It is recognised that there is a shared responsibility for ensuring nursing students are competent to carry out and interpret manual nursing observations in accordance with Nursing and Midwifery Council guidelines. Many nurses rely on electronic medical devices to determine baseline observations in all clinical settings. This could be perceived as detrimental to patient care, since nurses are no longer using their senses fully to assess patients. This, in turn, compromises the competence and confidence of nursing students to carry out the essential skills of monitoring and recording vital signs to ensure they are fit for practice.