This is probably a good time to bring up the number one rule of vital signs. Remember the movie Fight Club? Everyone knew the first rule of fight club was to never talk about fight club. Now let me give you the first rule of vital signs. Burn it into your memory.
Never lie about vital signs.
Oh, I know. You think you’d never lie about vital signs. You’re an honest person right? Why would you lie about something as silly as vital signs? And yet, it happens…a bunch.
There you are deflating that blood pressure cuff. Everyone’s looking at you, waiting for your report, and you hear . . . . (wait for it) . . . (wait for it) . . . nothing! everyone is waiting. And you did see the needle bounce right around 120 and stop bouncing right around 70. The BP must be normal right? Couldn’t you just make it up and save face?
Don’t do it. It’s hard to admit when you just don’t hear the BP or can’t feel the pulse, especially when you think it’s something you’re doing wrong. It’s easier…and very tempting, to fake it. Don’t do it. You only have to make up incorrect vital signs once to completely blow your credibility.
Report a 120 over 80 blood pressure to your partner when it’s really 60 over nothing just one time and your credibility as a caregiver is shot. Tell the hospital the patient has a strong pulse at 84 bpm when it’s really weak and irregular at 136 bpm just one time and it will be a long time before they trust your hand-off report again. Medicine is harder when your colleagues don’t trust you.
Everyone has had the experience of not being able to feel a pulse, or hear a lung sound or a blood pressure. Practice your vital signs. Take them diligently and then tell the God’s honest truth about what you find.
Now it’s your turn: Have you ever been tempted to lie about the vital signs? Have you ever done it? What happened?
