Introduction to vital signs (for nursing assistant training)

Vital, literally means essential. So, vital signs refer to a set of medical measurements that indicate the state of essential functions of the body.

The commonly measured vital signs include body temperature, BP, heart rate, also called pulse and respiratory rate. Pain is often considered a vital sign and is measured along with the others.

Measuring vital signs is a crucial component in taking care of a clients. Health vital signs, help assess the general physical health of a person.

Provide clues to possible diseases and help monitor the progress of the clients health status. Normally vital signs are measured and interpreted by a nurse.

However, as a nursing assistant, you will be asked to measure vital signs and so you will need to know how to measure them.

Vital signs are typically measured at certain times. First, vital signs are measured when you encounter the client for the first time during the admission process or during the initial home care visits.

This will provide the client's baseline and can be used to compare with future measurement. Usually vital signs are measured every shift.

Clients who are ill like those in hospitals need their vital signs measured every few hours. You will even find some severely ill clients attached to machines that monitor their vital signs continuously.

On the other hand, clients such as those in long term care facilities may have their vital signs measured only a couple of days each week.

The client's plan of care will specify how often the client's vital signs need to be taken. So make sure you check that as well.

Next vital signs are often measured when the client is receiving medications during nursing interventions and before during and after medical procedures such as surgical operation.

This is because such procedures may cause significant stress to the client and that may result in a significant change in the vital signs.

So it is important to take measurements, document them and report to the nurse. You should also measure vital signs after an incident like a fall.

When you notice changes in the clients status, like a decreased level of consciousness or when the client reports, any specific symptoms of physical distress like dizziness or feeling cold.

Vital signs can vary within a normal range throughout the day and can be influenced by a number of things such as the clients activity or if they are experiencing pain or anxiety to get the most accurate measurements, make sure the client is relaxed and comfortable.

Take the measurements in a quiet and well lit room. The client should not have consumed alcohol, tobacco or caffeine or exercised for 30 minutes prior to the measurement because this can temporarily alter some of the clients vital signs such as the pulse and the BP.

Finally, before taking your measurements, the client should be seated with the back supported and feet on the floor. Some clients might not be able to get out of bed and you will need to measure their vital signs in bed before starting raise the bed to your comfortable height.

But also make sure the client is as relaxed as possible. After taking a set of vital signs, be sure to report to the nurse.

Any measurement that has changed from the client's baseline or any vital sign out of the normal range. Also don't forget to document your measurements and any observations.

All right, as a quick recap, the commonly measured vital signs include body temperature, BP, heart rate, respiratory rate and pain.

As a nursing assistant, you will often be measuring vital signs as part of the healthcare team. Vital signs are measured at various times like on the first encounter with the client after medical procedure, when required by the health facility protocol, the plan of care.

And when there's a change in the status of the client's health before taking any measurement, make sure the client is comfortable and relaxed and has not taken caffeine tobacco or exercise in the last 30