Question

The nurse is conducting a class for nursing assistants. One of the students asks the nurse why blood pressure, pulse, and temperature are called 'vital signs.' Which explanations would the nurse offer the student?

1) The term has just evolved over time without a clear definition for why.
2) Because significant deviation from normal is not compatible with life.
3) They are called vital signs because the blood pressure is very important.
4) They are called vital signs because they are the first things the nurse does when admitting a patient to the hospital.

Answer 1

Vital signs include blood pressure, pulse, and temperature because they are fundamental indicators of a person's basic bodily functions and are essential for life. A significant deviation from the normal ranges can denote serious health issues.Hence, option 2 is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The term vital signs refers to measures indicative of the body's basic functioning and are crucial to assessing the general physical health of a person. Blood pressure, pulse, and temperature are among the most critical vital signs because they can reveal a lot about the body's condition. Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. A normal range is typically between 90/60 mm Hg and 120/80 mm Hg. A significant deviation from the normal ranges of vital signs may be indicative of a serious health issue, hence why they are termed 'vital'. They are essential for maintaining life and are often among the first things to be checked when a patient is admitted to the hospital because changes can signal life-threatening conditions like shock or cardiac arrest. Among the explanations provided to the nursing assistant, the best one is that significant deviation from normal is not compatible with life (option 2). This is because vital signs are fundamental indicators of a person's critical life-sustaining functions.