Policy for Patients Leaving a Chronic Unit

[westieluv]

I'm just wondering if any of you could weigh in (no pun intended) on what your chronic unit's policy is for when patients leave after their treatments. In the chronic unit I worked at previously, the policy was that a staff member walked all patients over to the scale, recorded their dry weight on a piece of paper, and then saw them to the waiting room. In the unit where I just started working, however, the patients get up, walk out on their own, stop at the scale, and yell their post weight back to whomever took them off treatment if that person does not walk them out, which they rarely do unless the patient is in a wheelchair.

I really like this clinic otherwise so far and feel that it is well run, but this routine bothers me, as I have seen post weights get missed ("What did he say his weight was?" after the patient is gone, etc.) and I know how important it is to have an accurate picture of how much fluid is being removed during each treatment. I also think it is rude to expect someone to yell their weight across a room full of people. I wouldn't want to have to do that.

Being the new kid on the block, I haven't said anything to anyone yet, but if my manager asks me what I think of things so far I plan to mention this in a diplomatic way, unless you all think I'm overreacting.

[verdeacres]

We have a list of first names on a paper by the scale and the pt. writes their wt. down on the list beside their name. Most of the time we have the time to walk the pt to the scale, but some of our more independent ones can write the wt. down independently.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I see pts in multiple units varying in size from 5 chairs to 32. In the bigger unit, the independent ones walk to the scale, shout out (really loud becuz its a BIG unit) their weight and off they go. In the smaller unit, the scale can literally be seen from almost anywhere in the unit so its easy for staff to glance over.

Seems to vary.

[westieluv]

Thanks for your replies.

So it sounds like I am overreacting if this is done in other clinics the same way. I think it wouldn't bother me so much except that sometimes the person that the patients yell their weight back to is busy with another patient and doesn't always hear them. Then it's "What did he say his weight was?" and everyone is trying to remember what they heard him say. I guess as the nurse in the situation part of my job is to try to hear these weights and remember them. I can do that as long as I'm not busy elsewhere.