Inaccurate height measures in hospitals are common?

Question

I heard that the device for measuring height fluctuates like that of a mechanical scale and some people complain of being measured shorter or taller than they really are, esp. at home when they do it themselves.

Answer 1

Most of the time the nurse will usually just ask the patients their weight and how tall they are.

There are certain circumstances though where the nurse can't ask the patient. If the patient comes in as a trauma patient or is unconscious the nurse will just "estimate".

And, for pediatric patients it really doesn't matter what their height is. Since their medication is based on their weight and not their BMI (like an adult), most of the time they don't even measure their height.

When I was in the hospital the bed I was in was able to weigh a patient. I had lost about 15 pounds before I was admitted and was down to about 85 pounds. When the nurse weighed me on the bed she said "oh and your 115 pounds". I was like you have got to be kidding me; I have never weighed 115 pounds in my life (I'm very petite). She told me all the IV fluid I received added some weight (but 30 pounds?! I don't think so).