Bedside Reporting

JVoEDrn · Oct 17, 2015

I don't mind it to much. It can be hassle when you can just give the gist of it all to the nurse coming on. But I'm doing my job when I do bedside rounding. They don't fight me on it when they see its for their benefit. I usually give report before I go into the room and then do the show when I get in there lol

blackribbon · Oct 24, 2015

We have it and I hate it. My patients are usually asleep when I am handing them off and they need their sleep. Since it is officially mandatory, we tend to huddle around the sink whispering in the dark when the nurse manager is on the floor. It also means that psych issue and family issues often don't get handed off. I had a father become violently verbally to me. I found out the next day that the day shift had to call security on him....I think that probably was information that should have been handed off to me.

Jensmom7, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2015

Wow, it's true; the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Thirty-five years ago bedside report was all the rage. Didn't work then, either.

blackribbon · Oct 24, 2015

It is suppose to involve the patient in their care more and build trust. I think it does the opposite in that it just frustrates the nurses. I can't discuss procedure or lab results that have come back but haven't been told to the patient by the doctor yet. I think it helps to know that a patient is going to be given a cancer diagnosis before he/she finds out. Can't continuously discuss the family member that isn't to be talked to allowed in the room. Can't mention the association with someone famous (roommate might hear) but can still be significant to care and privacy issues. And I am sure that it violates HIPAA on so many levels since we haven't installed the soundproof curtains yet... LOL

annie.rn · Oct 24, 2015

I am not crazy about it. I much prefer giving report outside the room and then rounding on everyone while doing a quick once over of the big stuff... dressings, drains, lines and IV bags.

chevygirl1987 · Oct 24, 2015

Hate it. The quality of report has plummeted since we went to bedside report. Additionally, we are now told that you MUST wake the patient regardless of circumstances. As for the HIPAA issues, we are told that "incidental" disclosure is an implied part of the consent to treat, hmmmm.

They say that we are supposed to look up labs and H&P before entering the room, but we must be ready for report at 7 and we aren't allowed to come in early to look up our patients info(not that I would).

BiotoBSNtoFNP · Oct 24, 2015

I agree that the quality of report has plummeted. However, I do like that both the oncoming and leaving nurse go and eyeball the patient and introduce myself, if they are awake.

When the Nm is not around, most nurses do a modified bedside report where they will do normal report outside the room or at the nurses station and then just go in to eyeball the patient. Although, we get told frequently that we are not supposed to do it this way ðŸ˜Š

NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN · Oct 24, 2015

I am not crazy about it. I much prefer giving report outside the room and then rounding on everyone while doing a quick once over of the big stuff... dressings, drains, lines and IV bags.

Now this would make sense. Tell me everything I should know at a glance about the patient, then at the end show me the the "big stuff". I've seen several versions of report, some I've hated, some I've been okay with, this method would be a winner to me (providing I'm not waking someone up who's been awake for almost 24 hours and is finally achieving some adequate pain relief).

Taped report I did not like-because I cannot ask questions. I don't ask a whole lot but it would help if the recording happened to be vague, or something important happened after the recording was made

Verbal report in the break room- good for confidentially, bad for the help left on the floor during the report

Report at the chart rack (old days, paper chart)-allowed us to review new orders, discuss anything pertinent-but not the best for confidentially. It's amazing how well some people can hear whispering.

Written report-Bad news. This was usually with a standardized printout-that everything was left blank. I literally got "IV reseal" as report on a cardiac patient...an that wasn't even correct because it was infiltrated when I entered the room. The staff made a mass exit down the stairs the minute the next shift came on duty. It was a mess.

Strict bedside reporting, previous posters have given numerous reasons why it's not such a wonderful idea.

Now, tell me what I need to know outside the room and then show me an ALIVE (yeah, I've found a couple cold ones before) patient who has all (or at least most) of their expected lines/tubes, I like that idea:)

annie.rn · Oct 27, 2015

Taped report I did not like-because I cannot ask questions. I don't ask a whole lot but it would help if the recording happened to be vague, or something important happened after the recording was made

Yeah. One place I worked, the night shift would regularly LEAVE by the time we got out of report. Found a dead pt. one morning. That job sUUUUcked!

annie.rn · Oct 27, 2015

Additionally, we are now told that you MUST wake the patient regardless of circumstances.

That's cruel and unusual punishment. You'd have to fire me before I'm going to wake a pt. who is finally asleep after being awake all night. Screw that.

chevygirl1987 · Oct 27, 2015

That's cruel and unusual punishment. You'd have to fire me before I'm going to wake a pt. who is finally asleep after being awake all night. Screw that.

Agreed.

But it's the hot button thing right now so they round and ask if we woke the pts so they could be involved in report.

In the past we have been able to exercise our professional judgement to wake or not. Especially people in withdrawal who are so restless and agitated.

Someone missed a critical lab value and gave meds that made the labs worse. Somehow bedside report would have prevented this if the pt had been awake.