Vital Signs
Absolutely. Since you’re trying to study from the slides, I’d actually recommend having both:
Study notes → understand the material
Flashcards → memorize the important facts/numbers
Here are the notes I’d study from, based on your 5 Vital Signs PowerPoint. I’m keeping the terminology and information from your slides rather than adding outside information.
🩺 5 VITAL SIGNS — STUDY NOTES
1. Blood Pressure (BP)
What is blood pressure?
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of the arteries.
BP is written as systolic/diastolic.
It is measured in mmHg.
Normal BP
Less than 120/80 mmHg
Hypertension
High blood pressure.
Your slide summary gives >130/80 mmHg.
Hypotension
Low blood pressure.
Your slide summary gives <90/60 mmHg.
MAP — Mean Arterial Pressure
MAP estimates the average pressure in the arteries during one cardiac cycle.
Formula:
MAP = (Systolic + 2 × Diastolic) ÷ 3
⭐ Important:
MAP ≥65 mmHg → generally indicates adequate tissue/organ perfusion.
MAP <65 mmHg → indicates inadequate perfusion and can be associated with shock.
Why BP matters
High BP can be associated with:
Stroke
Heart disease
Low BP can be associated with:
Fainting
Shock
🧍 2. Orthostatic Hypotension
What is it?
Orthostatic hypotension is a drop in blood pressure that happens when a person changes position.
Examples:
Lying → sitting
Sitting → standing
The slides discuss checking for changes within 3 minutes of a position change.
Possible symptoms
Dizziness
Syncope/fainting
Blurry vision
Confusion
⭐ Remember:
Orthostatic = position change
🌡 3. Temperature
Normal temperature
97.6°F–99.6°F
or
36.4°C–37.6°C
Fever
The slides identify >100.4°F as a fever.
Hypothermia
Abnormally low body temperature.
Below 95°F (35°C) according to the slides.
Five temperature routes
You need to know these:
Oral
Axillary
Tympanic
Temporal
Rectal
🧠 Memory trick: O-A-T-T-R
Accuracy
Rectal → most accurate
Axillary → least accurate
⭐ Important: When documenting temperature, document the route used.
Why temperature matters
Fever can indicate infection or inflammation.
Hypothermia can become serious and may lead to organ failure.
❤ 4. Pulse
What is pulse?
Pulse gives information about:
Heart rate
Rhythm
Normal pulse
60–100 beats per minute (bpm)
Tachycardia
>100 bpm
Think:
Tachy = fast
Bradycardia
<60 bpm
Think:
Brady = slow
What do you assess?
When assessing a pulse, look at:
Rate → how fast?
Regularity → regular or irregular?
Strength → weak/thready or strong/bounding?
Tachycardia may signal
Stress
Dehydration
Bradycardia may signal
Heart blocks
Athletic conditioning
Irregular pulse
If the pulse is irregular, the slides say to:
Listen/count for a full minute
Assess apically
⭐ Remember:
Pulse = 60–100
🫁 5. Respirations
What are respirations?
Respirations involve the exchange of:
O₂ ↔ CO₂
Normal respiratory rate
12–20 breaths/minute
Tachypnea
>20 breaths/minute
Think:
Tachy = fast
Bradypnea
<12 breaths/minute
Think:
Brady = slow
Apnea
Complete absence of breathing.
🚨 This is a critical emergency.
Air pathway
Oxygen-rich air travels through:
Trachea → Bronchi → Bronchioles → Alveoli
Counting respirations
A nurse aide should count respirations without making the patient aware that they are being counted, because this helps obtain an accurate respiratory rate.
⭐ Remember:
Respirations = 12–20
🫀 6. Oxygen Saturation — SpO₂
What is SpO₂?
SpO₂ = oxygen saturation
It tells you about the amount of oxygen saturation being measured in the blood.
Normal SpO₂
According to your slides:
93–100%
Concerning SpO₂
Below 93%
The slides emphasize that you should consider the patient's condition, not just the number.
“Treat the Patient, Not the Numbers”
This means:
Don't look at a vital-sign number by itself.
Look at:
The patient's condition
Symptoms
Physical signs
Their established baseline
📈 7. Plethysmography / Pleth
This is connected to the pulse oximeter.
What is a pleth?
A pleth waveform represents changes in blood volume in tissue with each heartbeat.
How does the pulse oximeter work?
It uses:
Red light
Infrared light
The sensor detects changes as light passes through the tissue.
Good pleth
A strong, regular waveform generally indicates:
Good signal
More reliable SpO₂ reading
Poor pleth signal can happen because of:
Poor perfusion
Movement/motion artifact
Nail polish
Low cardiac output
Incorrect probe placement
⭐ If the pleth is flat or noisy, check things like:
Patient warmth
Patient stillness
Probe placement
before assuming a low SpO₂ reading is accurate.
😣 8. Pain
Nurse aide's role
The nurse aide should:
Observe → Identify → Document → Report
You should observe verbal and non-verbal signs of pain and report them promptly to the nurse.
Acute pain
Acute pain can activate the body's:
“Fight or flight” response
This involves the sympathetic nervous system.
Vital signs that can increase with acute pain
❤ Heart rate ↑
🩸 Blood pressure ↑
🫁 Respiratory rate ↑
Signs of pain
Look for:
Grimacing
Guarding
Restlessness
Changes in behavior/activity
Reluctance to move
Guarding
Protecting or holding a body part because of pain.
Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale
Uses 6 faces.
The scale ranges from:
0 = No Hurt
to
10 = Hurts Worst
⚖ 9. Height & Weight
Why measure height?
Height can be used with weight to:
Calculate BMI
Assess nutritional status
Height can be recorded as:
Feet/inches
Centimeters
Weight can be recorded as:
Pounds (lb)
Kilograms (kg)
⭐ Conversions to memorize
1 kg = 2.2 lb
1 liter of water = 1 kg
Using a scale
Before weighing someone:
Make sure the scale is balanced/zeroed.
For consistency:
Use the same scale
Try to use the same time of day when monitoring changes.
Why sudden weight changes matter
Sudden changes can help identify fluid retention, particularly in patients with conditions such as heart failure or kidney disease.
🚨 10. ABNORMAL VITAL SIGNS
This is a HIGH-PRIORITY section for your quiz.
Blood Pressure
Normal: <120/80
Hypertension: >130/80 according to the slide summary
Hypotension: <90/60 according to the slide summary
MAP
≥65 mmHg → adequate perfusion
<65 mmHg → inadequate perfusion/shock concern
Temperature
Normal: 97.6–99.6°F
Fever: >100.4°F
Hypothermia: <95°F
Pulse
Normal: 60–100 bpm
Tachycardia: >100
Bradycardia: <60
Respirations
Normal: 12–20/min
Tachypnea: >20
Bradypnea: <12
Apnea: no breathing
SpO₂
Normal: 93–100%
Below 93%: concerning according to the slides
👩⚕ 11. NURSE AIDE RESPONSIBILITIES
This is another section I'd make sure you know.
Your job is to:
1. Observe
Notice changes in the patient's condition.
2. Identify
Recognize abnormal vital signs or symptoms.
3. Document
Record the information accurately and objectively.
4. Report
Tell the supervising nurse about abnormal findings.
⭐ Never ignore an abnormal vital sign.
The patient's baseline and symptoms also matter.
🧠 THE “MUST MEMORIZE” PAGE
If you are REALLY short on time, study this part first:
The 5 vital signs
1. Blood Pressure
→ <120/80 mmHg
2. Temperature
→ 97.6–99.6°F
3. Pulse
→ 60–100 bpm
4. Respirations
→ 12–20/min
5. SpO₂
→ 93–100%
Abnormal terms
Hypertension = high BP
Hypotension = low BP
Tachycardia = pulse >100
Bradycardia = pulse <60
Tachypnea = respirations >20
Bradypnea = respirations <12
Apnea = no breathing
Hypothermia = <95°F
Other BIG facts
MAP <65 → inadequate perfusion/shock concern
Rectal → most accurate temperature route
Axillary → least accurate temperature route
SpO₂ → oxygen saturation
Pleth → waveform showing blood-volume changes
1 kg = 2.2 lb
1 L water = 1 kg
Pain: observe → identify → document → report
Abnormal vital signs: REPORT TO THE NURSE
🎯 What I would study FIRST tonight
If you only have limited time, use this order:
1⃣ Memorize all the normal ranges
↓
2⃣ Memorize tachy/brady/tachypnea/bradypnea/apnea
↓
3⃣ Learn MAP and the ≥65 / <65 distinction
↓
4⃣ Learn the temperature routes + most/least accurate
↓
5⃣ Learn SpO₂ + pleth
↓
6⃣ Learn pain signs + Wong-Baker scale
↓
7⃣ Learn height/weight conversions
↓
8⃣ Review nurse aide responsibilities