A nurse notes a patient has abnormal vital signs. What action by the nurse is best?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Individual vital signs are not as important as the trends. For instance, a patient may have a blood pressure higher than "normal" that is normal for the patient. Trends give more useful information than a single reading. Documentation is important, but the nurse needs to do more. If the readings are significantly abnormal, the provider should be notified. The nurse may retake the vital signs if he/she is not confident of the first set of measurements, but should not wait for time to pass.

A Nurse Notes a Patient Has Abnormal Vital Signs