documenting

You can use "nurse" or "this nurse" or avoid using I by changing the sentence. instead of saying "I bathed the patient and changed the linens", you can say "patient was bathed and linens changed" or something like that.

Or you can say "Central line dressing changed, maintained sterile field throughout procedure"

edit: I see your are talking about incident reports and not just charting... If you are writing an incident report, you can write it as a third person and just use your name.

Are we not supposed to use the word "I"??

I think it falls back onto most of us were taught narative charting. Hence speaking in third person rather than first person.

This is actually an old school way of charting. If you go to any seminars on charting they teach that you CAN use I. They also suggest you use the names of any other healthcare professional you speak with by first and last name and title, which is taboo to nurses who've been taught otherwise. I say if you're on orientation or precepting do what they tell you, if not do it the way you were taught in nursing school or what's the latest information. Be leery (sp?) anytime a nurse tells you that you do something "just because". Hope I've helped. :)

Thank you. I was taught that using I was acceptable, and then was told it is not used when I was writing my first incident report. Thanks!!

Be leery (sp?) anytime a nurse tells you that you do something "just because".

That was pretty funny. 'Just because' seems to be the standard response to most questions asked in life regardless of the setting. Maybe it gets carried over from listening to parents.

I have been a nurse for 31 years and I have never used anything but the word "I".