Vital Signs and Contact Precautions patients

[Papi15437]

When taking the vital signs of a contact precautions patient, how do you record the info on a piece of paper if you are wearing a gown and gloves without contaminating your pen/paper? Do you just have to memorize it all? Is there an easier way?

[beth66335, BSN, RN]

Keep pen and paper near the door or in your pocket. When you get done take off you gown and gloves wherever you are going to dispose of them wash your hands and then get your pen and paper and write them down. It is not that hard to keep one set of vitals in your head for a minute or two. I have gotten to where I can leave the room before I write them down. You don't have to worry to much about contact pts, the radius of contamination in the room is generally low. The hospital I used to work in had a counter just inside the room with it's own sink so we didn't have to use the pts and we could leave our papers there while we worked.

[nurz2be]

We always have someone, another student or aide for that patient, at the door and we have them write them down. We are not allowed to take our pens or paper into those rooms. Those rooms have disposable BP cuffs and stethoscopes as well.

When taking the vital signs of a contact precautions patient, how do you record the info on a piece of paper if you are wearing a gown and gloves without contaminating your pen/paper? Do you just have to memorize it all? Is there an easier way?