Older Adults Vital Signs

2.7 Monitoring physiological measurements it´s important to make sure the individual health status and also necessary after surgery, as patients in intensive care units require continuous monitoring, and sometimes have medications that requires physical measurements taken. These are measurements we take to ensure that they are functioning in the way they are supposed to. When we carry out physiological measurements, such as measuring temperature, pulse and respiration, we are monitoring for signs of abnormality. Then be able to draw conclusions about the health status of the individual and any treatments they may

Vital observations were carried out efficiently, they were recorded every 15 minutes and a cardiac monitor was attached to continuously monitor for any deterioration. As a student nurse I assisted by recording vital observations using NEWS and assessing consciousness by using the Glasgow coma scale to ensure there were no signs of brain trauma (Le Roux, Levine and Kofke, 2013). In line with the NMC, my mentor supervised and countersigned my observations (NMC, 2011b). I promoted good patient safety as deterioration would be recognised early and appropriate care provided. Throughout the treatment process I witnessed and provided person centred care. Nursing and medical staff continuously checked patient comfort and obtained consent for treatment being provided.

Middle-aged adults begin to show visible signs of aging. Vision usually changes and many who did not need corrective lenses or eyeglasses may find that they need them. Hearing loss begins, especially at the higher frequencies. Height begins with the maximum height from young adulthood but then begins to diminish. This process is more rapid in women who have osteoporosis. Changes occur in the nervous system and reaction time slows. The ability to perform complex tasks remains intact. Those in middle age usually begin to gain weight, 5–10 kg (10–20 lb) and experience a decline in strength and flexibility. Women in late middle age experience menopause. Menopause can have many side effects, some welcome and some not so welcome.[2] Menopause ends

When checking for orthostatic changes in vital signs the nurse should measure the serial blood pressure and take the pulse of a patient in the supine, sitting, and standing positions. The nurse should first start by placing the patient in the supine position and allowing the patient to rest for 2 to 3 minutes before taking the blood pressure. Next, the nurse should place the patient in the sitting position with their legs dangling off the side of the bed. Then the nurse should allow the patient to rest for 1 to 2 minutes before measuring the blood pressure once again. Lastly, the nurse should reposition the patient to the standing position and should allow 1 to 2 minutes of rest before proceeding to the last blood pressure measurement. Orthostatic changes in the patients pulse and blood pressure need to be monitored closely because they can indicate signs of dehydration concerning the gastrointestinal system. Usually while the patient is in the standing position the systolic blood pressure will decrease 10 mm Hg, and the diastolic blood pressure will increase a bit. Now, when the systolic blood pressure decreases by 20 mm Hg, the diastolic blood pressure decreases by 10 mm Hg or higher, and there could be no change in heart rate or there could be an increase in the heart rate of 20 beats/minute or higher while reposition from the supine position to the

There are physiological changes that occur within all systems of the elderly. These changes provide challenges to providing quality care. The following is an example from each of the systems. The integumentary system has a decrease in subcutaneous fat, this increases the potential for decubitus ulcers. The musculoskeletal system has a decrease in bone density, which can contribute to falls. Diminished deep sleep develops due to changes in the neurologic system. This may result in weight fluctuations resulting from changes in appetite. The cardiovascular system causes a decrease in arterial compliance, resulting in increased risk of tachyarrhythmias. The Immune system has a decrease in immune response, resulting in the potential for delayed or incomplete healing. The respiratory system suffers from decreased

Baseline observations are recorded as part of an admission assessment and documented on the patients observation chart. The vital signs include temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, pain level and the level of consciousness. The

It is a known fact that all measures of physiological function decline in human aging. While genetics certainly play a role in the declining of physiological function with age, it can be argued that a fundamental part of aging can be reflected by chemical processes resulting in the appearance of harmful side products of the normal metabolism over time. When enzymes speed up reactions it is harder to slow them down. At the same time side reactions are constantly occurring and more and more unwanted side products are continuously being formed.

Older adults need the list to be presented at a slower speed in order to improve recall. This is because older adults experience a slowing down in the speed of processing. This is mostly due to the fact older adults also experience a decrease in the amount of dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine. These three are all important in high cognitive functioning.

Vital signs are a fundamental component of nursing care and indicate the body’s ability to maintain blood flow, regulate temperature and regulate oxygenate the body tissue. Taking vital signs are essential in revealing any sudden changes in the body, which could potentially indicate clinical deterioration of the patient.

Vital signs are measurements of the body’s most basic functions. They are very useful in detecting and monitoring medical problems. There are five main types of vital signs which are temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and pain. They can be measured in a medical setting, at home, at the site of a medical emergency, or elsewhere.

The results presented in this study indicate that the Brazilian version of the Newest Vital Sign is suitable for evaluating health literacy levels of adults in the context of oral health. NVS demonstrated appropriate psychometric properties, such as internal consistency, stability and convergent/discriminant/predictive validity. Indeed, it seems advantageous to rapidly screening patients for low health literacy, since it simultaneously evaluates skills as communication, reading, numeracy, comprehension, and logical reasoning. To our knowledge, this is the third version of this instrument, pre-validated in English and Spanish.

at the time of your visit. We have divided the DGA in two parts, each with three

Objective Data Provided: Objective Needed: In Italics 5’8”, 105lbs, Temp, BP looking for hypotension, Pulse looking for bradycardia, RR, mental status exam- appearance, attitude toward

With age, changes to the body may result in slower heart rate as the heart muscles degenerate slightly.

This essay aims to provide a discussion of vital signs and how they are relevant to contemporary nursing practice. This is done by;