All nurses will have learnt the importance of checking for vital signs. They are the measurements of the body’s most basics functions and are done on many patients to detect or monitor medical problems. They can be measured in any setting, including at home, in the doctors office or in an ER department.
The vital sounds include body temperature, pule rate, respiration rate (rate of breathing) and blood pressure.
If you’re wanting to refresh your knowledge and understanding of the vital signs, you can do so online. Suitable for nurses, I have spent the time researching the best online vital signs tutorials out there. So, if you’re looking to refresh your nursing skills, there will be an online course out there for you!
1. Vital Signs Nursing: Respiratory Rate, Pulse, Blood Pressure, Temperature, Pain, Oxygen (YouTube)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 13m
- Cost: Free
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 2,286,331
- Course rating: 35,000 ‘likes’
Taught by Nurse Sarah, who is a registered nurse, this free YouTube course will teach you how to asses a patient in a nursing profession using the six vital signs. You will learn how to take a patients heart rate, respiration rate, temperature, blood pressure, pain rating and oxygen saturation.
Not only will you learn the textbook method to take someone’s vital signs, you will also receive some top tips from an experienced registered nurse so you can assess vital signs like someone with years of experience.
2. Vital Signs: Understanding What the Body Is Telling Us (Coursera)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 14h
- Cost: Enroll For Free
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: 288,446
- Course rating: 4.8/5 (out 0f 5,107 ratings)
In this 6 part course you will cover everything you need to know about vital signs. You will discuss normal ranges, normal variants, and the mechanisms that underlie changes in the objective measurements of vital signs. You will also go over demonstrations of appropriate techniques for measuring vital signs, which you can practice on yourself first.
As well as learning about the important vital signs you need to take, you will also learn about dolor assessment, metabolic pathways and pain management. As a result of this 14 hour course, you will walk away a much better nurse, ready to take on any challenges.
3. Basic Observations Training Course (Flexebee)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: 1-2h
- Cost: 14 day free trial
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: 5/5 (out 0f 3,132 ratings)
This online Basic Observations course aims to help care workers increase their skills and knowledge by teaching them how to spot normal and abnormal vital signs. You will learn how to perform a range of vital signs, including temperature, blood pressure and respiration rate. One really important thing you will learn is how to accurately documents and report the findings of these vital signs.
What is more, once this course is finished you will receive a certificate that demonstrates your basic observation training to any potential employers. This course is also a CPD accredited, meaning that it meets Continuing Professional Development guidelines so is therefore incredibly worthwhile.
4. Vital Signs Initial Training (TUSCOLA Behavioural Health Systems)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: N/A
- Cost: Free
- Certification: N/A
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
In the 64 page PDF document you will learn everything you need to know about vital signs. You will cover temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure. You will also look at pulse oximetry, pain, weight and TBHS Consumer Exclusion Policy.
After you’ve gone over all of this, you will leave the course with the understanding of the correct procedure to measure all vital signs and will be on your way to being a licensed health care provider.
5. Clinical Observation Skills for Healthcare Professionals – E-Learning (Mandatory Training Group)
- Level: Advanced
- Completion time: 3h
- Cost: $49.99
- Certification: Yes
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
Clinical observations (or vital signs) are psychological markers that help nursing staff closely monitor patients. They identify those patients that are deteriorating, and in this course you will learn how to carry out these vital sign observations so you can care for patients.
Over the 3 hours of the course, you will learn about clinical observations in great detail. These include blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation levels. On top of this, you will also learn about patient consents, basic pain assessments, body max index, sepsis awareness and much more.
6. Measuring and Recording the Vital Signs (Nursing Answers.net)
- Level: All levels
- Completion time: N/A
- Cost: Free
- Certification: N/A
- Number of people who have completed the course: N/A
- Course rating: N/A
This course is fundamental for nurses who want to work in all clinical areas and want to refresh their knowledge and/or learn some great new skills. This course, which is available online for free, will introduce you to the knowledge and skills required by nurses to accurately measure and record a patient’s vital signs.
After going over this document, you will be confident in the first steps of patient care and should be able to physically examine patients and collect objective data about their signs.
7. NCLEX Simplified: Master the Five Toughest Topics (Udemy)
- Level: Intermediate
- Completion time: 4h 23m
- Cost: $49.99
- Certification: No
- Number of people who have completed the course: 434
- Course rating: 4.7/5 (out of 74 ratings)
Suitable for those with some basic nursing experience, whether their education is fresh or just needs touching up, this quick course will help you study for the NCLEX exam.
You will cover the vital signs you need to know about to provide excellent patient care. As an extra bonus, you will cover the endocrine system, maternity, neonatal care, pediatrics and herbs and medications.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, the 7 best vital signs courses that are available online. These online classes are best suited to nurses who want to refresh their knowledge and ensure that they continue to provide excellent care without error.
The online classes in this list are the best of the best. So, which course you decide take depends on your experience, funds and spare time. Do you have a huge amount of money to spend on your skill development? Do you have a lot of spare time, or are you just looking for a quick, but effective, skill top up?
