Bedside charting?! Is this the new norm? VENT!

[RockinChick66]

We will soon be losing our nurses station where our desktops are located and will have to start using computers in the room to do bedside charting. I'm having very mixed emotions about this. We do not have COWs as the computers in the rooms are wall mounted and our back is toward the patient.

Is bedside charting becoming the norm? To me, it's very helpful to my feet and my sanity to be able to get off my feet for just minutes during the day to be able to sit and chart. Charting at the bedside when visitors are present, when patients are trying to sleep, causing us to stand even more just doesn't make good sense. Most the nurses on our floor are VERY unhappy about this change. There may be several nurses looking for another job. In fact, I've heard some nurses say "it's time to get out of here!"

I truly wish that it was a requirement for management to work in our shoes at least a week out of a year to see what we endure on a daily basis. Instead, they sit on their bottoms all day in meetings making new rules without consulting those of us that poor out the blood sweat and tears while performing our job every day!!

[sapphire18]

We do bedside charting, but not exclusively. We still have comps at our nurse's station for charting as well. We also have chairs that we can bring into the room for charting.

I totally agree with you about management working bedside for a week (or 2) every year to see exactly what we go through.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

If your info didn't say your specialty is med/surg and LTC, I'd think you worked at my old hospital.

Charting at the bedside wasn't required, but it was something that management fantasized about. Why can't you just chart in the rooms? Well, let's see... 1. It's creepy to just stand in a patient's room charting, I wouldn't want that if I was a patient. 2. I don't have time to stand in a patient's room for 20 minutes after I do their am assessment/give their meds to chart everything I've just done, I have other patients who need to be assessed and medicated. 3. The computers in the rooms almost never work!

I completely agree that managers should be required to work the floor. That was one of my biggest peeves with hospital nursing... all the rules were made by people who hadn't touched a patient in about 10 years.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

We do bedside charting, but not exclusively. We still have comps at our nurse's station for charting as well. We also have chairs that we can bring into the room for charting.

I totally agree with you about management working bedside for a week (or 2) every year to see exactly what we go through.

Yeah, and we can call it "Take a manager to work day".

[JenLPN001]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh sometimes I have to thank the owners of my facility for not going paperless!!! I swore to never again complain about writer's cramp or sore fingers when I started working there.... and after almost 4 years I haven't! I think it's ridiculous to have to chart in the room... to me it would be a big privacy issue, and ummm what about night shift? Yeah, wake me up at 3am to chart and see what's gonna happen .. it wouldn't be pretty. I wouldn't fuss at you either, but I'd dang sure make a call to the higher ups and give them my opinion! I understand totally about the need to just sit for a couple minutes...hmm maybe hide all of management's chairs??? Just a thought!

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

We have computers at bedside. All come with a chair. It's nice when you have a confused pt you need to keep an eye on, or someone not doing well. You can sit down and chart on all your pt's and watch them. However, if a pt is A/O and wants to sleep, we leave the room and go to the station.

Don't envy you the standing part.

[RockinChick66]

If your info didn't say your specialty is med/surg and LTC, I'd think you worked at my old hospital.

Charting at the bedside wasn't required, but it was something that management fantasized about. Why can't you just chart in the rooms? Well, let's see... 1. It's creepy to just stand in a patient's room charting, I wouldn't want that if I was a patient. 2. I don't have time to stand in a patient's room for 20 minutes after I do their am assessment/give their meds to chart everything I've just done, I have other patients who need to be assessed and medicated. 3. The computers in the rooms almost never work!

I completely agree that managers should be required to work the floor. That was one of my biggest peeves with hospital nursing... all the rules were made by people who hadn't touched a patient in about 10 years.

It's going to be required for us very soon. And I totally agree with you, it's creepy!

I want out of there so bad!! It's not right them making us chart in the room. Manager says, "Oh, you'll get faster !" My gosh, this is unreal!! I'm scanning the ads for new jobs now. This ain't going to fly with me!! lol

[amoLucia]

I'm in LTC, some of us haven't quite got that deep into computers. I know it's coming - I hate pyxys and paperless death certificates now. I do like that idea of mgt doing 2 weeks required floor duty. Kind of like National Guard Reservists do. But let's call it "Have a mgr do our work days" and there'd be no getting out of it. They'd be on the floor with an assignment so there'd be no opp'ty to zip into their offices to do something or other (that's why they have Assistants for their absences). And then they could all do that computer stuff while still trying to get out on time without overtime!

[AnonRNC]

We've been computer charting for a few years now. We have wall-mounted beside computers AND hallway work-stations. I like it. I think and focus better in the patient's room, which results in more accurate and thorough documentation.

Sometimes, if I think the family needs to open up about something, I'll linger at the computer for a bit. I find that they then start talking to me. On the other hand, if I want to get away from them for some reason, I high-tail it out of there and chart in the hallway.

[RockinChick66]

We've been computer charting for a few years now. We have wall-mounted beside computers AND hallway work-stations. I like it. I think and focus better in the patient's room, which results in more accurate and thorough documentation.

Sometimes, if I think the family needs to open up about something, I'll linger at the computer for a bit. I find that they then start talking to me. On the other hand, if I want to get away from them for some reason, I high-tail it out of there and chart in the hallway.

It's good to hear a positive about this change. However, the way it's sounding for us, we're not going to have any other place to chart. :/

[anotherone, BSN, RN]

Sounds terrible if it is your only option. Have seen places kind of like this but there were a few single desk/computer stations here and there WITHOUT central nursing station as managment believed that that took away from patient time( people sitting at the desk) seemed like nonsence when I was a student and still does now that I work as a nurse. Good luck op. Managment will not care nor do they want to hear anything negative about it. You will be labeled a whiner and a complainer they will hire some foreign nurses and new grads who won't know any other way, while you are still trying to clear "negative" from your employee file. Plus you will have to deal with all of those family memebers who come up right behind you to read the chart, they do it all the time at the hallways mounted ones so i am sure this will be worse. Yes you can sign out fast, but that is YOUR TIME being wasted, then again- it only takes a few seconds(sarcasm).

[caliotter3]

I would have to be one of those that is looking for a new job. But then, maybe that is one of the desired results of the change. Never underestimate management.