Critical patient @ change of shift, which nurse is responsible??

[Soulsinfinity]

Just the other day we had a situation on my floor between two nurses @ change of shift. Second shift nurse had a patient that had a change in status and needed to be moved to a higher level of care. Our rapid response team had already been called and was assisting with the patients care, the patient was stable. The first shift nurse who just had came on got report regarding the patient. The patients room was ready and rapid response was ready to transfer the patient but waiting on the nurse to go give report to the nurse accepting the patient in the higher level of care. My question is "which nurse should have gone to give report?" The one who had taken care of him and called rapid or the nurse just coming on? Who is leagally but not only morally responsible? Both nurses felt that the other should go. Please help???

[Batman24]

Off going nurse who had been with the patient over the last 12 hours should have given report. This is a no brainer and there should have been no issue here. I would never even dream of dumping the report on next nurse in a situation like this one. We are talking an extra 5-10 minutes here.

[systoly]

While the shift belongs to the oncoming nurses , the oncoming nurse would first have to complete her own assessment which clearly would result in delay of care for the patient in question. Not a desired outcome by any measure. Furthermore, valuable resources would be tied up unneccessarily and other patient care might be delayed as well. I've seen this argument when there was a "no overtime" policy in place and I can assure you reasonable and appropriate patient care supercedes end of shift policies. No doubt, the off going nurse needs to give report. Besides, would anybody walk out during a code because it was the end of shift?

[lovehospital]

I'm not a nurse yet,but the school teaches us that the off going nurse should be the one.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Often as is my luck, I usually get a bed for my admissions from the ER right at shift change, and our transport team is always magically ready at the exact same time! (I work in a freestanding ED, so our admissions are transported by a private ambulance service to the main hospital a few miles down the road.) I always stay the extra 10-20 minutes and do the VoiceCare report, give report to the transport team, then call the receiving RN to make sure he/she has listened to VoiceCare, has no questions for me, and is ready to accept the patient (knowing that it'll take the patient about 20 minutes to arrive there). Would I rather leave on time? Sure; it takes me an hour to get home, so the sooner I hit the road, the better. But my nightshift counterparts always appreciate the extra effort, and they've returned the favor a time or two as well.

[truern]

If the rapid response team was already in place and readying the patient for transfer, why did the second nurse get report in the first place?

The off-going nurse should have given report. SHE knew the patient and the situation...not the on-coming nurse.

[Mulan]

I've had that dumped on me before.

I would not leave it for the next shift.

The offgoing nurse should have taken care of it.

[Mulan]

I know more than one person who I believe would do just exactly that!

[Wise Woman RN]

I had a case wherein the patient needed rapid response and transfer to acute unit, but the bed was not going to be ready for 1/2 hour... so I gave detailed report to oncoming nurse, and filled out the transfer sheet completely... but if the bed is ready and the receiving nurse is ready for report, I will stay the extra 10 minutes or so to give report.

[suni, BSN, RN]

The off going nurse should have done it but once you accept report on a patient you accept responsibility for the patient. As a courtesy and in the interest of best patient care the nurse who had cared for him should have given report and the on coming nurse should have asked that she do so .

[NeoNurseTX, RN]

Why would the offgoing nurse take the 5 mins to give report to the oncoming nurse when she could take that 5 mins and give report to the nurse actually receiving the transfer?

[systoly]

I know more than one person who I believe would do just exactly that!

Sad, very sad. 'Makes me appreciate my colleagues even more.

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

Giving report on the patient would only take maybe 5 minutes for either nurse. I would say the off going nurse should give it. It is only 5 minutes. That nurse would know more about what is going on, and the oncoming nurse is going to have a major crapstorm to endure that day. She will have to assess everyone including that patient, plus get out any meds due. Do the oncoming nurse a favor and stay an extra 5 minutes. I had stuff like that dumped on me before, and it really really really sucks!