Checking orders

Specialties Med-Surg

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

How often do you check the mars and the charts for doctor's orders during a shift. Is every hour enough?

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Our hospital policy states every hour at minimum. We have everything on computers, though, so I am constantly refreshing my screen to check for new orders.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

I wish it was all on computer. Half is on computer and we have like 6 different mars depending on the type of med. its unorganized i must say.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
I wish it was all on computer. Half is on computer and we have like 6 different mars depending on the type of med. its unorganized i must say.

6 different MARs? That does sound like an unorganized mess. Why not just put it all on to one MAR? :confused:

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

One for regular meds, one for diabetic meds, one for abx, one for pain med, one for iv meds (ok maybe it is 5 lol). They are tailored to the type of med for example the diabetic mars have room to enter in blood sugars and insulin.

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6 different MARs? That does sound like an unorganized mess. Why not just put it all on to one MAR? :confused:

I've never seen one MAR for multiple patients.

Do you mind describing it? Sounds like it could be a good idea.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
I've never seen one MAR for multiple patients.

Do you mind describing it? Sounds like it could be a good idea.

Well where I work, we have computerized EMARs, so we do med scanning. When we have computer downtime, we go to paper MARs but again, everything is on there.

But in other places I have been, they all had paper MARs. It was just tailored to the patient's list of medications. Everything, including insulins, pain meds and IV meds are on the MAR. Usually the pain meds are the PRN meds and the IV meds (such as continuous infusions) are under "unscheduled." For insulins, there is a spot where we can record the blood sugar. Otherwise, there is just the time listed on when it is schedule and then we initial next to it or if it was not given, it would be circled and at the bottom of each page is a little area where we can write a quick note.

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I usually check right after finish my first round med pass. I then carry on whatever the orders are for.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Once a shift maybe. If there is an urgent order the Charge Nurse or ward clerk will let us know.

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Once a shift maybe. If there is an urgent order the Charge Nurse or ward clerk will let us know.

Lori, I wish! Not on my floor. You leave to fence for yourself. Very little help if any at all from Charge. We have to beg.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

we do electronic charting and an icon will flash red for stat orders and yellow for any other new order (or result of a previous order). When we did paper charting I checked every time I charted and that could be 2 hours or more. I depended on the unit clerk or charge nurse to tell me if new orders were received.

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The policy for one hospital where I work med-surg states every 2 hours.

Once a shift maybe. If there is an urgent order the Charge Nurse or ward clerk will let us know.

How many patients do you have? How frequent are their vitals? I'm trying to get an idea of acuity.

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