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Vital Signs and Monitoring
Know adult normal ranges, take your own baseline, and report any significant change right away.
The rule
Vital signs are the four core measurements of how the body is working: temperature, pulse, respirations, and blood pressure. Many departments also record oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry. Take a baseline before contrast injections, with sedated or unstable patients, and whenever someone looks unwell. The baseline matters because a change from the patient's own normal tells you more than any single number.