Hospital Converting Practice to Only Metric

[jonesy7625]

Hi

I'm looking for examples of hospitals who have made the move to have their nurses document patient heights and weights in only metric values. Pediatric nurses are used to it but adult nurses are not. I'd like to know what training or educational programs or tools where helpful in getting the staff to make the change and be mostly comfortable with it.

Thanks Keisha

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Inches to cm multiply by 2.54

Lbs to kg divide by 2.2.

Educated!

Perfect. Wasn't that easy?

I aways carried a small light-powered calculator, about the size of a credit card, with a stickie inside with all the conversion factors, which I pretty soon had memorized. Now I guess you could use the calculator in your smartphone if you couldn't do pencil and paper arithmetic.

I agree-- basic arithmetic skills are useful in nursing, and didn't you all take chemistry and learn this anyway?

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Our charting system only takes metric measurements. There is also a conversion table available to show the conversion from lbs to kg and in to cm (even though, neither is conversion rocket science). Basically everything in medicine is done in metric. We give a dose of mg of meds, mL on the syringes. Weight bases doses are always in [metric unit or just units]/kg/hr. Wouldn't it make sense to do all the charting of measurements in metric and become used to it.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

We have an EHR where we can put the value in either section and it'll fill the other section in. So if I put in pounds, it'll go to kg. The same with all other values. With the temperature, you don't get two boxes but you have to select the right circle.