ARRT Patient Care Practice Exam

Instruments required to assess vital signs include:

1. thermometer

2. tongue blade

3. watch with a second hand

4. all of the above

The correct answer is: thermometer

Vital signs are crucial indicators of a patient's health status, and the correct instruments required for assessing them should be closely aligned with the vital signs being measured. A thermometer is essential for measuring body temperature, which is one of the key vital signs. It allows healthcare providers to determine if a patient has a fever or hypothermia, both of which require different levels of care. While a tongue blade is a useful tool in clinical settings, particularly for examination of the throat, it does not serve a direct purpose in measuring vital signs. Similarly, a watch with a second hand is important for accurately measuring pulse and respiratory rates, but it is not as commonly recognized as an essential instrument for assessing vital signs when compared to a thermometer. Therefore, while all the items listed may have their relevance in patient care, the thermometer is specifically critical for the assessment of vital signs. This clarifies why the focus is on the thermometer as the instrument central to this specific task.