NURS 251 Lecture 6: Chapter 9 PART 4
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The highly conditioned athlete or client with anorexia/bulimia may have slow pulses. Anxiety, acute pain, fear, and exercise can produce pulses greater than normal. Use the pads of the first three fingers and push a little firmly along the radius. Count irregular beats and assess the rhythm of the pulse. Jar(cid:448)is says to start (cid:449)ith the first (cid:271)eat as (cid:862)zero(cid:863). I (cid:272)a(cid:374) thi(cid:374)k of (cid:374)o perti(cid:374)e(cid:374)t reason for this, so the first beat is one and count from there (either 30 seconds or one minute) The (cid:374)ursi(cid:374)g stude(cid:374)t is (cid:272)ou(cid:374)ti(cid:374)g a (cid:272)lie(cid:374)t"s pulse for o(cid:374)e (cid:373)i(cid:374)ute. Do not mention that you are counting respirations as you are taking the pulse, because this will make people breathe differently than normal. You will see many nurses, aides and other students from other school use the 15 seconds x 4 method, but you miss out on some very important assessments such as: The respiratory rate rises in: anxiety, stress, older patients.
