Head-to-toe assessment and vital signs

How to measure intake and output

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

Intake and output show if a patient is gaining or losing fluid. Accuracy depends on everyone recording everything.

Step by step

  1. Explain to the patient and family

    Ask them to save urine and tell you what they drink. [1]

  2. Intake

    Oral fluids, IV fluids, tube feeds, flushes, IV medicines, blood products. [1]

  3. Output

    Urine, vomit, drains, stool if liquid, gastric suction. [1]

  4. Measure

    Use graduated containers at eye level, in mL. [1]

  5. Totals

    Add up per shift and per 24 hours; compare intake with output. [1]

  6. Report

    Urine under about 0.5 mL/kg/h in adults, or a big imbalance, is reported. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

24 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  2. OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) and OpenStax, Clinical Nursing Skills, licensed under CC BY 4.0. VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.