[Mamanurse62]

I am having trouble keeping all of my paper work and manuels, and notes organized. I have to keep up with time and milage and I keep forgetting to write things down (odometer readings esp). I have a million forms, and types of nursing notes, plus supplies I carry in my car. Can anyone offer any suggestions? I am at my wits end. Thanks

[rnboysmom]

If you are new to hospice nursing, organization is a process, you may go through 5 or 6 different systems before you find one that works for you (I did!!!) it was an entire year before I felt that I truly had a good system and a handle on my days. I can tell you what finally worked for me. ( I have to assume you are still on paper charting as you said you have papers everywhere) I bought a file box with a handle (for easy transport into the office and my home), and some colored manilla folders. I color coded and alphabetized all my forms for quick access(i.e. patient forms, office forms, etc.) I also made a notebook of all my patients and face sheets and plans of care and a lab/treatments sheet for each of them. I used a large teachers planner book to organize my day and jotted down anything to follow up on on that calendar and then I hilighted it at the end of the day or when it was done. I also kept a small collapsible file to keep my paperwork in for each patient to get it to the office and turned in in one piece. the filebox was always in my trunk, ready for any forms and the small binder, planner and collapsible file fit neatly into a satchel for patient care in the home or facility. You will find something that works for you too. Another tip, I always kept my mileage log on a clipboard and turned it upside down and sat it on my steering wheel each time I got out for a patient visit--thus having to move it out of the way before I started the car for the next visit as a reminder to log my mileage--mileage is more of a habit you will get used to.

[Mamanurse62]

thank you thank you thank you! I bought clip board, and a collapseable file folder as a start just today. I will try the steering wheel trick for sure!

[curiousauntie]

I too have had a few different ways to keep track of everything. But the one thing that I have done since the first day is keep a small spiral notebook on my dashboard for mileage. I use my trip odometer for each trip and reset it after I write down the mileage (that way, no subtracting). I have a page for each day. We still have everything on paper too, so each page is a picture of each day...
Patient time in, time out
Travel time start, time stop, miles
Patient time in, time out...
On the few occasions that the office has lost my daily time sheet, I was able to reconstruct my day.

I have a small accordion file for my face sheets (one for each patient on our service as the case managers do the on-call) and a bigger one to keep extra physician order sheets, narrative note forms, on-call notes and logs, and the other forms that I may need day to day.

My bag has a clipboard, weekly schedules for me and all nurses and home health aides, nurses notes forms, file for my completed forms and time sheets, pens, alcohol swipes, bandage scissors, hemostats, hydrocolloid dressings, a couple of sterile 4x4s, tape, BP cuff, stethoscope, calculator, badge, cell phones, sunglasses, an old nursing license (found that since I lock my wallet in my car, I was always forgetting to grab my license to fill out the death certificates) I keep my Hospice Pharmacia MUGS book in the car along with my day planner. I find that this is about all I need for day to day visits. My office is in the middle of my territory (almost 60 miles north to south) so I can get there almost every day for the other stuff I need...re-cert forms, monthly MD letter forms. A couple of things I always keep in my car...2 admission packets, you never know when the office will call and ask you to do an admission right near where you are and it is a pain to have to drive all the way back to the office to get one. The other thing is death packs...death certificate, end of care summary and drug disposal form, and a bereavement assessment form.

I do not keep a lot of supplies in my car. It is too much of a hassle to have to unload them and re-load them on weekends when I go the beach or to my nephews motocross races. I stop at the office before I go to the few patients that need supplies (diapers, briefs, bed pads, etc.) but who do not have a home health aide assigned to them. I used to carry a big accordian file with bunches of every form we use...it was a waste. When I got a new car a few months ago, a lot of it was outdated forms we don't use anymore or yellowed with age. I got rid of it and don't even miss it.

Oh yeah, one other thing I always have...a foley insertion kit! I even keep 2 extra at home for on-call, just in case.