a bp cuff, I have a good quality stethoscope but I am still second guessing myself EVERYTIME I do it. Or I get so caught up in doing it, that I am not looking at the gauge accurately to get the correct reading. I scheduled a time to practice with an instructor during the open lab time. I did the bp on her and we listened using the instructor stethoscope and I was still not getting it right. She said what is the systolic number, and I said 132? And she was like actually it is 120. :uhoh3: I don't know what else I can do in the next two days to get this right other than to keep practicing on my poor husband. Man what kind of nurse am I going to be, if I can't even take a simple bp?????

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Don't beat yourself up about it, just keep practicing. Do you do a palpable pressure first to see what the systolic pressure is? If your right on the brachial artery you should be able to hear the first strong beat. Good luck!:)

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Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.

knock on your neighbors doors(the ones you know) and take their bp! try every body you can!!

i use to full around with my own arm all the time!!! when you get familiar with that stigmometer you will be able to

look at at and see the shake

or just listen to the pulse and hear when it starts pulsating and when it stops,

or even with your finger, when you can feel the pulsation, and when it stops!!!

think as it is your favorite toy for a couple of days.

remember to do it the right way when you have to check off, but just play around and try feeling the pulse (ps usually you feel it more towards the inner portion (proximal to midclavicular line) than you would feel elsewhere, but then again, everyone is different! try it all over till you get it! maybe you are not being able to hear it right, since the steth may be placed not at the exact spot! try inflating the cuff and live it like that for about 10 seconds and try hearing your own, move that steth around untill you do!)

hope it helps!

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Are you trying to do a 2-step BP or does it matter? I agree with trying your own body first. Are you having trouble hearing the sounds of a BP? If that is the case, I would suggest you run to WalMart to get a BP cuff with a built in steth. for $10. That will really help with the placement of the steth and will really help in hearing the sounds of the BP (they sound just like a thump). The first thump that you hear is your systolic and the last thump that you hear is your diastolic. And it should sound pretty loud and get softer as the BP cuff deflates. I agree that the dial will also tell you but I don't go by that because it's too hard to read the dial for the diastolic. If you hear thumps right away with your steth...you will need to pump up even more. So, if you are pumping up to 160 and you hear the thumps right away, you will probably need to go up to 200 (or read how to do a 2-step BP). Remember to give your husband's arms some rest in between each inflation! Good luck. BP is hard but you will get it!

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i used to have issues with bp and i work in the nursing lab so don't feel bad! i just did my check off and passed so i know you can too! i can't stress enough the importance of finding the brachial pulse..starting in the middle of the bend of the arm and push lightly..then harder..then work your way towards the inner elbow doing the same technique..once you find a decently strong brachial pulse then you are ready to move on. practice pumping up and deflating the cuff without reading the gauge..just get used to controlling the dial to where you can let it down smoothly without trouble...don't tightening the little knob too tight because it will get stuck! then when you take a blood pressure make try listening for the sound and then making a mental mark where you heard it..not worrying about numbers..just remember for 114 for example..it was the second line past 110..then remember that you saw it there. then do the same for diastolic..then once the cuff is completely deflated use your finger to go back to where you heard the first and last sound and then worry about counting out the numbers. does that make sense? my boss (nursing lab manager) stresses this to students who are having trouble with blood pressure readings..sometimes you get caught up in the # that you aren't paying attention anymore..you will find yourself thinking "112..112..112" instead of listening..so just use mental markers to see if that helps. also, don't go in with any expectations of where you think you should hear a sound of whatever..just listen and be confident in where YOU heard it. and most of all just practice! i use my boyfriends arm all the time...but be sure to try it on other people because brachial pulses and blood pressure sound strength with vary from person to person. good luck ;)

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Specializes in soccer.

Are you a UTA student??? Because I have a check off coming up soon also!!! What i did to find the brachial pulse was at the center of the RIGHT arm (elbow) move one inch to the left (towards the pinky). And then one inch up....you should be able to find it.

Dont forget to measure cuff size. and make sure that its in the limits!!!

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hi,

i know what you are going through. everyone was doing well on bps, but i could not hear a thing. i ended up getting my ears checked and found out i have a moderate to severe hearing loss. no wonder i could not hear !!!! i ended up getting hearing aids, and a wonderful steth that i could actually hear. i was so happy to hear those sounds i cried!!! hang in there, and be determined and you will not be beat!!:nurse::redbeathe:nurse:

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