Final answer:
An EKG technician should use a stethoscope to auscultate breath sounds to obtain an accurate respiratory rate, especially when chest movement is difficult to observe.
Step-by-step explanation:
If an EKG technician is having trouble visualizing a patient's chest movement to obtain an accurate respiratory rate, the appropriate action would be to use a stethoscope to auscultate breath sounds. By doing so, the technician can listen to the airflow and detect the inhalation and exhalation of the patient. This technique not only helps in assessing respiratory rate but may also reveal other important clinical signs, such as heart murmurs. It is essential for the technician to use the stethoscope accurately and count the number of breaths per minute to determine the patient's respiratory rate. While other options such as counting chest rise and fall, asking the patient to take deep breaths, or measuring the patient's oxygen saturation level might provide additional information, they do not directly address the difficulty in visualizing chest movement. Therefore, auscultation is the most practical and immediate step in this scenario to ensure an accurate respiratory rate is obtained.