Respiratory Rate
The respiratory rate is a very important tool through which it is possible to recognise early signs of deterioration of a patient (Philip, Richardson & Maurice Cohen 2013, p. 570). Despite this, there is an increasing amount of cases in which healthcare professionals, nurses in particular, do not routinely assess and document this important vital sign correctly (Massey & Meredith 2010, p. 538). This essay will discuss the reasons why healthcare professionals are likely to omit assessing and documenting respiratory rates and the author's clinical experience in this regard.
The respiratory rate is utilised in a myriad of clinical contexts such as obtaining a baseline for comparison, monitoring the patient's response to treatments, recognising sudden changes in a patient's condition, and as said before, it can be utilised as an indicator of an imminent major adverse event (Philip, Richardson & Cohen 2013, p. 570). For instance, a patient with a respiratory rate that is greater than 27 breaths per minute is likely to be critically ill (Parkes 2011, p. 17). When recording the respiratory rate of a patient, we are also looking for the characteristics of the breathing, whether it is 'shallow', 'normal' or 'deep', or if the patient is using accessory muscles. If an uneven chest movement is noticed, this may suggest a collapsed lung, or a chest wall injury (Parkes 2011, p. 14).
There are many reasons why the respiratory rate often is not recorded by nurses. For example, it is noted that nurses tend to rely too much on machinery when recording patients' vital signs (Parkes 2011, p. 16). The respiratory rate is the only vital sign that is done manually, and therefore due to the increased time involved to do it, nurses may become lazy (Philip, Richardson & Cohen 2013, p.571). Consequences of this behaviour could mean that the respiratory rate is likely to be done improperly, counting for 15 - 30 seconds instead of the whole minute (Ansell, Meyer & Thompson 2014, p.
The respiratory rate is utilised in a myriad of clinical contexts such as obtaining a baseline for comparison, monitoring the patient's response to treatments, recognising sudden changes in a patient's condition, and as said before, it can be utilised as an indicator of an imminent major adverse event (Philip, Richardson & Cohen 2013, p. 570). For instance, a patient with a respiratory rate that is greater than 27 breaths per minute is likely to be critically ill (Parkes 2011, p. 17). When recording the respiratory rate of a patient, we are also looking for the characteristics of the breathing, whether it is 'shallow', 'normal' or 'deep', or if the patient is using accessory muscles. If an uneven chest movement is noticed, this may suggest a collapsed lung, or a chest wall injury (Parkes 2011, p. 14).
There are many reasons why the respiratory rate often is not recorded by nurses. For example, it is noted that nurses tend to rely too much on machinery when recording patients' vital signs (Parkes 2011, p. 16). The respiratory rate is the only vital sign that is done manually, and therefore due to the increased time involved to do it, nurses may become lazy (Philip, Richardson & Cohen 2013, p.571). Consequences of this behaviour could mean that the respiratory rate is likely to be done improperly, counting for 15 - 30 seconds instead of the whole minute (Ansell, Meyer & Thompson 2014, p.