Currently, our ER Department is in a flux. New management with new toys, more personel, ect... I am trying to determine if there are standard times for vital signs. In my level 1 days, our fast track pts. (ESI level 4&5) got a full set of vitals at triage and discharge. Our non-monitored pts, (basic med-surg canidates, ESI 3) got vitals q4 hrs. Our stable monitored pts (ESI 2 and some 3s w/ cardiac hx) were q1hr. And our unstable or pts that became unstable or intubated were at a minimum q15min.
The main reason I am asking, I am new to this job but have 8 years of nursing with 2 in a level 1 ER experience, and am butting heads w/ a nurse on how often vs should be taken. I am for the above, but the other nurse states that EVERY pt recieve q1hr vs which kills our other pt care activites. And yet I cannot seem to find any guidelines for vs taking.
