Vital Signs for Nurses An Introduction to Clinical Observations PDF

This book will provide a comprehensive resource for a cadet, student nurse or a registered nurse working within any adult healthcare environment. It is a valuable resource for registered nurses, allied health professionals or healthcare students undertaking or working towards a BTEC qualification, foundation degree or relevant in-house courses linked to vital signs monitoring. Vital signs monitoring and the reporting of any clinical changes are fundamental in the delivery of quality patient care. Chapter 1 relates to legal and ethical principles and Chapter 2 reiterates the importance of infection prevention. Both chapters are integral to every aspect of healthcare delivery including vital signs monitoring. The remaining chapters focus on different aspects of physiological monitoring and a brief overview of the related anatomy and physiology.

The concluding chapters discuss record keeping, reflective practice and continuing professional development. We hope this book will help healthcare professionals involved in monitoring a patient’s vital signs link theory to practice, promote reflection upon their own practice and assist in their continuing professional development. The aim of the book is to develop the underpinning knowledge and skills in both theory and practice for the adult patient found in hospital, private sector or community settings. Thiswill enable staff to demonstrate their knowledge and skills when performing vital signs monitoring. In a changing National Health Service (NHS) climate, performing and monitoring vital signs, including good standards of record keeping, has never been more important.

The focus on performing, recording and documenting vital signs has never been more important. For over a decade it has been recognised as problematicwithin clinical practice (McQuillan et al., 1998; Kenward et al., 2001; Goldhill et al., 1999; Goldhill, 2005). Research has highlighted that a patient’s physiological deterioration has not been acted upon in a timely manner despite vital signs monitoring being an essential part of nursing care. In response to the concerns highlighted within publications by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) (NCEPOD, 2005) and the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) (NPSA, 2007a, 2007b), the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (NICE, 2007) has developed clinical guideline 50 Acutely Ill Patients in Hospital and Response to Acute Illness in Adults in Hospital. In support of NICE clinical guideline 50, the Department of Health (DH) has reinforced the principles and standards set within the guidelines that NHS trusts must implement. One of the key recommendations states that anyone performing and monitoring the patients’ vital signs be trained and assessed as competent (DH, 2007, 2009) as part of maintaining patient safety (NPSA, 2007a, 2007b).