Taking Vital Signs Unit 3-1

Vocabulary adult – He’s 19, so he’s already an adult. beat – How many times does your heart beat per minute? Celsius – Today it’s 29 degrees Celsius outside. cuff – I have two buttons on my cuff.

Vocabulary deflate – Someone doesn’t like me, because they deflated my bicycle tires. infection – You should put a bandage on a cut so you don’t get an infection. numb – It’s so cold. My fingers feel numb. rapidly – He ran rapidly to catch his train.

Vocabulary reading – According to this reading, your heart rate is normal. review – Before a test, I review my notes. roll up – Please roll up your sleeves so I can give you this needle. scale – Could you please stand on this scale so I can check your weight.

Vocabulary shrink – My grandmother is smaller than she was before. Maybe she’s shrinking. slight/slightly – Your temperature is slightly lower than yesterday. There is just a slight difference. thermometer – Can you give me that thermometer? I want to take his temperature.

Vocabulary vital signs – Your vital signs seem fine. I’ll have to do more tests. wrap around – I am going to wrap this bandage around your wrist.

Reading One thing nurses may have to do before patients see a doctor is take patients’ vital signs. For instance, they may take a patient’s temperature by using a thermometer. Nowadays, this only takes a few seconds. Nurses may also take a patient’s blood pressure. To do this, the patient rolls up a sleeve and the nurse wraps an inflatable cuff around their arm. The cuff is inflated and the nurse records the reading. Then the cuff is deflated. Another thing doctors want to know is the patient’s heart rate. Normal heart rates range between 60 and 100 beats per minute.  

Dialogue Sally Wang goes to the doctor for a checkup and Nurse Maria attends to her while the doctor is busy with another patient.

Dialogue N: Nurse Maria S: Sally Wang N: Ms. Wang, how are you doing? S: Not very well. I’ve been pretty sick for a week. N: Have you had a fever? S: I’m not sure.

Dialogue N: I’ll take your temperature now with this ear thermometer. S: (Beep) Wow, that was quick! N: Yes, and you do have a slight fever, 37.8 degrees Celsius. You could have some kind of infection.

Dialogue S: What should I do? N: The doctor will tell you after he reviews your chart and examines you. May I take your blood pressure now? S: Sure.

Dialogue N: Roll up your left sleeve, please. I will wrap this cuff around your arm and then deflate it to get the reading. S: That’s tight. My fingers feel numb. N: That’s normal. Don’t worry, they won’t fall off! (They laugh.) (Pause)

Dialogue S: How is it, nurse? Am I still alive? N: Your blood pressure is fine, 120 over 80, so don’t worry. However, you are breathing slightly more rapidly than you should be. 24 breaths per minute is a bit much for an adult while at rest. Your heart rate is fine – 82 beats per minute.

Dialogue S: Really? What does all that tell us? N: Well, perhaps you have a slight infection in your respiratory tract, like in your throat or lungs. Let me chart your weight and height and we’re all set. Please stand here on the scale. S: Shoes off?

Dialogue N: Yes, please. Ok, now stand up straight, please. You weigh 58 kilograms, or 130 pounds. Your height is 158 centimeters. That’s a little bit over 5 feet 2 inches. S: I think I’m shrinking! (Laughs.)

Dialogue N: Don’t worry. You look fine. Now please take a seat in the waiting room and the doctor will be right with you.

Circle the Correct Choice 1. What is not a vital sign? a. The patient’s job. b. The patient’s temperature.

Circle the Correct Choice 2. What would be the full way to say, “Shoes off?” a. Should I take my shoes off? b. I’d like to take my shoes off.

Circle the Correct Choice 3. When Sally said “Am I still alive?” she was… a. Not feeling well. b. Kidding.

Circle the Correct Choice 4. Sally’s blood pressure is a. Normal. b. Very high, above normal.

Circle the Correct Choice 5. What is the function of a thermometer? a. Taking pulse. b. Taking temperature.

Circle the Correct Choice 6. Where does the nurse think Sally’s infection is? a. Her heart. b. Her lungs.

Vocabulary Exercise a.) The number of heart beats per minute. blood pressure rate of respiration pulse rate temperature cuff a.) The number of heart beats per minute. b.) How hot the body is. c.) The force with which blood circulates through the body. d.) How many times a person breathes per minute. e.) The end part of the arm of a shirt, where it fastens.

Vocabulary Exercise 1. The nurse will write your ________ signs on your chart. 2. Sit on the bed and I can put this _______ on your arm to take your blood pressure. vital cuff

Vocabulary Exercise 3. Your heart is ___________ very rapidly. Are you feeling okay? 4. Please wait here while the doctor ___________ to his other patients. beating attends

Vocabulary Exercise 5. I need to use this _____________ to check your temperature. 6. Stand on the _________ and we can check your weight. thermometer scale

Vocabulary Exercise 7. It’s normal for your fingers to feel _________ after we’ve wrapped the cuff on you. 8. When the cuff __________, I can take a reading of your blood pressure. numb deflates

Vocabulary Exercise 9. You are not ____________. We are using inches, not centimeters! 10. 20 breaths per minute is _________ too fast for an adult. shrinking slightly

Vocabulary Exercise 11. The doctor will need to __________ your chart, but it looks like a respiratory infection. 12. If the pain is __________ , you need to make an appointment now. review recent

Patterns and Drill Have you had a stomachache? a headache an infection back pain

Patterns and Drill May I take your temperature now? blood pressure heart rate reading

Patterns and Drill Her finger is feeling numb. head dizzy throat dry foot scratchy

Patterns and Drill Your blood pressure is fine, 120 over 80. high, 145 over 100 high, 155 over 103 low, 90 over 55

Patterns and Drill Please wait here in this waiting room. sit, wheelchair lie, bed stay, office

Patterns and Drill That’s a little bit over 5 feet 2 inches. 115 pounds 34.5 degrees Celsius 55 kilograms

Patterns and Drill Let me chart your weight and height. readings temperature vital signs

Patterns and Drill The doctor will be right with you. attendant caretaker nurse

Matching ___ 1. appointment ___ 2. pulse rate h l h.) an arrangement for a meeting at an agreed time and place, for a particular purpose Matching ___ 1. appointment ___ 2. pulse rate h l l.) the number of heart beats per minute

Matching k j k.) to put paper or cloth over something ___ 3. wrap ___ 4. digital blood- pressure monitor k j.) a type of digital medical equipment used to measure blood pressure j

Matching c ___ 5. height ___ 6. pulse b c.) how tall someone or something is c ___ 5. height ___ 6. pulse b.) the regular beat that your heart makes as it pumps blood around your body b

Matching d f d.) how many times a person breathes per minute ___ 7. rate of respiration ___ 8. stethoscope d f.) a piece of equipment that doctors use to listen to your heart or breathing f

Matching e.) an objective comparative measurement of hot or cold, used as a sign of whether you are ill ___ 9. temperature ___ 10. thermometer e i i.) a piece of equipment that measures the temperature of your body

Matching a ___ 11. vital sign ___ 12. weight g a.) medical signs that show someone is alive, for example, breathing and body temperature a ___ 11. vital sign ___ 12. weight g g.) how heavy someone is

Word Comparison infection vs reflection breath / breathe vs respiration