Hi everyone! I'm currently in a vocational program for nursing, at the end of January my class will be shadowing nurses in active hospitals, in order to go we must all know how to take a blood pressure reading manually. I'm the last one in my class that can not take a blood pressure correctly. I know how to put the cuff on, use the stethoscope, and use the cuff valve, however I can not hear the first beat! I can hear it sometimes but other times I can not, I really want to go to the hospital with my class, can anybody help me?