The skills of the final semester undergraduate nursing students in measuring and recording vital signs

One of the basic skills in clinical nursing education is measuring and recording vital signs. Due to the fact that less research has been done on measuring studentschr('39') ability to perform this skill in internships, this study is designed and conducted to assess the ability of final year undergraduate nursing students to measure and record vital signs Performed using the Direct Observation of Procedural Skill (DOPS).

This study was a descriptive study. The study population consisted of all 8th semester nursing students (52 people). Data collection instrument was a researcher-made checklist for the DOPS)Direct Observation of Procedural Skill(test and the data gathering method was observation. The research context included all internal-surgical wards of the selected educational hospitals where the internship took place. The data of this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The skill level of vital signs measuring in more than half of the students(55.77 %)was at the undesirable level.; 42.3% of students measured and recorded vital signs at the desired level. 7.7 percent of students assessed the patient in terms of factors affecting pulse and blood pressure before measuring vital signs. About one-third of students (28.88%) did not make a record of vital signs or make record with mistake.

Seeing as the results of the study indicated serious problems for students in the skill of measuring vital signs, clinical nursing instructors, especially educational nursing managers, need to plan and take action to identify the causes and factors associated with this problem.