So.... engineering was installing these clear plastic plaques in all of our rooms today! Apparently, they are going to be filled with a checklist/sheet that the RN must sign EVERY HOUR to show that they have been in that patient's room. Much like the restroom cleaning schedule at your local McDonalds. Apparently this is some great new hospital wide policy they higher ups have come up with.
OK...... I work in the PICU! I am pretty much always in my pts room and we are required to document on our patients every hour anyway!!
This just really gets under my skin! I feel like this is just a little much. Your thoughts??
Yup, we got 'em and they are on the chart and it's just another sheet of endless paperwork to fill out at the end of each shift. And they are not part of the medical record either - so they just get thrown away about every 14-20 days. It's just a tool that our manager uses if a patient complains.
They used to be in the rooms but do you know how disturbing it is to the patient to walk in while they are resting and take that sheet down just to chart they are resting. Patients were furious with this. So it's on the chart.
We are required to make notations in our computerized charting Q 1-1.5 hours about the patients (and nursery does the babies Q1 hr) so believe me, MANY notations are made about our patients each shift. We really don't need our "hourly rounding" sheet but the thing was implemented system wide so there ya go.
It's odd that they are using them and not even making them part of the medical record. I check my patients at least once an hour and always document it in the patient chart. It sounds like all the staff using them just now has to chart twice...once in the actual patient chart and again on the form. What a waste of money and time. Yikes.
mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP
1,168 Posts
Yup, we got 'em and they are on the chart and it's just another sheet of endless paperwork to fill out at the end of each shift. And they are not part of the medical record either - so they just get thrown away about every 14-20 days. It's just a tool that our manager uses if a patient complains.
They used to be in the rooms but do you know how disturbing it is to the patient to walk in while they are resting and take that sheet down just to chart they are resting. Patients were furious with this. So it's on the chart.
We are required to make notations in our computerized charting Q 1-1.5 hours about the patients (and nursery does the babies Q1 hr) so believe me, MANY notations are made about our patients each shift. We really don't need our "hourly rounding" sheet but the thing was implemented system wide so there ya go.