How often should you reassess a patient's vital signs?

The frequency of reassessing a patient's vital signs is crucial for monitoring their condition and responding appropriately to any changes. For unstable patients, it is necessary to reassess vital signs every 5 minutes. This allows for timely identification of deteriorating conditions that require immediate intervention. On the other hand, stable patients can be reassessed every 15 minutes, which provides sufficient time to detect any emerging issues without overwhelming resources.

This approach ensures that healthcare providers maintain close observation of patients who are more likely to experience rapid changes, while still appropriately monitoring those who are stable, thereby optimizing patient care and resource allocation.