NU333 Unit 2 vital signs and screening write-up example

Reviewed by Elspeth Marlowe, MSN, RN Health Assessment for the Nursing Professional Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

This page holds a complete NU333 Unit 2 vital signs and screening write-up example in true form. Standing up cost a composite 81-year-old woman 24 points of systolic pressure and made her lightheaded; around that finding sit a general survey, a full set of vitals with the conditions each was taken under, a pain rating and a nutrition screen that also came back positive. Most sections set this unit as a vital signs and screening write-up.

What this page holds

On one composite older woman, NU333's Unit 2 write-up documents a general survey, vital signs with their conditions, orthostatic readings, pain and a nutrition screen. Searches like "nu 333 unit 2 assignment example", "nu333 unit 2 sample" and "nu333 unit 2 example" land here.

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Vital Signs and Screening Write-Up: A 24-Point Orthostatic Drop in an 81-Year-Old Woman

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

NU333: Health Assessment for the Nursing Professional

Unit 2 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Composite patient written as a model document. Values are composite.

What this part is doingThe title leads with the finding that anchors the write-up. A reader knows from it that one number will matter more than the rest.
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General Survey

A thin 81-year-old woman who walks slowly with a cane, dressed appropriately for the weather, alert and conversational, oriented, making good eye contact. She holds the arm of the chair when she stands, which hints at what the readings then confirm.

Vital Signs and the Conditions Behind Each

Temperature: 36.4 °C, oral, electronic thermometer, no hot or cold drinks in the previous 15 minutes.

Pulse: 76, regular, radial, counted for a full minute.

Respirations: 16, regular, counted for a full minute while she believed the pulse was still being counted.

Blood pressure: 148/84, right arm, adult cuff sized to her arm circumference, seated five minutes with feet flat and back supported, arm at heart level.

Oxygen saturation: 96 percent on room air, finger probe, good waveform.

Orthostatic Measurements

Lying, after five minutes: 150/86, pulse 72.

Standing, at one minute: 132/80, pulse 88.

Standing, at three minutes: 126/76, pulse 94; she reported dizziness and was steadied.

The systolic pressure fell 24 points within three minutes of standing. A consensus definition sets orthostatic hypotension as a sustained fall of at least 20 mmHg systolic or 10 mmHg diastolic within three minutes of standing (Freeman et al., 2011). Her change meets that definition. The finding is recorded as reported, without assigning a cause.

What this part is doingEvery number is paired with its conditions, because cuff size, position, rest and counting time each change the value. The orthostatic block records timing and symptom together.
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Pain

Both knees, 4 of 10 on a numeric scale. Onset: years, gradually worse. Quality: aching. Timing: worse in the morning and after sitting. Relieved by warmth and slow movement. She takes acetaminophen twice a day and says the pain limits how far she walks, which may be adding to her weight loss by keeping her from the grocery store.

Nutrition Screen

The Malnutrition Screening Tool asks about recent unintentional weight loss and reduced appetite (Ferguson et al., 1999). She reported losing about 3 kg over three months without trying (1 point) and eating less because of poor appetite (1 point). Score: 2, a positive screen for malnutrition risk.

Reported

The orthostatic drop with dizziness, the positive nutrition screen and the knee pain were reported to the provider during the visit. She was advised to rise slowly and sit on the edge of the bed before standing, and the fall risk was noted in her record (Bickley et al., 2021). Her daughter, who drove her, was told about the dizziness so that someone at home knows to watch for it.

What this part is doingThe close records what was reported and to whom. The write-up stays at the level of assessment and leaves interpretation of cause to the provider.
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References

Bickley, L. S., Szilagyi, P. G., Hoffman, R. M., & Soriano, R. P. (2021). Bates' guide to physical examination and history taking (13th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.

Ferguson, M., Capra, S., Bauer, J., & Banks, M. (1999). Development of a valid and reliable malnutrition screening tool for adult acute hospital patients. Nutrition, 15(6), 458-464. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0899-9007(99)00084-2

Freeman, R., Wieling, W., Axelrod, F. B., Benditt, D. G., Benarroch, E., Biaggioni, I., Cheshire, W. P., Chelimsky, T., Cortelli, P., Gibbons, C. H., Goldstein, D. S., Hainsworth, R., Hilz, M. J., Jacob, G., Kaufmann, H., Jordan, J., Lipsitz, L. A., Levine, B. D., Low, P. A., ... van Dijk, J. G. (2011). Consensus statement on the definition of orthostatic hypotension, neurally mediated syncope and the postural tachycardia syndrome. Clinical Autonomic Research, 21(2), 69-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-011-0119-5

How this NU333 Unit 2 example is structured

The write-up treats every number as incomplete without its conditions, and the conditions column is where most of the documentation skill shows. Cuff size, arm position, rest period and counting time are recorded because each changes the value. Orthostatic measurement gets its own block, with the timing after each position change and the symptom reported, since a drop of 24 points means more alongside the dizziness it caused. Interpretation stays at the RN level: the change meets the common definition of orthostatic hypotension, a fall of at least 20 systolic or 10 diastolic within three minutes, and the note records the finding as reported without assigning a cause. The general survey comes first because it frames every number after it: a woman who steadies herself on standing has already hinted at what the readings then confirm.

Get an NU333 Unit 2 example written to your instructions

Which screens does your section expect in Unit 2: nutrition, falls, depression, or pain on its own? Name them when sending the prompt, the rubric and the documentation form, since that choice reshapes the second half of the write-up. Every value in the sample carries its conditions and belongs to a composite patient. First sample free, 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

NU333 Unit 2 questions, answered

How are orthostatic vital signs measured and documented?

Typically the patient lies flat for about five minutes, then blood pressure and pulse are taken lying and again after standing, often at one and three minutes. Document each position, the time after the change, both values and any symptoms. A fall of at least 20 systolic or 10 diastolic within three minutes of standing is the usual definition of orthostatic hypotension.

What is the Malnutrition Screening Tool?

A brief screen that asks two questions: whether the person has lost weight without trying, and how much, and whether they have been eating poorly because of reduced appetite. Scores add up, and two or more generally signals risk and prompts a fuller nutrition assessment. Many hospitals and clinics use it at admission because it takes under a minute.

Why does cuff size matter so much in the write-up?

Because the wrong cuff changes the reading. A cuff too small for the arm tends to overestimate blood pressure, and one too large tends to underestimate it. Recording the cuff size lets a reader trust the number or question it. The same logic applies to arm position, rest time and whether the legs were crossed.