measuring resp rate?

lovehospital · Jan 20, 2009

what are some tricks to taking a pt's resp rate? how do you take it without telling them so they don't alter their breathing pattern?
i've heard some people say to tell the patient you're taking their pulse, take pulse for 30 seconds and watch their chest for respirations for the next 30 seconds. i think some female patients might wonder why i'm staring at their chest while i'm supposed to be taking their pulse though.. :uhoh21:

Pretend you take their pulse for the whole minute....

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Jan 20, 2009

what are some tricks to taking a pt's resp rate? how do you take it without telling them so they don't alter their breathing pattern?
i've heard some people say to tell the patient you're taking their pulse, take pulse for 30 seconds and watch their chest for respirations for the next 30 seconds. i think some female patients might wonder why i'm staring at their chest while i'm supposed to be taking their pulse though.. :uhoh21:

You can watch without being obvious. I find that if I mimic their breathing and breath with them that it is easier to count that way. Some one told me that they take the patients pulse with the patients hand resting on the chest so that after the 30 seconds they feel the rise and fall of the chest and count respiration for the last 30 seconds. But with some patients, especially neonates and peds you need to count or a whole 60 seconds.

sh1901 · Jan 20, 2009

Our instructors told us to take the pulse for a full 60 seconds and respirations for a full 60 seconds. They also said to hold the persons arm across the chest so that you can not only watch the respirations but feel them as well.

I tend to watch the breathing without staring at the chest. I just make sure that the rise and fall of the chest is within my field of vision.

Hope this helps!!

mcknis · Jan 20, 2009

I tend to watch the breathing without staring at the chest. I just make sure that the rise and fall of the chest is within my field of vision.

I do this too and it works very well. i tend to count during the heart rate or during bowel sounds since most people breathe with their abd's. Resps can be done anytime during your assessment and not just during the resp/VS part of it. Just a thought. Now i will pay extra attention if they are gasping for breaths or SpO2 is tanking, but over time, you'll develop your own routine just like you will for your assessments.

NSALVADORE · Jan 21, 2009

I take the pulse for 30 and then go right into counting resps without them knowing. If the patient is a shallow breather I put my hand on their shoulder while taking their pulse and then I can feel their breaths and don't have to look at their chest! As you gain experience you'll learn tricks that work for you!

SusanKathleen, RN · Jan 21, 2009

I listen with stethoscope - get a good apical HR, then keep the scope on longer to count the resps. It does double duty that way - you get a good long listen for heart sounds, and the pt doesn't know you're counts resps.

GaMBA · Jan 21, 2009

We have a machine that measures everything but the respirations. What I do is stick the thermometer in their mouth, hold it, and look at them and count their respirations, under the pretense that I'm waiting for their temp to be read. So far this has worked for me :-)

shrimpchips, LPN · Jan 22, 2009

They taught us to take their pulse for 30 seconds then take their resp rate for 30 seconds, so you'll be there looking at your watch for a minute. A less obvious way that they also taught us is to put your hand on the patient's shoulder/back that way you can "feel" the respirations because some students had trouble just watching for them. You could also use your stethoscope and listen to their heart/breath sounds and get a resp rate that way.

RadfordSN · Jan 22, 2009

I really have a problem counting respirations also. I saw someone else had mentioned that they find it helpful to mimic their patients resp. rate, and that's what I've been doing. It really is helpful, and after I take the pulse I can quickly figure out the rate of respirations as I'm charting.

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Jan 23, 2009

A trick I was taught as a First Responder is to lay the pt's arm across their stomach as you take their pulse and resps - that way you have a better shot of feeling and seeing their respirations, especially if they're an abdominal breather.