In orientation

The last one I worked at did. They had me sit for half a day with the person who was the medical records person. She showed me what was in every chart and how the chart was sequenced. She showed me just about every nursing and medical form there was and where it could be obtained if I couldn't find it on the unit where I was working. She went over the instructions on taking telephone orders and showed me the policy manual which I spent the remainder of the day reading. I saw what happened to the old MARs and TARs and got a lecture about the problems with missed signatures and what all with them. It was a informative day. Apparently, this home understood the importance of the medical records. You know, when the state comes in to survey they pull a certain number of charts and spend a good amount of time studying those records as well as other documents of the facility.

Why are you asking?

I've been with my present employer for 5 yrs and I'm still learning(of course as soon as I get one thing down they send out a new policy)As long as you know where to find your policy and procedure manuals you'll be able to find out anything.Also don't hesitate to encourage families to take their concerns to the appropriate staff-social worker,charge nurse or nurse manager...If I can't answer a question I always send them to someone who can.I am a full time float nurse so I don't always know everything that is going on with a particular patient. I do keep some cheat sheets with the most often used procedures and protocols-you may find that helpful...Good Luck

The time spent with new nurses in orientation more than pays for itself. When I ran a subacute unit, I told the DNS I needed to sit with any new nurse(and I didn't mean new grads only) for at least one entire day to show the the correct way to do all the paperwork on my unit. They had time to ask questions and to absorb some of what was taught. We tended to keep our nurses longer too. When I left that job and there was a new nurse manager who "didn't like to have to teach anyone anything" the paper work didn't get filled out as completely and there was greater staff turnover. Tell your DNS that you need some time off the floor to learn all the paper work. If she's any good, she'll appreciate your honesty and be glad to give you the time...if you know the right way to do things, the DNS will be spending less time chasing you around to get the papers done.

The first facility I ever worked for failed to orientate me on anything - including the paperwork. I was left out to hang...