admitedly, i love my job, however, there are times that i wonder, patients behavior. certainly, i'm not alone on this one, every time i get a patient to get their weight on the scale they have a fit, and the drama begins "oh! your scale is broken, i can't weight that much, my scale at home said that i weight much less" then you get the ones that take off their earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and the men give their wallets to their wife etc. while we nurses wait so patiently and the drama seems to happen every time when you have a million things to do. i'm sure that i'm not the only one, that goes through this every time i'm at triage.
I know why patients need to be weighed but frankly now a days......If I have to step on a scale to recieve treatment......I guess I'll be returning to my car.
a few pounds on adults may not make a difference, but in kids many meds are dosed on weight. It is funny when people get excited about something like that.
The basement area of the hospital that I did NAII clinicals had a large built in scale on the floor of the hallway that employees entered. It may have been for laundry, I don't know, but it took up several feet of space. If you walked over it there was a monitor above that would show the weight. Every time me and my classmates were leaving we would go from walking next to each other to single file to avoid stepping on it. I sure didn't want my weight flashed to my classmates, nor the security office that was nearby.
I always try to not make my nurse wait since I know she is in a hurry. All I do is put my purse down because I know it weighs a ton! Granted I am not a nurse yet, I start RN school this fall. Anyways, earrings aren't going to make that much difference I personally do not think lol. I just put my purse down and roll with it. The number isn;t going to change by 5lbs from taking all my clothes off and ring, etc.
The funniest thing is that when you work in triage, you get pretty good at judging weight. I always asked people how much they weigh and then weigh them. Had one that said she weighed 198. That scale stopped at 275.
I know why patients need to be weighed but frankly now a days......If I have to step on a scale to recieve treatment......I guess I'll be returning to my car.
Esme is my hero. I've often wanted to skip that part of the exam, but just go with it. Frankly because I, and sheep, have a lot in common. At least the majority of the time.
Mine too! About 10 lbs when you factor in clothes and some food in your gut. As much as I realize that they don't care, I don't want that number on my record!
I get the whole embarrassment over weight thing. I wish the scale were fifteen-twenty pounds lighter, personally. But at some point, I think it gets more embarrassing for the person who is denying their weight, when they pick some phantom number that no one could possibly believe. Like Dixie's patient. Like the patient I had once, who was a frequent flyer and EVERY time she came in told us her weight was 150 pounds. Folks, this was approximately half her weight. I understand she didn't want to say 300. But 150?! If she'd said 250, we would've nodded, written down the number, moved on. Lots of patients are in that range. But instead, she became the lunchroom discussion...again.
All our pts get weighed at every clinic visit by the clerical staff. I will look at it just to see if they have gained considerably since last visit, but I won't comment on it. I look more to see if they are increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes since about 25% of our patients become diabetic post transplant and weight gain is a big risk factor. Having weight issues of my own, I am the last one to comment on gaining a few pounds. However, if the pt mentions it, I do offer to make sure the dietitian knows they are concerned about it. The other thing I look for and will always ask about is weight loss - ie was it intentional. For my transplant pts, unintentional weight loss can be a sign of post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) and I need to be able to tell the doctors so that appropriate testing can be ordered to confirm or rule out that diagnosis. Most of our pts just sort of look at stepping on the scale as a necessary evil.
and the drama seems to happen every time when you have a million things to do. i'm sure that i'm not the only one, that goes through this every time i'm at triage.
prmenrs, RN
4,565 Posts
I heard an old Family Doc one time: "Weigh this one backwards!" They made me get on the scale facing the wrong way!