BP on wrist

NiteShiftNut · Sep 17, 2004

sorry if i am a little confused on the details (it's way past my bedtime). the nurse who cursed at you was not even the nurse for that pt? and if i am getting it straight, the pt wasn't even there at that point?(being that she was sent to the hospital?) so, if it was me, i would've had to tell her to worry about her own d**n patients and you would take care of yours. please don't take this the wrong way, but people will only treat you like dogs**t on their shoe if you let them. next time this "nurse" decides to try to slam you, i would politely, but firmly, tell her that you don't appreciate being talked to in that fashion. if you make it a habit to never accept any crap from anyone, pretty soon they won't even think about trying to give it to you. good luck.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2004

I would make sure the DON knows about this abusive language. It is illegal in most states to verbally abuse another person.

As for the BP cuff, the facility should be supplying you with adequate supplies. I would not use my own stuff on residents as it may not be calibrated and if there is a defect of any kind it is YOUR fault, whereas the facility is obligated to maintain their own equipment. So write it up every time you are lacking adequate equipment to do your job. I understand you are using the wrist cuff to make life easier for you, but if you put the responsibility back onto the facility you are ultimately making life easier for yourself.

As for the wrist BP being accurate, most are. But you still should not have to supply it. There is also a hygiene question about them.

keggsb · Sep 17, 2004

When I worked in a nursing home, we used the wrist cuffs all the time. They work great as long as you position the arm properly. The elderly people were more compliant with B/Ps when we used the wrist cuff. They thought it was a bracelet. We would confirm accuaracy by taking B/Ps with a regular cuff and then the wrist. 99.9% of the time, they were dead on. Just show them it works. (It also works well on the really small arms to place it just like a regular cuff above the anticubital)

As for the nurses who cursed at you, tell them flat out,"Hey! I don't speak to you that way. Don't you ever speak to me like that again." If it happens again, report them. You do not have to work in a hostile environment. It is illegal and if administration allows it to go on, document what was said, when it was said, when you reported it, and what was done. If it continues, you have grounds to leave your position and report the organization for allowing a hostile environment.

You need to stand up for yourself. There are people who are so unhappy in their own lives, they like to make everybody else miserable.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Sep 17, 2004

Julie, I'd seriously find another job. There are better places to work. There are certainly more helpful, more team-oriented co-workers than those hags you've described.

jschut, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2004

sorry if i am a little confused on the details (it's way past my bedtime). the nurse who cursed at you was not even the nurse for that pt? and if i am getting it straight, the pt wasn't even there at that point?(being that she was sent to the hospital?) so, if it was me, i would've had to tell her to worry about her own d**n patients and you would take care of yours. please don't take this the wrong way, but people will only treat you like dogs**t on their shoe if you let them. next time this "nurse" decides to try to slam you, i would politely, but firmly, tell her that you don't appreciate being talked to in that fashion. if you make it a habit to never accept any crap from anyone, pretty soon they won't even think about trying to give it to you. good luck.

we were having difficulty with keeping res bp up, i followed dr orders and continuously monitored res. right before i left, i checked bp again and charted same. the next nurse came on, i gave report about res and my findings. apparently, about 2 hours later, when the night shift nurse went in to assess, res bp was way below what i said it was at my last check, she was edematous in hands and feet (was not when i was there) and was incoherent. 3rd shift nurse sent res to hosp.

the following eve when i worked again, and the 3rd shift nurse came on duty, her first words out of her mouth were, "so, did (res name) die yet?" very sarcastically, then she began about the bp.

that's how it came about.

the other nurse on duty (with me) was 3rd shifters aunt and apparently felt it was her duty to inform her neice what an incompetent boob i was in taking care of another res that she felt i should have called dr on. family asked me to come in and assess him earlier in the day, and when i did, the other nurse went with me, like i was doing something wrong. (she was angry because i stayed on the hall i was already on since i came in at 10a, instead of moving to another hall when she came on at 2p so she could have her "set" place to work.) stupid, petty bullcrap.

jschut, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2004

Julie, I'd seriously find another job. There are better places to work. There are certainly more helpful, more team-oriented co-workers than those hags you've described.

Believe me, if I could, I would. I need something to equal approximate pay I am making now and give me the hours I need for school.

CHATSDALE · Sep 17, 2004

other posts are right talk back to them, if you can solve this abuse on your own w/o involving the don fine if this doesn't work give don a written report giving dates times names and exact words....as for wrist b/p test it with a regular cuff and if it appears to be giving you good results use and do not mention it the Bs......in our facility the cuffs are usually broken or unable to find...these are used from res to res and so are not any more apt for cross contamination than the one i bring in...of course we are a rather stable ltc facility...would not use on pt that might infect others...

Jay-Jay, RN · Sep 17, 2004

That .....SUCKS!

I had a pt. with very low BP, end-stage CHF. She was quite large, but with effort, I managed to get my cuff around her arm and get a BP, thought it was so faint, I was a bit iffy on the systolic. I called 911, and the paramedics repeated the BP, using her wrist, and an electronic cuff. Their results were pretty much the same as mine, and I was surprised, because I'd been taught NOT to use the wrist. One of the nice things about nursing, is you're learning new stuff all the time. It's called "professional development." I think the nurse that attacked you badly needs an attitude adjustment. Wonder when she last took a course or workshop to upgrade herself?

Do your best to stand up to them. Don't let ANYONE bully you into feeling you did something wrong. I remember a quote from the novel 'The Sandpebbles' re. a certain type of person who 'sat on a nickel's worth of knowledge as though it was the great Inca treasure.' That's the sort of bully you're running into here. Just because YOU don't do things THEIR way, you have to be wrong. They maybe feel threatened because you're just out of school, with all sorts of new, up-to-date knowledge. Don't put up with it! Show them the proof, not in a nasty, self-righteous way, but quietly and assertively.