I round on my patients every 2 hours. I go the opposite hours that the CNAs go, that way my patients are being checked on every hour. Some people might think it's overkill, but it's just the way I've always done it. I've always worked nocs, so mostly I'm just eyeballing them anyway. I can slip in and out like a cat.
Sometimes I will touch them lightly to check orientation or see if they need anything, check are they comfortable, eyeball a wound or dressing...etc. Plus, the last thing I want them to do is tell the next shift that the noc nurse didn't see about them all noc. And I definitely don't chart things I didn't do or assess. No matter what shift you work, when your patients are sleeping, do you just document they are sleep and comfortable? How do you rate their pain if you don't wake them to ask?