How to Take a Blood Pressure - Coursework Example

Introduction Teaching how to take blood pressure is a matter of serious concern. There are many studies suggesting various ways to teach blood pressure measurement. Still, it is painful to note that blood pressure measurement is one of the most inaccurately performed tasks in the medical field. It becomes evident from studies that most medical students feel incompetent to perform the task successfully due to poor understanding of the underlying theories and also due to limited practical sessions.

Considering the connection of blood pressure with various chronic and acute illnesses, it is necessary to ensure that medical professionals are able to measure blood pressure accurately. Studies have proved that computer simulation and video can be enormously helpful in improving the blood pressure measurement. So, this study intends to develop a methodology that will incorporate video and computer simulation to make students able to learn the theory and practice of taking blood pressure. Proposal Context Accurate measurement of blood pressure is essential to classify individuals, to evaluate blood-pressure related risk, and to devise management.

However, according to AHA Recommendations for Blood Pressure Measurement in Humans and Experimental Animals, “it is still one of the most inaccurately performed.” (Pickering, Hall, Appel, Falkner, Graves, Hill, Jones, Kurtz, Sheps, and roccella,, 2005). It has been observed that blood pressure measurement has become a very important need these days. As Ako Aotearoa Report (prepared by Bland & Ousey) dated 30 March 2010 observes, variations in blood pressure can be indicators of chronic diseases like coronary heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease and acute conditions like hypovolemic shock.

As it has been associated with various diseases, people are in increasing need of regularly monitoring their blood pressure. However, it seems from studies that in nursing schools, students get relatively less skills and confidence in blood pressure monitoring. Here, it seems useful to think about a computer program that functions as a bank of knowledge and on-line video learning. In a study conducted by Cannon, Kelly, Lyng, and McGrath (2009), it was found that videos along with large scale deployment of skills videos could offer a useful tool to aid teaching.

From the study, it became evident that when students were allowed to watch related videos before practical sessions, their performance improved significantly. However, at present, learning BPM means to attend long term courses at a nursing school learning human anatomy. Again, there comes the study that using online exercises and patient simulation is very useful in improving the students’ clinical decision-making ability. In addition, online learning allows discussion groups where students can discuss their issues and find solutions (the Free Library).

It seems that effective use of video and computer simulation will help describe the theory of blood pressure monitoring and human anatomy. So, this proposal suggests that there is the need for a computer program that provides all these relevant information together, in a step-by-step way that starts from basic human anatomy, blood pressure and various diseases, measurement of blood pressure using equipments, videos of taking blood pressure, links to various books and articles, and finally, a computer