Temperature taken at what point of the examination?

Temperature taking: we’ll let’s see. First off, many in the medical field don’t take temperatures anymore unless there is a medical reason to do so.

From my personal experiences, the TPR, aka vital signs when including a Temperature taking be it oral, by ear, underarm , a scan or rectal, usually done after height and weight if that was even taken. In the beginning of an exam for a routine exam, sick visit or wellness it most likely will be done at the beginning or in an ER situation where very likely it will be taken immediately.

In Finland, children's health checks were boring. only height, weight, vision and hearing were tested in the inspection. sometimes a blood test was taken from the fingertip to measure hemoglobin and that was all. I never remember that the temperature was measured, even when I had to go to the doctor because of a fever, but the doctor always asked if there was a fever and how much it was, relying on this information.

It used to be taken the first thing during a check up. Now, it's done last.

Growing up it was always after height, weight, BP. It was always rectal. After that the nurse would tell me to take off my undershirt and wait for the doctor. When he came in I would only have underpants on. One anecdote I can remember either 15 or 16 years old. My dad wasn’t available to take me to the doctors, so my Mom had to do it. That day there was a new, very young nurse in the room. After shaking the thermometer she opened the jar of Vaseline and very quickly stirred the thermometer multiple times. When she took it out of the jar there was a huge perfectly shaped ball of Vaseline at the end of the thermometer. I noticed this and apparently so did my Mom. She commented that she was impressed on how she was able to do that and said she would try it the next time she had to take my temperature.

Miss Sarah,

How do I get an appointment for a physical exam with you? You are my kind of doctor!

Ever since I was little, I always had it done at start of the checkup. It didn't matter it was done rectally or oral it was the first thing done. Sometimes even twice cause a faulty thermomter or wrong reading.

When they've taken it t's always been at the beginning. Not part of the physical at my current PCP, only if I'm there when ill. As a kid it was done after height and weight, rectal until I was seven then oral after.

It was always shoes off for height weight, vitals, and then the pants came off or sometimes just down- then underwear pulled down by the nurse for my RT. Then came any blood draw for the lab to check my white count, sometimes followed by an antibiotic injection. I remained bottomless for almost the entire office visit, or at least until the Dr actually came in.

So I’d say it was around half way through or maybe a bit sooner.

I never asked why; I wouldn’t have received an answer anyway. In the 60’s & 70’s, one was merely a child sub in an adult dom medical world. You just removed your pants and accepted your orders and fate as they came.

Recently as an adult in the emergency room, it was one of the very first things they did.

Just before the internal, examinee on back , his legs bent and right back and open, easy lubricated access for the thermometer and the subsequent internal.

My vitals have always been taken immediately upon entering the exam room. It strikes me as unlikely any doctor would want them taken after the exam is finished, since an elevated temperature or high blood pressure reading are issues to be addressed during the exam

I realize there are few chances to get a rectal temperature taken if you visit a doctor nowaday

But I still think it would be a good Idea to start a medical visit by taking a ( rectal) temperature. . It would, so to say, break the ice between the doctor and the patient and establush a confidence relationship between them.

When doing a play exam, I like to take the patient’s temperature early on as it seems more realistic to me. This is my preference when I get to be the patient as well. Usually it goes like this:

After introductions and asking patient to sit on the table, I will either ask him to remove his clothes except for his underwear “for now” (a little foreboding is always fun) or hold off on undressing. Sometimes to make more realistic I will step out and come back in after a couple minutes if he’s undressing. Then I’ll do other vitals like BP etc. and then he’s told to “lie down on the table on your tummy so I can take your temperature” and I’ll ask him to raise his hips and ask if I can lower his underwear for him, to just lower on the cheeks past his anus. I explain that I’m going to put a little lubricant on him, and the glass or glass replica thermometer heads in next. Love watching him squirm a bit while we wait for it to register. I will wipe any excess lubricant and tell him he can pull up his underwear. After this I ask him to sit up (wanting to expose any erection as soon as possible) and do some auscultation so we are in very close proximity after that experience. After the initial rectal and enemas, then it’s the rest of the exam, then the speculum. Sometimes I’ll take a temperature after a hot enema for curiosity.

During my physical on Thursday first I was weighed, height taken, a BP CUFF went around my arm, a button was tapped on the Welch Alan unit and my BP was recorded. Then being I had to don a mask, a device was placed against my left temple, and my temperature recorded…”96.8” the nurse remarked. Then I waited a good 20 or so minutes before my caregiver arrived.

I usually like to take an oral temp when taking vitals. This lets the patient think they have avoided the rectal temperature. Later during the exam when I have them disrobe, I tell them their oral temperature was elevated and Im going to have to check it rectally. They always balk at the idea, but to no avail, over on your tummy you go.

For me at my pediactrics when I was kid was weight taken, blood pressure taken, then hopped onto the exam table laying on my back pants and diaper taken off and then rectal temperature was taken. This was when I was still potty training I always wore diapers every time going to the doctor because I've read in their SOP/manual if a kid has a diaper on always would their rectal temperature be taken for an accurate measurement. And sometimes if I had a wet diaper they would also bring a fresh diaper along with wipes and change me after the rectal temperature was taken.

I was always required to undress for pedi and adolescent physicals. The nurse would then weigh me and follow up with having me provide a urine sample and then take my BP, Pulse and temperature. The temp was often taken rectally either while I laid on my belly or turned onto my side.

In play exams, the anticipation mounts as bp, pulse, and weight are recorded. Then, "over on your tummy so we can get your temperature in your little hiney."

As a pre teen many moons ago I did a few day stint in the hospital for a minor surgery. I don’t remember any height or weight checks or BP monitoring. There may have been, but they don’t seem to be what I remember.But I do remember during at least two days, one pre admission testing and the other, admittance to my ward, rectal temperatures were the order of the day. A pediatric ward, so…

Seemed once my Mother got the paperwork done, it wasn’t long before I heard my name called out by a nurse. Every station I was seen at; the first thing I remember was getting my rectal temperature taken.

And God forbid you were a bit over 98.F, they’d set you up to come back!

The day of admittance within about an hour, perhaps less, I had so many thermometers shoved up my ass, if they left them all in, I’d have looked like a porcupine!

Temperature has always been done at the start of a exam.

Start of exam for me

I always had mine taken at the start. Normally right after I was weighed.