Do all LTC's chart the meals on the MAR's?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I have just now returned back to LTC. I noticed that all of my patients have a place on the MAR to chart the percentage of meals they consumed at breakfast lunch and dinner. Is this now done at all LTC facilities? That's about the only thing I have noticed so far that has changed in the past 3 years since I have been gone from LTC. Thanks

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Yikes, no, we don't. That seems more than a little excessive. Sometimes our doctor *does* order us to document food intake logs. But that is only if the resident's nutritional status has become a concern for some reason. And it's a separate flow sheet filled out by the CNAs, not on the MAR.

What you describe would seem to encourage lying and/or "flubbing" some random percentage more than anything else. How can one nurse be expected to keep track of such things for every resident? Not a viable data tool at all....

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Where I work at they have a separate book for all residents meal intake that the cnas fill out....

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Yes. I have worked in 3 different Nursing Homes in the same city. All 3 Nursing Homes have a place for percentages of meals in the MAR.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

It's old practice to have licensed people chart meals. I my past lives we've had a book or electronic documentation on which the CNAs documented the percentage. Where I'm at now, the nurses do it which takes hours of time a week. I'm getting ready to change it back. Licensed people have far too many things to do that no one else can do.

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Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.

The only times I have seen where nurses are required to document meal intake is in the case of weight loss and/or three day calorie counts. Otherwise the CNAs document meal intake in separate ADL or meal intake binders.

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Thanks to all for your comments. I also discovered today that all of the BM's are also to be charted on the MAR. I have to get the assignment sheets from all the CNA's at the end of my shift and rechart everything they have already charted on in the computer.

It's very time consuming. The CNA's use the computers to chart but the nurses do not do any of their work on the computers. I also found out that management goes crazy if the nurses have overtime. However, if a nurse doesn't complete her work, then she is written up.:eek:

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OMG...thats too much charting for nurses!!!! Shared charting between nurses n cnas (TEAMWORK) is much better...

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were I work, we were told putting the BMs on the MAR was mandated by "state". It is a pain in the orifice.

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Specializes in Clinical Documentation Specialist, LTC.

Wow...I've never, in almost 17 years of nursing had to chart BMs on the MAR. How much more do the "powers that be" want to throw at us, then not understand why we can't get it all done on time, only to be written up for overtime? When will it stop? :(

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
were I work, we were told putting the BMs on the MAR was mandated by "state". It is a pain in the orifice.
Were you given a reason?
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At my last job, it was the TAR that was ridiculous. We had absurd treatments to initial. "move the foley catheter from one side of the bed to the other q shift", "elevate billat. hands above heart 15 min q shift", "neuro/vasc checks" for Posey boots for Petes sake. We all know this kind of crap encourages lying and just mindlessly scribbling initials. So why does it continue?

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