Vital Signs

Vital signs provide clues about the status of a client’s physical condition.  When you check a client’s vital signs, you are performing a critical medical evaluation where the results may be a matter of life or death! 

TEMPERATURE

• The normal adult range is: 97.6°- 99.6° F or 36.5° - 37.5 °C.    NOTE: It’s important to know your workplace ranges and how your workplace expects you to document temperatures.   In most healthcare settings, a temperature above a certain number will trigger a medical order such as a blood draw to determine the source of the fever.
• The body’s natural clock causes temperature to be lowest in the morning and highest in the afternoon. Older adults tend to have lower temperatures than others.  Exercise can cause temperature to increase temporarily. A normal adult pulse ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute.  It should be “regular,” and should be easy to find and count. Pulse rates can be effected by exercise, stress, illness and medication.

PULSE

• Never use your thumb when taking pulses.  (Your thumb has a pulse of its own, and you may confuse your pulse with the client’s.)  
• Instead, always use your first two or three fingers to feel the radial artery.  Be sure to press gently. 

RESPIRATIONS

• Normal adult respirations range from 12 to 20 per minute.  The rhythm should be regular.  Breathing should be effortless and quiet.
• Avoid staring at the client’s chest while counting breaths.  Instead, watch the chest rise and fall by looking at it out of the corner of your eye.  For an adult: 100-139 Systolic (top number), 60-89 Diastolic (bottom number)

BLOOD PRESSURE

• Blood pressure cuffs come in different sizes.  
• There are small ones for use on children and adults with very thin arms.  And, there are large cuffs for use on people with big or heavy arms. 

PAIN

• Pain is considered the FIFTH vital sign.  A normal finding is for your client to have NO PAIN.
• Use your workplace guidelines for gathering and reporting information about pain.