Thermomet

ers

Chantelle Cogley
 CONTENSE
1. What is a thermometer

2. Properties of a thermometer

3. Results table

4. How we tested the thermometers

5. Conclusion

6. What I would change and if I got good results

 Which thermometer would be suitable for a paediatric
ward?

This piece will be a useful guide for doctors and nurses. A thermometer is a
device that measures the temperature of things. The name is made up of two
smaller words; “Thermo” Means heat and “meter” means to measure. The liquid
inside will expand when heated and contract when cooled. A paediatric ward
may use a thermometer to check on the patient temperature. A paediatric ward
is a ward of a hospital which specializes in taking care of children. A
thermometer in a paediatric ward has to be calibrated so that a given height of
the liquid inside will correspond to a certain temperature. Doctors and nurses
check the temperature of the patients to check if there temperature is normal
(36.5-37.5) high or low. This information will tell the nurses or doctors if the child
is sick or normal or very sick. They retake the temperature to check if the patient
is getting better or worse.
A thermometer in paediatric ward needs to be safe to prevent being poisoned if
the thermometer was bitten. Another reason could be they aren’t reliable
meaning they could give you different readings, therefore saying your ill when
you could be perfectly healthy.

In a paediatric ward another property for a thermometer is accuracy they need

to measure in 1/10th of a degree no whole numbers as the reading could say 37.5
and read as 38 meaning your ill. A healthy rage is 26.5 to 37.5.

Another property for a thermometer is reliability, where you could test the
temperature three times and would only get a small range in-between which
means you could trust the thermometer and the reading. If you tested it three
times and got 36.7 then 37.5 and 37.0. You couldn’t trust the thermometer as
the range is big even though your readings could be accurate. It’s important for
a paediatric ward as you could be treated for a different condition.

Another property is comfortable you need to be able to keep the patient calm to
get a true reading, if the thermometer is too uncomfortable for the patient it will
affect the reading as being uncomftable could make the patient move a lot
more if a child and become stressed.

Another property could be easy to use the simpler and quicker the temperature
is taken the better the patient feels as they won’t move as much as they would
if it took a lot longer. If they was a child they could become accept making it a lot
more difficult getting a reading which links back to being comfortable.

You should always have an alternative thermometer to save time and to swap
thermometers if needed too. The quicker you can swap the thermometer the
more happier and relaxed the patient will feel, as they won’t be annoyed or
stressed over the time it has took.
Type of Temperature Average Range
thermometer 1 2 3
4 5
Ear thermometer 36.1 36.3 36.1 36.2°C 36.1-36.3=0.2
36.2 36.1
Clinical 36.5 36.5 36.5 36.5°C 36.5=0
thermometer 36.5 36.5
Clinical digital 36.5 36.5 36.5 36.6°C 36.5-36.6= 0.1
36.5 36.6
Forehead 37 37 37 37°C 37=0
37 37
I tested four thermometers to see which thermometer was best suited for a
paediatric ward. The first thermometer was the ear thermometer which we put in
someone’s ear to get the temperature. We tested it five times to get a reliable
result, Even though its reliable the downside to the ear thermometer is how
comfortable it is, which it wasn’t. The fact it was uncomfortable for us suggest it
wouldn’t make a difference on a child either. The other down side was not
everyone got to feel if the ear thermometer was comfortable due to the amount
of caps given.

The second thermometer was a clinical thermometer which was used under the
armpit instead of under the tongue due to hygiene. It was really hard to read
which could lead to mis-reading the temperature. I tested this thermometer five
times for reliability.

The third thermometer I tested was the clinical digital which was very easy to
use and read though we didn’t use the thermometer under the tongue we use it
under the arm for hygiene reasons. We also tested this five times and it proved
to be very reliable and accurate as it was measure to 1/10th of a degree and the
range was only 0.1.

The last thermometer I tested was the forehead one where you take the strip
and put it on the forehead and then wait for a circle to tick, even though it was
really east to u se and reliable it wasn’t accurate as it measured in whole
numbers which could lead to mis-understandings.
In conclusion I believe that the best thermometer to use in a paediatric ward
would be the use the clinical digital even though it was reliable with the clinical
digital and the range was 0.1 which is good as there is no human error with the
clinical digital as there is with the other clinical. The ear thermometer wouldn’t
be suitable as it was uncomfortable and the range was 0.2. The Clinical
thermometer as it was reliable and accurate. Even though most of us couldn’t
read it and the forehead one would be best used at home as the temperature is
measure using whole numbers.
If I had to improve the tests, I would use different thermometers that were just
calibrated which would make the results more accurate. I would also change the
way we used the thermometers as we used them in different places such as the
forehead and armpit, which probably made out results not accurate.

Testing the thermometers was easy and we didn’t have very many problems
apart from trying to read the clinical thermometer. I think I got good results
considering we couldn’t take the temperatures in the right place.