Hello everyone, it's been a while I posted an article here. Juggling between being a nurse and writing isn't that easy I guess.
Today I'd like to enlighten us on something that's very pivotal in the health care settings. The topic I'll be talking about today can be said to be the basic and one the most important thing to look out for when dealing with a client that needs medical attention; VITAL SIGNS.
Simply put; Vital signs are measurements used to indicate the human body most basic functions. There are 4 basic vital signs that are usually used to monitor a patient in order to detect or diagnose a medical issues and they are;
Temperature,
Pulse,
Respiration,
Blood pressure.
I would not bore you with the in-depth medical jargon. I'll just briefly talk about each one by giving a simple definition and their average normal measurements in the human body
Temperature:
This is basically the degree of hotness or coldness of the person. Although it varies based on gender, time of the day, recent activity. The average human temperature is known to be 36.5°C to 37.2°C. anyone with a temperature below or above that range respectively should seek medical attention.
Pulse:
This simply means, the number of times the heart beats in a minute. It's also an avenue to access the rythm and strength of the heart beat. It also varies based on age, condition, gender but the average pulse rate for humans is 60-100 beats per minute.
Respiratory Rate:
Just like, pulse rate above, respiratory rate is simply the number of breaths taken in a minute. Factors like age, exercise can alter the rate, but the average human respiratory rate is 12-16 breaths per minute.
Blood Pressure:
Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls during contraction and relaxation of the heart. Each time the heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries, resulting in the highest blood pressure as the heart contracts. When the heart relaxes, the blood pressure falls.
In measurement of blood pressure, two factors are considered; the "systolic pressure"- which is the pressure when the heart contract and pumps blood. And the"diastolic pressure"- which is the pressure when the heart rests and get filled with blood again. The average human blood pressure is 120/80 and it is measured in millimeter mercury (mmHg)
That's basically the definition of vital signs. So what's the nurse role in vital signs?
The nurse is the closest to the clients in the health team. So it's the responsibility of the nurse to monitor the vital signs of the patient depending on the severity of the patient condition. for example; the Vital signs of a patient in blood transfusion is to be monitored every 15minutes so that quick intervention can be done if a reaction comes up.
The nurse also ensure that the vital signs are well documented for other health team members to know their next line of action in addressing the patients need.
These are the major roles of a nurse in the vital signs. And this brings us to the end of this article. Thank you for reading and leave a comment Below.
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