What's your clipboard like?

Nurses General Nursing

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Do you use a clipboard? Do you flip pages, or do you write everything on one side of a sheet of paper for shift? Do you pre-print a special format? How many PT's do you fit on a sheet of paper? Are you an impromptu sheet maker? Have you ever scoffed at another RN's sheet?

For each shift, I use one sheet of the thin engineer graph paper you get at the bookstore for a penny a sheet. Then I fold it so I make 4*8=32 label sized boxes. The floors usually have no more than 28 beds, so I have a spot for everyone. I'm addicted to the .5mm pencil with the soft graphite (4B). Then, for each PT in a box, I have just enough room for rm#, name, and RN name plus 5 spaces under it for vitals, and 4 columns after that, per PT, for add'l vitals input, output, cbg. It took me 7 months to develop the best way for me to write down stuff in a nursing environment. This way, I can have a hard copy of what I'm doing as I put it in echart AND let the RN's know exactly what I do AND make it easy for the RN's to do their charting of vitals from my clipboard.

It's cool some nurses w/5 PT's, use one sheet and circle hours for meds or IV's, and I can only dream about organizing stuff an actual nurse has to note and record. Some RN's just use a folded sheet of paper in their pocket. I guess it depends on what your doing too.193133681

I work in the ER...it would be more work to change the d%&m thing every 30 mins that it would ever be worth it! My brain is my clipboard! I keep everything up there.

my clipboard opens up. inside i have junk that i used to carry around in my pockets, like alcohol wipes, alligator clips, iodine swabs, scissors, and a couple extra pens, plus a copy of the Braden scale (which never seems to be around when i need it)...

For each patient, we get a whole info sheet. I fold each page up and draw columns down through them all so i can write the stuff they need in an orderly way:

_wt__acuck__24__04__06__ivf/gt__labsdue__i/o_rm#____

___________________________________________

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

just for an example....

it takes a minute to set it up, but this way I can see all my timed meds/procedures for all my pts at once. if something doesn't get done, I highlight it in yellow to remind myself to tell the next shift why.

Specializes in Home Health.

Never used a clipboard, I'm a folded sheet of paper gal. I would fold a 8x11 sheet i8n half to lool like a card, then fold that into fours, so I had 16 spots for pt's. I just wrote as I herd report.

When I went to the open heart ICU, we had a huge flow sheet on an extra lg clipboard at each bedside. I never had to write anything anywhere ese but on that sheet. As I got report, I used a pencil to circle the time above the lab section for when a lab was due, after report, I would circlein pencil at the top of the page above VS times, and write in "Ancef" or what med was due. Since we did VS hourly or more often, I would be sure to see it, then after it was done I erased it. But to write down the verbatim report, from prior shift, it was a piece of paper. As we review the kardex, I can see everythng I need, like diagnosis, doc, surgery, etc... so I never wrote that down twice, just things that were not on the kardex, or that I needed to pencil in on my flowsheet so I wouldn't forget. nFor me, Less is more. We were broken in my a mean surgeon who would make rounds in the am and expect yu to KNOW your pt's history, range of vs, w/o looking ast your notes. You figured out how to do this fast if you didn't want to be publically humiliated q am!

In Home health we each had a clipboardv w our assignment,pt name, then a spot to check abs, wound care CPcheck (Cardiopulmonary) injections or HHA sup, that was it. It was really just for assignment purposes.

Interesting to see how other people do things.

I had five patients the other day.

All were children.

None were accompanied by adults.

Three were mentally retarded, as well as medically ill.

One was a near quadraplegic.

One was an infant.

And one of them pinched my arm until it bled. My offense? I put my hand on *his* IV pole.

I'm a Registered Nurse, thank you.

What? I never considered a PT to pinch. Now I am at a dilema about what would be professional when/if that happened to me...if a PT is pinching me hard.

I guess I would punch their hand hard enough to knock it away. Then step away from them and document that.

Hollahan - what does ancef mean? I remember how there didn't used be computers, so it musta been easier because all you had to do for documentation would be a clipboard, basically.

What does it mean when yall say your clipboard opens up? You have boxes attached to it?

I really want the clipboard with all the related facts plastered all over it. (envy)

mario, no punching allowed. you may break the hold of the pincher, but in doing so, may not cause injury.

ancef is an antibiotic.

Here's a picture of a storage clipboard (mine's a neon color so I don't lose it)

EM988269.GIF

Specializes in Geriatrics, LTC.

I write everything on my 24 hour report sheet, when i'm passing meds it is under my med book so that I can add prn meds given on it. When I'm not doing meds my 24 hours sheets is at my desk. I have thought about getting a clipboard though. Any recommendations? I thought about getting the one that is in the Jasco uniform catalog, has a calculator on the clip and useful info on the board itself.

Originally posted by Sleepyeyes

mario, no punching allowed. you may break the hold of the pincher, but in doing so, may not cause injury.

I understand sleepyeyes. Your wording is correct and I learn. If a PT pinched me I would let it go and document it. If they pulled at my hair, and let go, I would let that go too. This can be a slippery slope of appropraite/instinctual responces.

If a PT was pinching the skin on my arm, for example, then I would break their grip. I will do no harm.

If a PT took advantage of me and sneakily pinched me "there", or tried to harm my eyes, I might smack or punch, if they startled me. If a PT pinched me "there" in a grip and didn't let go, I would chart any trauma to their hands. Lol.

The clipboard case makes sense. You can put stethescope and penlight and drugbookin it andnot get it all crushed.

Specializes in critical care, med/surg.

I'm a folded paper type of girl myself. We have a sheet with 5 columns (3small and 2large)....and 12 rows (our tele unit has 12 beds). Each shift the unit sec. writes the pt. name, age and doc's initials in the first column......The 3 smaller columns I use for diet, activity and last BM, and the longer column I write pertinent report info, and set up areas for i&o, daily wt, etc. Any iv fluids and rates I write in to the right of the long column, and I write the cardiac rhythm in under the room #. Any really important things I write in red (allergies, NPO, DNR status). When report is finished, I fold the paper in semi-half, and write my assessment in on what used to be the back of the pg........it sounds complicated, but that's how I learned from my preceptor, and it works good for me.

Specializes in LDRP; Education.
Originally posted by hoolahan

Never used a clipboard, I'm a folded sheet of paper gal. I would fold a 8x11 sheet i8n half to lool like a card, then fold that into fours, so I had 16 spots for pt's. I

That's what I'd do! :D

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I use the folded paper stuffed in the pocket technique myself, but have longed for a clipboard. I never have figured out what to do with the clipboard though. The written information is needed when I am in the patient's room, but there is no "clean" place to put a clipboard down. I hate to pick up and drop off germs from room to room on the back of my clipboard.

Short of wearing a backpack, how do you manage the clipboard in patient rooms?

Specializes in Home Health.

That is the probem w the clipboard!!

Mario, like Allison described, her pt's were kids, some of whom were mentally retarded. When that kind of thing happens, you just don't get your fethers ruffled, since you KNOW they can't help it.

It's the nasty ones who DO know what they're doing that irk you. Like the nasty drunk, who was with it enough to pretend he wasn't with it and kick my co-worker in the head. The best thing to do if it is intentional or drunk family members is call the police and file an assault report, b/c the hospital wil never back you up!

Susy, great minds think alike! :)

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