Respiratory rate counting

Authors: Rednenko VV, Poplavets E.V.

Editor: Rednenko V.V.

Equipment for the practical skill:

• Robot-patient / Patient
• Stopwatch or watch with a second hand
• Pen and paper

Clinical situation:      

• You need to coutn a patient's respiratory rate

Order of the skill performance:

Preparatory stage:

• The respiratory rate is counted after taking the pulse rate so that the client is not aware that you are taking it. See Radial (wrist) pulse taking

Main stage:

• Once you have finished counting the pulse, leave your fingers in place and then begin assessing respiration.
• Observe the chest or abdomen rise and fall.
• Count for 30 seconds if the rhythm is regular or for a full minute if irregular. One respiration includes a full respiratory cycle (including both inspiration and expiration). Thus, the rise and the fall of the abdomen or chest is counted as one full breath. 
• Take note of the respiration as breaths per minute, as well as whether breathing is relaxed, silent, and has a regular rhythm.
• Take note whether chest movement is symmetrical.

Final stage:

• Tell the patient the results
• Register the result (if necessary)
• Treat your hands