Attn Nurses... calories burned for CPR

jamielyn1369
jamielyn1369 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any other nurses out there know what the calories burned for CPR is? I had a crazy night in the ER and did CPR several rounds... approximately 15 minutes worth over the 12 hour shift. I know that it is physically exhausting and I'm assuming that I burned off several calories, but not sure if it's even worth it to list it. Anyone know?

Replies

  • Kalrez
    Kalrez Posts: 655 Member
    Personally, anything I do at work is counted under my basic activity level.
  • HarlCarl
    HarlCarl Posts: 266 Member
    Even practicing CPR to recertify is exhausting, but I wouldn't take 15 minutes time for it. That's just me though. :happy:
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    I would just make sure your activity level is set appropriately.
    Congrats on being able to do cpr all those times, I'm sure its appreciated by whoever you saved.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    Personally, anything I do at work is counted under my basic activity level.
    This...
  • audram420
    audram420 Posts: 838 Member
    I've wondered that too...the nights that go crazy at our hospital always leave me as sore and tired as an intense workout. My arms are always super sore after compressions during CPR. I've never counted them as calories burned though.
  • sprinkies
    sprinkies Posts: 309 Member
    i would just include it under your basic calorie level. i'm sure you burned some extra, but it's not really worth logging since you don't really know what you burned.
  • _Ben
    _Ben Posts: 1,608 Member
    http://blog.socialworkout.com/2010/04/29/you-can-burn-lot-calories-performing-cpr


    Might help ya
  • fridayjustleft04
    fridayjustleft04 Posts: 851 Member
    I would just make sure your activity level is set appropriately.
    Congrats on being able to do cpr all those times, I'm sure its appreciated by whoever you saved.
    This. If your activity level is set to anything but sedentary (and it should be if you're a nurse), I wouldn't count it.
  • alaw1119
    alaw1119 Posts: 68 Member
    I've wondered this too. Sometimes I leave work feeling like I've ran a marathon! I use to use my pedometer on my watch to see how many miles I walked in a 12 hr shift. Usually ended up being about 11 miles! That's about 900 calories!
  • beach_bum_gurl
    beach_bum_gurl Posts: 200
    I would not log it...it will just be bonus cals burned : )
  • jamielyn1369
    jamielyn1369 Posts: 19 Member
    Thanks everyone! I do have my activity level set at moderate I think. I wasn't going to count the calories burned, but we did several rounds of CPR on several different people. My coworkers that know I am counting calories were telling me to make sure to count these. Alaw1119, I hear ya... I average about 12-13 miles nightly. Some days are more, some days are less. And if we do CPR, it's not really ever for that long, but last night was a really bad cardiac night! Thanks again for all the advice!
  • spoiledwife12
    spoiledwife12 Posts: 151 Member
    I wish there were a device that could measure the actual calories burned just by my brain trying to keep up and respond to everything going on!! Sometimes I come home feeling like I should've burned at least 1000 cals!!!
  • tiedye
    tiedye Posts: 331 Member
    I too am a nurse. I heard floor nurses walk at least 5 miles per shift! I count that (and lifting patients, equipment, etc) as part of my daily life however. I would equate CPR to push ups maybe. Similar motions I suppose!
  • jozak78
    jozak78 Posts: 2 Member
    I don't know that cpr is comparable to pishups. As a paramedics and ER tech, I do about equal amounts of cpr on floors and elevated on stretchers, and in both positions I tend to use the larger muscle groups of my hips and back to lift my weight off of the patients chest and let it fall again, using my weight to do the compressions. My arms stay locked for the most part. Whereas pushups tend to use the arms and chest more. I'd compare cpr muscle group usage to a dead lift with a 2 inch range of motion.

    I set my fitness profile to active since I work a minimum of 60 hours a week split between EMS, the ER, and bartending. And I don't bother logging any additional exercise.
  • jklein11
    jklein11 Posts: 1
    Try wearing a heart rate monitor one night at work. Not sure if it would interfere with other equipment of not but it is a good way to figure out the calories burned on a given night at work.
  • scribbles412
    scribbles412 Posts: 2 Member
    Active CPR is 242 calories per 15 minutes. In a class is about 164. I am a 185 lb person. I just thought it should be answered for us healthcare professional.
  • aftoncorinne
    aftoncorinne Posts: 4 Member
    Haha whoever says a code is not excersise has never actually done CPR... Count it!
  • cphelps73
    cphelps73 Posts: 4 Member
    I'm a paramedic, and while I too have my activity let higher like a (cough cough) nurse, if I habe an extremelu busy day with lot's pf extra activity, i.e. several interfacility transfers where we're huffing it across the buildings, or just an extra busy day, I count those mibutes or a portion of them as extra. As far as the original question I personnally have wonderd that myself, but since I don't have to do compreasions that odten personally because I have to run the code, push the drugs, intubate, etc. but that is neither here nor there. Long story short like someone else said count it as like light aerobics or aomething like that. I handle supplies at my.service and when I am restocking the supply cabinet from my storage area or putting new supplies, to checking experation dates throught my storage areas, a I count part of that time as "cleaning- light to moderate effort." I'm at 70 lbs lost. p.s. Sorry for jacking your topic! :happy:
  • sblueyez
    sblueyez Posts: 156 Member
    Did you see the giant full moon? Bet it contributed...

    Since you're not set at sedentary you don't need to track it. You can if you want or you can consider it a bonus burn!
  • kgb6days
    kgb6days Posts: 880 Member
    Well now as another ED nurse, I would say it depends on the size of the person you're doing CPR on - you KNOW the bigger the patient the harder the CPR. However, I'd still say it counts under your normal work. Just make sure your activity level is set appropriately.
  • Txnurse97
    Txnurse97 Posts: 275 Member
    Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but I would feel badly for counting it. Just doesn't seem right to count it when it comes at the cardiac arrest of another person.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
    Wow, thank you guys for all your work saving other people's lives on a daily basis. My first thought when I read the OP was "who cares what it burns, it's CPR!!!" But I guess if you do it often enough you need to account for it.

    I wonder if superheroes sit around on their forum and ask "how many calories did I burn by redirecting that missile today?" :laugh:
  • Tmarty1424
    Tmarty1424 Posts: 1 Member
    15 minutes of CPR will burn 165 calories.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    Tmarty1424 wrote: »
    15 minutes of CPR will burn 165 calories.

    This thread is from 2011.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    The thing is... too few calories are also bad. I wouldn't think it's a bad thing to give yourself a little extra, but mostly I would watch your weight trends. Are you losing weight at the rate you would expect for your calorie level? Does the activity level you do approximately even out week to week or is it vastly different?

    If it more or less evens out then I would just keep playing with your calorie goals, every couple of weeks, until your loss is about right. Then look at trying to hit your weekly average rather than daily. If you have a busy day and you're starving eat more, and then less on a more sedentary day.

    If things vary a lot more wildly, or if you just really like logging, set your activity level to a lower activity level and then give yourself calories for more activity. This is more fun IMO, but also much harder to dial in.

    I sorta do a blend of these and I'm usually very consistent.
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,843 Member
    I just have myself set to moderately active and count everything I do at work in that.

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