Daylight Savings & Documentation

Nurses General Nursing

Published

How do hospitals handle daylight savings and documentation (and any other factors involved)? An hour will either occur twice or not happen at all. This doesn't seem problematic for us who are in bed sleeping, but may have major implications for those who are working at the hospital. In both cases, but perhaps especially for the hour occuring twice, it seems like things could get rather confusing on the charts.

Does anyone have stories to share from their personal experiences of working a shift during daylight savings?

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

Not really. You just chart when you did something. Does not matter if it was DST or whatever. In our electronic charting the computer takes care of it all

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
How do hospitals handle daylight savings and documentation (and any other factors involved)? An hour will either occur twice or not happen at all. This doesn't sleep problematic for us who are in bed sleeping, but may have major implications for those who are working at the hospital. In both cases, but perhaps especially for the hour occuring twice, it seems like things could get rather confusing on the charts.

Does anyone have stories to share from their personal experiences of working a shift during daylight savings?

This is not nearly as complicated as it might seem.

From 0100 (pre-DST switch) to 0300 (post-DST switch) I simply chart as follows:

"documentation verbage" 11/6/2011 0130 EST

"documentation verbage" 11/6/2011 0110 DST

etc.

Specializes in Hospice / Psych / RNAC.

My state doesn't do the fall back and spring forward thing. :twocents:

Specializes in Nursing Home/ Long Term Care for 2 years.

Don't they have military time?

Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

You can always make an entry, "clocks adjusted ..."

Specializes in ICU.
My state doesn't do the fall back and spring forward thing. :twocents:

How does that work? I've always hated the time changes...

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
this is not nearly as complicated as it might seem.

from 0100 (pre-dst switch) to 0300 (post-dst switch) i simply chart as follows:

"documentation verbage" 11/6/2011 0130 est

"documentation verbage" 11/6/2011 0110 dst

etc.

we do the same thing, only it's "11/6/2011 0215 edt" (eastern daylight time) and "0220 est" (eastern standard time.)

Specializes in SICU, MICU, BURN ICU, Trauma, CTICU, CCU.

From 145 "old" time to 3 "old" time - the computer charting system just went down completely. Couldn't chart meds, enter vitals, put in new orders - nothing. Then at 0300 "old time" it came back on and you could only chart starting then, saying it was "0200" "new time".

One of our rooms had a patient that was crashing and burning HARD and the system just crippled everything. Such a mess!

i live in arizona and we dont time change so it's never been an issue for us.

Specializes in Emergency Department.

Move to Arizona and look at threads like this with amusement. :)

How does that work? I've always hated the time changes...
Specializes in Psych, OB-GYN.

The only time I've seen it as a problem is with q15m rounding sheets!! I didn't work this year, but last year, we had to add in extra times over in the side, otherwise, we would have been missing an entire hour of checks.

I hate time change.

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