Blood Pressure and Readings

Blood Pressure Measurement Everyone doctoral or other nursing student takes their own path and has their own reflections when it comes to their college journey. One of the common facets of nursing and the associated research that nursing students tend to ponder to varying degrees is what is known as evidence-based practice, or EBP. Even with the common sense behind EBP, there are a number of students and even practitioners that are not fully versed in the best practices and such of their job that have come from the EBP.

One such nagging habit that many people have is the improper measurement of blood pressure. Indeed, if the measurement of blood pressure is done incorrectly, it can cause shoddy readings and this is something that can be avoided so easily. While it seems like a simple problem to fix, the improper measurement of blood pressure remains a nagging issue that needs to be addressed within the nursing field and paradigm.

Analysis & Reflection To provide the context for the observations and reflections that are to come in this brief essay, it is important to cite and point to one example of the EBP material that is cited in the introduction of this report. The abstract of an article by Wexler (2010) drives the point home quite clearly. Wexler notes that the "accurate assessment and appropriate management of blood pressure (BP) is critical for primary care physicians" (Wexler, 2010).

Wexler also notes that the blood pressure measurements typically done in office-based and clinical settings are especially prone to be erratic, incomplete and inaccurate. The solution to this problem, as suggested by Wexler and many other sources in the EBP paradigm, is ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, or ABPM. This is when blood pressure readings are done at specific and fairly precise intervals over a full day.

The interval-style measurement of blood pressure helps smooth out variances and outliers so as to give a more realistic and complete picture of what a person's blood pressure actually is. This stands in contrast to the readings (and the reactions to the same) that tend to occur when only one measurement is done.

As noted by Wexler and many others, treatment plans should not be based on a lone reading in a vacuum due to the variations that occur due to movement, time since sleep, time since eating and so on (Wexler, 2010). When it comes to the reflections and observations that come from the subject above, there are many that could be discussed.

Perhaps the most significant one is the fact that truly measuring blood pressure over a full 24-hour period can be impractical and difficult to do unless the patient in question is a resident or patient of a long-term care home, hospital or some other situation. If the patient, for example, is just doing an urgent care or regular doctor visit, chances are that person is only being cuffed up to measure blood pressure one time upon admittance and that is it.

The implications this has on the medical field go far beyond what happens in a normal doctor's office. For example, there are surely many peer-reviewed studies out there that involve the tracking and measurement of blood pressure. It is important to ask out loud whether the blood pressure readings in those studies are being.