Whats the first step when weighing a patient?

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should you:

A) ask the client to step on to scale

OR

B) balance scale to zero

it doesnt say what kinda scale it is. please help!

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Place paper towel on base, zero, and then weigh.

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Specializes in Pediatric Hem/Onc.

If the scale isn't balanced, the weight you get won't be accurate. The first thing I've always done when weighing - people, beakers, pretty much anything - is make sure it's balanced to zero.

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You do have to zero out after turning them on before have the patient step onto the scale, they do not do it automatically. As the above poster said if your are using anything (towel, sheet, diaper) between the patient and the scale that must be included when zeroing it out as well.

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Please don't spend your time stressing over questions like these. It most certainly wont be talked about again in nursing school, and it sure as hell wont show up on the NCLEX.

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Agreed!!! More of a CNA exam question

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