Prompt # 8:Practicing Your Knowledge

A couple weeks ago I practiced how to take someone's pulse. Now a lot of people think that this is the most basic easiest skill to obtain but as I was practicing this skill I learned that it is not as easy as it seems. In my kinesiology lab we had to take a pulse at the radial side of the wrist, and the carotid artery. Now you have to be able to find the pulse and be able to continually feel it for at the least 15 seconds. Then do the math to find out how many beats per minute the pulse was. This type of learning was different from written/spoken sources because I actually applied the knowledge. I didn't just read about it or try to picture how to do it I actually performed it. This type of hands-on learning helps the information stick with you. After trying to find someone's pulse for about 10 minutes it revealed to me that even the most basic task calls for attentiveness and skill. I think that everybody can benefit from knowing how to find a pulse because you never know when the time might call for you to use that knowledge.