294 Essential Skills for Health Careers Success
Check Your Understanding
Convert the following Fahrenheit temperatures to Celsius.
1. 98.6°F
2. 100°F
3. 10°F
4. 37°F
5. 40°F
Convert the following Celsius temperatures to Fahrenheit.
6. 0°C
7. 5°C
8. 37°C
9. 100°C
10. 50°C
The 24-Hour Clock
In the healthcare world, time is often expressed using the 24-hour
clock, or what is commonly known as military time. A clear, concise way
of accurately recording time is essential in a healthcare facility. Medical
records are legal documents. Time is critical when treatment, medication,
and duration of procedures depend on accurate timekeeping.
The 12-hour clock (which you typically use in your daily life) has the
disadvantage of using just 12 numbers to designate 24 different hours. This
means that each of those 12 numbers is used twice a day. Therefore, with-
out the a.m. and p.m. designations, you cannot know for sure what time of
day a particular number represents.
In contrast, the 24-hour clock designates every hour with a unique
numerical time. When you say that it is 11:00 o’clock, do you mean
11:00 a.m. or 11:00 p.m.? If you are using military time, then those hours
are written as 1100 and 2300, respectively. You don’t need the a.m. or p.m.
designation, and there is no chance for confusion.
Converting Temperatures
1. While on vacation in Germany with your family, you become ill and need
to visit a doctor. The doctor tells you that your temperature is 39°. Given
your location, you assume, correctly, that he has given your temperature
using the Celsius scale. Using the appropriate conversion formula, what
is your Fahrenheit temperature?
2. You are a nurse at Eastridge Hospital and you have a patient from
France. She asks you what her temperature is, and you tell her 103°F.
She doesn’t understand what this means. Convert her temperature into
Celsius using the appropriate formula.
Real Life Scenario
24-hour clock
method of measuring time
based on 24-hour-long seg-
ments; also called military
time
12-hour clock
expression of time used
internationally; based on a
12-hour system in which
a.m. and p.m. designations
must be assigned to iden-
tify the proper time