Vital signs are the first clues a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) has about how a patient or resident is really doing. Temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure are often called the "core four" because together they paint a quick picture of the body's basic functions. In California skilled nursing facilities, hospitals, and home health settings, CNAs are usually the team members who take these measurements most often, which makes accuracy and consistency extremely important.

A CNA's job is not only to record numbers but to notice patterns. A single high blood pressure reading may mean very little, but a blood pressure that keeps climbing over several shifts could signal a serious problem. This is why understanding a resident's baseline is so valuable: it gives the CNA something to compare new readings against. When a number fall ...