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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Vital Signs: Understanding What the Body Is Telling Us by University of Pennsylvania

4.8
stars
6,167 ratings

About the Course

The vital signs – heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration rate, and pain – communicate important information about the physiological status of the human body. In this six-part course we explore the anatomy and physiology underlying the vital signs so that you will develop a systematic, integrated understanding of how the body functions. Relevant body systems are reviewed including cardiovascular and respiratory, followed by explanations of how the function of these systems affects vital signs. We discuss normal ranges, normal variants, and the mechanisms that underlie changes in the objective measurement of vital signs. The course also includes demonstrations of appropriate techniques for measuring vital signs in yourself and others. The course is designed for a broad, general audience but will be particularly interesting for individuals working in healthcare, those considering a career as a healthcare professional, lay caregivers, those with an interest in personal health and fitness, or anyone who simply wants to understand how the body functions....

Top reviews

BR

Sep 29, 2018

Yes, it is very useful to me and I will suggest to my friends to take this course. My sincere Thanks to Connie B. Scanga, PhD, she taken the all lecture clearly and her lecture was easy to understand.

AB

Jun 29, 2017

I really enjoyed to the professor and the idea of learning the material with her students. It made me feel as if I was in the classroom learning with them. She broke down the material in a great way.

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1401 - 1425 of 1,571 Reviews for Vital Signs: Understanding What the Body Is Telling Us

By Jose C

•

Aug 8, 2020

i would calificate this with four stars because i didnt learn anything new i am a 2 years medicine student and paramedic i decided to take the course to learn more especific about vital signs for example how to acces its in differents ways. range of reference and patological range and be more especific in how to access it but the information was so good i could corroborate my knowledge but for that eason i calified this with four stars

By Doug C

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Aug 18, 2017

I took this course to revue some of the basic skills of an EMT for assessment of a patient. I learned many new incites into the reasons for what these vitals teach us in our treatment of the patient. I am happy that I took this course and look forward to some of the other courses offered. Thank you for your thoughtful instruction and I will pass on to my friends some of the knowledge I gained and recommend this training

By Sylvia Q

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Oct 16, 2019

Course was interesting and covered relevant anatomy/physiology in detail - I liked the balance between the lectures and the demonstrations in which the various vital signs were assessed. Connie Scanga knows her stuff, and although I wish her delivery were a bit more animated, she explained and reinforced concepts well and made good use of drawings and models. I also liked the use of mini case studies in the quizzes.

By Montana L

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Jul 24, 2019

i loved this course. being able to learn through video, audio, AND text with the option to highlight and save images as needed insured that all of my learning requirements were attainable. Dr Connie Skanga was a great, enthusiastic teacher who, along with the students and other guest instructors, communicated the information clearly in a way that was easy to understand. looking forward to more courses!

By Stacey S

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Sep 24, 2017

I learned a lot about the anatomy and physiology associated with common vital signs collected by health providers. It helped me understand why they collect this information and what it truly tells them about my body functions and conditions. My only complaint is that some of the classroom lectures seemed forced and unnatural, most likely due to the fact that everyone knew they were being filmed.

By Caroline H

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Mar 26, 2018

Excellent course. I am a Physical Therapist and found this course nicely complemented my knowledge.

A small improvement could be made within this course by making the correct answers to the quizzes available, preferably with explanation, in order to learn from ones mistakes. (I am talking about the end quizzes to each lesson, not the questions after the videos which already do this)

By Loren W

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Aug 15, 2017

I thought this was a well done course as a brief overview of vital systems. I do feel like there could have been a decent bit more information packed into the course to make it feel more in depth, as the concepts are not too difficult, but overall was a solid intro course. I hope there are more to come (and if they're already here, I hope I find them soon!)

By Simon V d b

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Nov 24, 2017

The course does a swell job of easing you into its content, perhaps a tad too much for people with prior knowledge (though for an introductory course, this is hardly a valid point). The actual class setting was fun and nostalgic. The teacher's focus on revision made it easier to commit the lessons to memory. Very much enjoyed taking this course.

By Jo-Ann J

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Aug 7, 2022

Interesting and informative course. Dr Scranga and all the instructors were clear and concise in their explanations. They were also pleasant. The students' questions and answere were also helpfu. I would have liked to download some of the text diagrams separately for study. Images are a great way for some of us to learn.

By Rouqayiah

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May 11, 2019

coursera is an amazing website to enable learning and engage knowledge in establishing minds of children. i just hope there is a way to allow us, students, to take more time learning. i mean the expire date we just have to rush things, when there is so much to explore in coursera. please consider

sincerely, Rouqayiah

By Rexavia E S

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Oct 19, 2017

This course offers a wide range of information and gave me a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the human body. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants in-depth, comprehensive information on the body's functions, various disorders of the heart, lungs, etc, and a general preparation for medical school.

By Wayne B

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Aug 20, 2023

Good information. The week outlines could be improved, however, to look more professional. Mine sometimes had additional spaces between items, lack of consistent formatting and layout, and the graphic presentation could be more professional - given that this is an international audience, and not a college class.

By Phyllis A

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Dec 21, 2020

Great course but the quality of sound is absolutely horrible!!!! Ive taken a few courses before this one and this is the only time I've experienced this issue. I work at my desk and live alone and could barely hear the videos (TG for CC) and find it uncomfortable wearing headphones at home!

By Renee M C

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Nov 30, 2017

I completely enjoyed the course. There are a few things I think should have been included in the course.

1. Describing and displaying different heart rhythms and what it means

2. When blood pressure and heart rate are not in sync

3. How is pain related to blood pressure

4. Pulse oximetry

By Madeleine M

•

Jun 4, 2018

A really good overview for those starting a health science degree or those wishing to refresh their knowledge and pick up a few extra bits and pieces along the way. I particularly benefited from the week on the physiology of pain, and will be able to implement the knowledge in my work.

By Rafay A

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Jun 15, 2017

It is a good course for young medical students but more than 50% of the content is so basic and babyish wasting a lot of my time to go through the whole course when i only want about 30% -40% of that knowledge.I would recommend to split into two a basic one and an intermediate one.

By Angelo P

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Dec 18, 2017

This is an excellent course which offers a more than superficial introduction to the subject matter covered. It goes into some detail regarding the anatomy and the physiology underlying the vital signs. Anyone completing the course will have a good understanding the areas covered.

By Pavithra K

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Jul 17, 2016

I really liked this course but at some points found it to be a bit dragging. The course is designed for clinicians and healthcare professionals. So, anyone out there who wants to learn more about the vital signs that control our living, this course is one click away!

By Priyanka R

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Aug 11, 2019

The course was really excellent .It will very useful to me. And I Learned a lot of things.Now I knew the hearts important functions and structure how it works and how the vital signs are. Thank you so much to Dr. Scanga. She took the class very well.

By Kendra R

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Sep 27, 2021

I enjoyed this format. I liked the back and forth with Dr Scanga and her students, I found it very helpful. I also appreciated that she had the video quizzes and outlines for each lecture available as downloads. All together it was great.

By B L

•

Feb 6, 2023

Great course.

The summary Word documents with each week's lectures were extremely useful and thoughtful as it allowed additional notes and diagrams to be inserted (which would not have been possible if pdf format had been provided).

By Jett C

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Jul 23, 2017

I thought this course offered a good overview of key concepts related to vital signs. I found the lectures and lab videos to be very helpful. I also liked having lecture notes available to review before watching the video lectures.

By B M H

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Aug 2, 2021

I think it is a very helpful course as it provides me with of information and fill gaps I had since the first year in medical school and the instructor was interactive also has speaking skills and use her body language well.

By Jakub P

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Jun 26, 2020

The course gave me a much better understanding of human body and the mechanisms going inside different body parts. Learning with dr Scanga was very pleasant, however, the lessons could have contained much more information.

By Joycelyn S

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Oct 10, 2017

I found the work challenging, but at the same time revitalizing. I took this course for me to understand what my doctors are looking at during visits. It took a lot for me to understand the physiology, but it was worth it.