The role of physical design and informal communication

3.5.2 Biological Stress: Blood Pressure
The GN recorded 29 days of blood pressure (BP) readings (see Appendix I for
recording sheet) over the course of eight weeks. Since BP was recorded twice in
succession three times per day, a total of 172 readings were obtained. Because the two
readings at each time of day were averaged, 86 readings were generated for further
analysis. When the AM, noon, and PM readings were analyzed separately, they
showed similar patterns over time, and were therefore averaged to give a single mean
BP reading for each day. The daily averages were then combined by week to produce
a mean BP reading for each week. Figure 37 shows how the mean weekly BP
changed over time. Neither the systolic or diastolic readings show a distinct pattern
over time. Note that systolic BP tends to fluctuate more rapidly with acute conditions
such as pain, stress and anger while diastolic BP tends to change with more chronic
conditions. However, the GN’s blood pressure was slightly higher at the end of
orientation in week 9 than at the beginning in week 2.
Figures 38 and 39 compare how the BP and competency ratings changed over
the course of orientation. There does not seem to be any distinct patterns regarding a
relationship between BP and competency.
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