newbie CNA - when to notify the nurse about vital signs

[sueyahoo]

Im just wondering once as a new cna I know one of the tasks I will have is vitals. Do RNS REALLY only want to be notifyed once there pts are out limits which i understood as systolic 160

diastolic 90

heart rate 100

resps 24

o2

>100

or at what point should i start notifying the RN so is this the only time i should bother RN's

[Undone]

I don't know if you will ever see an O2 >100.

I can't answer the rest.

[seasidesoul]

I like to be notified any time the patient is off baseline. Some patients have a lower BP baseline, for instance. I also like to be notified any time o2 is 93 or less and if resps are out of the 12-20 range.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

You have a decent idea of what to report to the nurses. (I'd say report resps at 12 or less, though).

I will say, though, that you WON'T see greater than 100% on the O2 sat. It's impossible. :)

I could go more in depth about other circumstances to report, but I imagine you'll pick it up.

When in doubt, report your findings! I'd rather be notified of something WNL for the patient then not be informed. Don't worry about "bothering" the nurses. Trust me, you aren't!

[roser13, ASN, RN]

Notify the RN according to your facility's parameters. It's that simple.

No need to question, no need to worry about judgement.

Just do it, per protocol.

[Sith Lady Oma]

Welcome to the CNA profession! I have only been a CNA for a little over a year but I would advise you to check with your nurses to confirm what your unit/facility considers as abnormal vitals. Once that is settled, be sure to report any vital values that fall within those abnormal ranges as soon as they are taken. All vital values (normal and abnormal) should be documented according to the facility's protocol (paper, digital) within a reasonable period of time after they are taken and readily available for your nurse to view.

It is REALLY important to let your nurses know if a patient presents any abnormal vital signs. From a critical view (worst case scenario), these values can be symptoms of a potentially fatal problem that the patient is experiencing and could save a life if spotted and acted upon early. From a less urgent stance, nurses are responsible for administering medications and care at specific times for a number of patients and the vital values could determine whether a patient needs more, less or any medication at all.

[quiltynurse56, LPN, LVN]

Record the vitals as soon as you are finished taking them. Verbally report any that are out of the normal range. Also, when in doubt, report it.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

In my experience, some RNs will want to be promptly made aware of every patients' vitals whether they are abnormal or not, whereas other RNs will only want to be made aware of vital signs that are not within normal limits.

Therefore, my advice is to adapt to the preferences of the nurses you'll be working with while following the policies of your workplace. Good luck to you!