In this podcast you will hear a Nurse and a Respiratory Therapist discussing a patient and then you will hear a Respiratory Therapist talking to a patient.
Respiratory therapist: Hello, someone from 4 west paged a respiratory therapist.
Nurse: Yes, we need a ABG on room air done on Mr. Lafontaine in room 415.
Respiratory therapist: Mr. Lafontaine is on how much oxygen?
Nurse: On 2 liters per minute.
Respiratory therapist: What is the reason the doctor needs the ABG on room air?
Nurse: Mr. Lafontaine will be discharged in a couple of days and the doctor wants to know if he needs oxygen at home.
Respiratory therapist: Okay, we will be there shortly to see Mr. Lafontaine.
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Respiratory therapist: Hello Mr. Lafontaine, my name is Pam and I am a Respiratory Therapist.
Patient: Hello.
Respiratory therapist: I am here to take a bit a blood from your arm. Have you ever had an ABG done before?
Patient: I think so, but I am not sure. What is it?
Respiratory therapist: An ABG is when we take a sample of blood from your arm to analyze it in the laboratory. By doing that your doctor will be able to know your oxygen level and the team will be able to decide if you will be sent home with oxygen.
Patient: Will it hurt?
Respiratory therapist: It will not hurt too much but you will feel a pinch. Before we do that we will take you off your oxygen for around 10-15 minutes and check your saturation before doing the ABG. The reason that we take you off the oxygen before is to know your oxygen level at rest when you are not receiving oxygen supplementation.
Patient: I understand.
Respiratory therapist: Do you have any more questions?
Patient: No, not for now, thanks.
Teacher: The respiratory system is really important and being able to breathe properly is crucial. Josée, have you ever needed help breathing?
Student: No, I have always been healthy. But it must be scary.
Teacher: In the case discussed here what is happening…what kind of problems is the patient having?
Student: He may need to have extra oxygen with him when he is sent home.
Teacher: That’s right. How will they determine if he needs oxygen?
Student: They said something about an ABG…but I can’t remember exactly.
Teacher: You’re on the right track. They did an ABG. It’s when they take a blood sample and analyze it for oxygen levels.
Student: And the respiratory therapist decides if this is needed, right?
Teacher: That’s right. That’s why they paged a respiratory therapist to come and help.