Updates and musings from one momma nurse

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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Teaching an Old(ish) Nurse New Tricks

Over the last few years, I've developed my beginning-of-shift routine. I generally look at my charts first, then go to each room one by one to medicate and assess simultaneously. The drawback to this is that sometimes I don't make it to my last room before 9am, and that's longer than I'd like to go without seeing my patients! This week, I decided to try something new for me. As soon as bedside report was completed (so I had a basic knowledge of what each patient was there for, but hadn't looked up specific orders), I went to each of my rooms and did an assessment. By doing that, I was able to see everyone before 8am, so I knew what their baseline was in case they might have a status change mid-shift. Once the assessments were completed, I looked in the charts to fill in details, then began coming around with the morning medications. I didn't get to start charting any sooner than I would have, but I felt a lot more prepared for the day, and I felt like it went much more efficiently than usual. So, who says you can't teach an old nurse new tricks?