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Bedside procedures

How to use a bladder scanner

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

Nursing (NCLEX)
Practice it in VR with Blocky

A bladder scan measures urine in the bladder without a catheter.

Step by step

  1. Explain

    Painless ultrasound. [1]

  2. Position

    Lying on the back; set male or female (use male setting after hysterectomy). [1]

  3. Gel and probe

    Gel above the pubic bone, probe pointed toward the bladder. [1]

  4. Center and scan

    Adjust until the bladder is centered; scan twice. [1]

  5. Read

    Record volume; compare with orders for retention. [1]

  6. Act

    Follow protocol for straight catheter if above the threshold. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in Making Synapses

In Making Synapses 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.

Making Synapses cases that train this skill

Sources

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

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