e. DA Form 3950. The four previous forms become part of the patient's
permanent medical records. The first three are filled out neatly in ink. The Department
of Army Form 3950, Flowsheet for Vital Signs and Other Parameters (see figure 6-5) is
different. It is a worksheet you can use to record a patient's vital signs as you take
them. You or someone else can then neatly transfer the information to a permanent
form (usually the SF 511) later. When all of the information has been transferred, the
DA Form 3950 can be destroyed.
NOTE:
Your local SOP may require that the DA Form 3950 be kept for a certain
length of time before being destroyed in case some of the information
transferred to the SF 511 needs to be verified.
6-2.
HOW IS A DA FORM 3950 COMPLETED?
If you are taking vital signs on a ward, you will probably enter your readings on
the DA Form 3950. The form provides room to record the vital signs for several patients
over an extended period (normally one day).
a. Identification Information. The name of the patient's are entered in the first
column on the right. The time (approximate military time) that you are taking the vital
signs is entered in the heading of the next column. Normally, vital signs are taken every
4 hours (6 times a day).
b. Vital Signs Information.
(1) The patient's temperature. The patient's temperature, pulse rate, and breathing (respir
rate are entered in that order. The sets of numbers are normally separated by a hyphen
to make reading easier. Temperature readings with tenths are normally written with the
tenths raised (for example, 986). The degree symbol and Fahrenheit or Celsius symbol
are not written in order to save space. For example, figure 6-5 shows that Mr. Jones'
vital signs at 1400 were:
(a)
Temperature: 100.0 F.
(b)
Pulse rate: 86 beats per minute.
(c)
Breathing rate: 19 breaths per minute.
MD531
6-7