Need help taking blood pressure

redtshirt · Jan 22, 2009

when you pump the cuff up and let it down slowly you should hear nothing then a noise comes in like a beat/throb and is louder at the start then it phases out until you can no longer hear it. It takes a lot of practice, ther should be guidelines in most your nursing books for step by step guide i had a book the royal marsden i think its called. Dont buy it but try get it from the library instead. has lots of other clincial skills in it too. Dont let it phase you practice on everyone you know theyll all sound slightly diff. Make sure the stet it the right way around too!

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2009

there is an online virtual blood pressure cuff that you can play around with and take practice blood pressures. make sure your computer's sound is turned on:

http://medicine.osu.edu/exam/ - to access the blood pressure cuff, scroll down to "objective iv" and click the link that says "take a blood pressure". when the player comes up, you can re-cycle the player over and over to hear and input blood pressure readings that it quizzes you on.

lainith · Jan 23, 2009

That link really helped me a lot! I listened to it during my first module of nursing classes! The "ah ha!" moment for me though was when I tried to take my OWN BP myself and finally was like "Ohhhhhh I get it now." :) Good luck! I love that website.

liladybug526, RN · Jan 24, 2009

Thanks everyone for all of your advice. Keep your fingers crossed that I pass my Practical this week :uhoh21:

pepperoni · Jan 24, 2009

We had a BP lab today, and I was flying through it with no trouble, heard everything perfectly on the manikin, but then I couldn't hear ANYTHING on any of my classmates! NOTHING! It was like my stethoscope was off or something, but it was on! I tried person after person and couldn't hear anything... I was getting so frustrated I almost cried... finally, I heard it! It's so sad too, such a basic, easy skill, and I was stressing like crazy over it because I couldn't HEAR it! Good luck, don't beat yourself up over it! Good luck to both of us on our pass-off! Yikes!

LovingNurse, BSN, RN · Jan 24, 2009

Although it's the first clear SOUND you're waiting for, sometimes you'll notice the gauge 'bounce' about the same time the systolic is being detected.

It also takes practice releasing the cuff at the right speed - not too fast or too slow. You might want to purchase a cuff for home use - the more you practice, the more comfortable you will be.

Good luck with your practical.

inland18mempire · Jan 24, 2009

These sounds are pointless (well, not pointless, but you don't need them to interpret the the BP when using the manual cuff). By the way, you'll almost never use a manual cuff in the hospital setting. AT ANY RATE, here is the "cheater's" way of doing it, which a couple of instructors have shown me: put the BP cuff on like usual, inflate the cuff to about 180 or so... slowly release the valve so that the needle slowly drops. It should drop smoothly. As soon as you see it bounce/bob up and down/etc, then that is your SYSTOLIC (top) number. As it is falling and bouncing up and down at the same time, you'll notice when it STOPs bouncing. That is your DIASTOLIC (bottom) number. After that the needle will fall smoothly once again until it has reached 0. While you're doing this, pretend to be listening for the sounds with your stethescope, but really, all you need to do is look at the measurement meter and go off of that. Good luck to you! Oh... also, for testing purposes, just know what the sounds mean. That was on our test a few times.

LovingNurse, BSN, RN · Jan 24, 2009

pretend to be listening for the sounds with your stethescope, but really, all you need to do is look at the measurement meter and go off of that.

The bounce might help as a guide but it's not a replacement ... Please learn & do it the right way. Who would want a nurse who "pretends?" :no:

inland18mempire · Jan 25, 2009

it's a replacement when you can not hear the sounds, which is more often than not. the only time that i have had to use a manual cuff was when I was in nursing school during the 1st semester. Haven't seen or touched one since.

picurn10 · Jan 25, 2009

I've yet to use a machine for BP in clinicals and we were taught that they are not nearly as accurate as a manual. You should always know how to get a good manual read.

I also struggled when first learning, but for me the key was having a good steth! Once I got a good one, I still was having trouble, but I found when I replaced the ear peices it was like someone cranked the volume way up! Now I can hear a BP like a really loud "thud" and then the thumping sounds start. It will come with practice and a good stethescope, but please don't think it's a nursing skill you won't need.

One Flew Over · Dec 3, 2009

I've yet to use a machine for BP in clinicals and we were taught that they are not nearly as accurate as a manual. You should always know how to get a good manual read..

True! And a lot of times they don't even work, and you waste so much time waiting for them, only to have them give you error messages. They can be pretty frustrating! :eek: