meal intake

[nrsbetrn]

What method do you use for the CNA to calculate meal intake? Does the meat count a larger percentage than the other foods? Do you look at the plate and assign a percent to the amount eaten?

[RN2B07]

Well at my hospital the CNA's have their own chart to calculate. All I know is there are certain % for say protein and if half is eaten of the protein it tells you what % of meal to chart. Sorry I am unfamiliar with the %'s but our CNA's chart on their own and I work nights so I never see it.

[suebird3]

We do % (25, 50 etc) of meat, potato, bread, egg...whatever is served for the appropriate meal.

Suebird

[allele, LPN]

When I worked in a nursing home as a CNA they gave us guidelines...something like if the resident ate the main course, that was 50%, milk-20%, soup 10%, dessert-10% and a side was 10%, or something like that. That's a good question though, do you have a dietician you can ask at your facility? I usually just look at the plate now and guesstimate, but I may ask the dietcian tomorrow. :)

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

At one place I worked we had a rather complicated system for meal percentages. Eating half of the meat scored 50% but eating all of the bread only scored 10%...and we wondered why the meal charts were never done. We now just look at the plate...if 1/2 the food is gone it's charted as 50%.

Just be careful that the CNA's paper and what's written in the MAR match. We got hung by the state because the CNA paper said 25% and the nurse wrote down 100%. The same surveyor saw a CNA chart 100% eaten and chased the food truck down to the kitchen!! She said the woman had only eaten 25%. Same surveyor wanted to cite us when the resident poured her orange juice into her oatmeal. Surveyor thought we should have either stopped her or should have given her a new bowl. We suggested, politely of course, that she ask the resident why she did it. The resident answered, "Dear, I am 89 years old and this is how I LIKE to eat my oatmeal!":lol2:

[weirdRN, RN]

Same surveyor wanted to cite us when the resident poured her orange juice into her oatmeal. Surveyor thought we should have either stopped her or should have given her a new bowl. We suggested, politely of course, that she ask the resident why she did it. The resident answered, "Dear, I am 89 years old and this is how I LIKE to eat my oatmeal!":lol2:

:roll :roll

[SaraO'Hara]

Where I work, we have a chart with three pie-graph things on it. Each part of a normal meal is assigned a certain percentage, based on calories (eg milk is 20 per cent, meat/entree 30 per cent). We add up how much of each the person ate and write that down. Like.. Mr Smith might have eaten half of his entree, all of his starch, half the milk, no vegetables, and no bread. That would be written down as 45 per cent, if I remember correctly (chart not handy). Fluids are charted in cc. We just had the dietician come in and lecture on that Thursday.