- Joined
- Jul 15, 2009
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I agree with everyone else, calling out numbers might be a good idea until you get a handle on what is going on, what is normal and how to react if something is not normal....
Also, never, ever, ever rely 100% on the monitoring machines... they may look nice and friendly and have all the values sitting there for you to just write down.. always monitor your patient... look at the patient.. are the gums pink? Is the patient actually breathing? Listen to their heart on occasion.. does it sound normal? The machines can continue to give you normal values even if the patient is not alive... (we had a nice training session when with the vet when we had to euth a patient on the table, one person signalled when the heart stopped and then we all watched the machines... it took the machines a good 20+ seconds to reflect what happened)... I don't mean to scare you with this; just be sure to actually monitor your patient and not the machines that your patient is hooked up to... it will make you feel more comfortable to see the patient's chest rising and falling and to hear the patient's heart for yourself as well. And if you are ever in doubt while monitoring, ask...
Also, never, ever, ever rely 100% on the monitoring machines... they may look nice and friendly and have all the values sitting there for you to just write down.. always monitor your patient... look at the patient.. are the gums pink? Is the patient actually breathing? Listen to their heart on occasion.. does it sound normal? The machines can continue to give you normal values even if the patient is not alive... (we had a nice training session when with the vet when we had to euth a patient on the table, one person signalled when the heart stopped and then we all watched the machines... it took the machines a good 20+ seconds to reflect what happened)... I don't mean to scare you with this; just be sure to actually monitor your patient and not the machines that your patient is hooked up to... it will make you feel more comfortable to see the patient's chest rising and falling and to hear the patient's heart for yourself as well. And if you are ever in doubt while monitoring, ask...