Texas Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Practice Exam

Taking vital signs serves a critical purpose in healthcare, primarily to monitor a patient’s health status and detect any changes that may indicate a potential problem. Vital signs include measurements of temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, which are essential indicators of a person's physiological condition.

By regularly assessing these signs, healthcare professionals can identify trends in a patient's health, allowing for timely interventions when abnormalities arise. For example, a sudden increase in heart rate or a drop in blood pressure could signal distress or the onset of a medical condition that requires immediate attention. Monitoring these vital signs over time helps in tracking the effectiveness of treatments and making informed decisions about patient care.

Other choices, such as scheduling appointments or providing entertainment, do not relate directly to the health assessment or monitoring process that vital signs are intended to support. Likewise, while documenting patient history is an important aspect of healthcare, it is distinctly separate from the immediate purpose of taking vital signs.