At the moment, I am studying Social Science because I would like to pursue the Psychology field at the university. By the way, I did a nurse course and I would like to present a basic technique that I used to do to assess the patient's cardio-respiratory function, the radial pulse assessment. The radial pulse assessment is taken at the wrist on the radial artery by palpation. This data will serve as a reference to the next measures and it determines the frequency, the pace, and the pulse amplitude. The normal values are 60 to 100 beats per minute. Now, here is the procedure to follow.
Step 1.1: Before you go into the room of the patient, the first thing that you have to do is be sure to have a second-hand watch, paper, and a pen to record the data.
Step 2.1: When I enter the room I ask the person " how you feel today? " After I can request the name and if I can look on the wristband if the name on it is the as the name that the patient gave to me. This step is crucial to be sure of is the right person.
Step 2.2: Before taking vital sing I always ask, " have you took a coffee or have you smoked a cigarette before? Have you made a physical effort, eaten, or drunk something in the last 15 minutes? " It is very important to ask because this vital sign could be distorted by a physical effort or if the person took a coffee or by smoking a cigarette before.
Step 3.1: I rub my hands to warm them up because I don't want to surprise the patient with cold hands. I assure myself that the person is in the Fowler position. The Fowler position is when the patient is seated around an angle of 90 degrees.
Step 3.2: I ask the person to lengthen his arm to access the radial artery. Then, I put my forefinger and my middle finger on the artery and I press moderately in order to feel the pulse.
Step 3.3: I look at my watch while I count the number of pulsations during one minute. After I write the beats by minute on a piece of paper to be able to remember the data and to record them on the official file sheet. By the way, I can count the heartbeats on 30 seconds and after double the number to have the data on one minute. But the real procedure is on one minute and, If someone has a heart problem I will take the heartbeats on one minute.
This procedure is just a part of the vital signs that a nurse has to take every time when she goes to see a patient, is added to the respiratory frequency, the blood pressure test and, the temperature. After that, the rest of the assessment depends on the condition of the patient.
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