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Pediatric Vital Signs: Development of a New, Valuable Resource

Show Notes

Pediatric vital signs are more than numbers on a monitor — they are part of a larger clinical picture that includes development, physiology, behavior, medical complexity and careful observation.

In this episode of Acute Conversations, host Dr. Leo Arguelles is joined by Ashley Parish, PT, DPT, PhD, CRT, CCS, and Dawn Drumm, PT, DHSc, two contributors to the new Pediatric Vital Signs Guide. Together, they discuss how the resource came to life, why collaboration across APTA Acute Care, the Academy of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy, and pediatric clinicians was essential, and how the guide can support therapists across settings.

Ashley and Dawn share the challenges of building a practical document from variable pediatric references, the importance of using the guide alongside clinical reasoning, and why pediatric knowledge matters even for therapists who primarily treat adults. From infants in the NICU to adults living with congenital conditions, this episode highlights the need to think across the lifespan.

Today’s Guests:

Dawn Drumm PT, DHSc

ddrumm@luriechildrens.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-drumm-b141b455/

IG: drummdawn

Ashley Parish PT, DPT, PhD, CRT, CCS

ashbrown@uab.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-parish-pt-dpt-phd-crt-ccs-b98b60273/

IG: ashleyparish_pt

Guest Quotes:

18:31 Ashley “ What we came up with originally, and Dawn will probably laugh, it’s a massive- massive document. It was a textbook. And we were like- … “Yeah, we gotta shave this down and make it like a guide people can actually use in clinic practice.”

21:05 Dawn “First look at the document, it’s a great overview of just the lifespan within a pediatric lens. And so honing in on those first few areas of content, it just gives you kind of basics. Heart rate through the lifespan, your, respiratory rate… I think that beginning section is really important to highlight so that way you’re getting your foundational guidance that way.”

28:51 Ashley “ If you specifically wanna go into acute care peds, sometimes it’s difficult to find a job because there aren’t as many pediatric hospitals as there are adult hospitals, so just hang in there if it’s really hard for you to get on at first. Get experience in acute care. That always looks really good if you go from an adult hospital to a pediatric hospital. But those jobs do open up, so just be patient if you can’t find one right out of school ’cause no one likes to leave pediatric acute care. It’s the best setting.”

Rapid Responses:

What’s your favorite color scrubs to wear while you’re at work?

Ashley “ Oh, since I’m a peds therapist, it’s always fun, bright colors. I would say Barney purple is my favorite set. Barney purple.”

Dawn “ Okay. So sadly, we don’t actually have to wear scrubs at work. Oh, wow … and we don’t have a color. But I feel like physical therapy was always blue. We always were like- … blue at county, Going with my basic blue.”

You know you’re an acute care therapist when…

Ashley “You have a distain for purewicks.”

Dawn “ You’ve have changed more diapers than you would probably like. Yes. So getting down- In both adult and pediatrics, right? Both. Oh, yes … you can’t get away without poop talk.”

Links:
Pediatric Vital Sign Interpretation in Acute Care Guide 2025

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/13/24/7681/xml

https://www.sralab.org/research/labs/max-nader-rto/projects/intervention-promote-motor-development-infants

🎧 Connect with Our Hosts

Leo Arguelles (pronounced LEE-O R-GWELL-IS)

📧 largue2@uic.edu

🐦 Twitter: @LeoArguellesPT

Nicole Neveau, PT, DPT, NCS

📧 ngunder1@gmail.com

🔗 LinkedIn: Nicole Neveau

Danny Young, PT, DPT, PhD

📧 daniel.young@unlv.edu