The night staff has to make a note of vital signs first thing inthe morning. This includes taking your temperature and your pulse,monitoring your respiration, and possibly taking your blood pressure.This monitoring of vital signs will be repeated usually four timesduring the day.

Shortly after you wake up, you may be visited by a laboratorytechnician for a blood sample. The laboratories prefer to have the bulkof the blood specimens ready when the day staff arrives at 8:00 a.m.This enables the laboratory staff to complete its work by 5:00 p.m.

Before breakfast you are expected to wash. If you areconvalescing, your physician may have indicated on the order sheet thatyou can have bathroom privileges. This means you can take care of yourpersonal toilet at the start of the day, go to the bathroom, wash, ortake a shower when you feel like it, depending to some extent on theavailability of a bathroom.

If you are confined to bed, then toilet facilities are broughtto you and assistance given if it is needed. This may be done at anytime in the morning depending on how busy the floor is, how many sickpatients require a lot of personal attention, or how many patients haveto be prepared for early surgery or X rays.

Breakfast is usually served between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. Patientsoften find that, because there is little in their day to occupy them,they look forward to mealtimes with interest because meals break up theday.