Vital Signs

In nursing there are aspects of observation that are universal. When a healthcare provider such as a doctor, nurse or a certified nurse’s assistant (c.n.a.) wants to observe the patient, they can do vital signs. Vital signs are one key component to knowing what is going on in the patient’s body. There are several different signs to look for. Such as blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, respirations, and oxygen levels. To begin with, when the heart beats it pumps blood around your body to give it the oxygen it needs. As the blood moves it pushes against the sides of the blood vessels. The strength of this pushing is your blood pressure. (Blood Pressure Association 2008).High blood pressure can lead to strokes. The higher the blood pressure,

Taking the pulse is counting how many beats your heart puts out in a minute. The normal range for this is 60-90 beats per minute. One way to obtain a pulse is by placing you pointer finger and your middle finger on the patient’s wrist on the side where the thumb is located. The carotid artery on the side of the neck is another location. The nurse also likes to feel the pulse on the foot to indicate if there is proper circulation. Taking a stethoscope and placing it over the heart is a direct way to listen to the heart and count the beats. There are vital sign machines at the hospital that take a patients pulse. The number is gathered when you are taking the patients oxygen level which I will explain oxygen level later. While we are discussing circulation taking a daily weight on a person is a way of observing if the patient is taking on fluids. If the body does not circulate well, fluid can start building up which leads to a fatal disease called congested heart failure. If this continues the lungs will fill up with fluids and lead to

By placing the probe of the oximeter on the finger it will give you a reading of the level of oxygen in the blood. Normal pulse oximeter readings range from 95-100 percent. Values under 90 percent are considered low.(1198-2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.) Low oxygen levels lead to shortness of breath. When this happens a patient struggles to breath and the heart rate will elevate I have observed this when I measure the oxygen level when someone is walking. This is a way to determine if the patient has to to be on Oxygen. When you use the major muscle groups the oxygen those muscles demand is greater than if you are just sitting. Measuring the oxygen level of a patient while they are walking, gives the healthcare provider a more accurate view of the patients oxygen