Do your LNAs/CNAs do walking rounds?

[DorothyAnn0403]

I posted this in the LNA forum too, i'm working with my supervisor for the best way to do walking rounds on 11-7 with the previous and oncoming shifts.

I would like to know if your LNAs do walking rounds at all at the start and end of your shifts, and if so, how you go about doing it. What do they ask/tell the other shift? How's it seem to run, due to overnights having less people than all the other shifts. Do they hunt down all of the LNA's that have their people?

Our shift seems to keep getting into trouble for things we didn't do, so we're really trying to keep on top of everything. We have 1 LNA to 16 residents, so it's hard to see every bit of everything in every room.

Any advice, ideas, or tips would be great!

Thank you so much!

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

The CNA's (assumes its comparable to your LNA's) do walking rounds on each shift. For the exact reason you stated. One shift blaming the previous shift for things they say are wrong. (rooms left a mess, briefs in the garbage pails, residents are soaked etc)

Each off going CNA walks with the oncomong CNA that is going to take over the patients. They are supposed to be checking garbage pails, make sure rooms are neat and tidy, pts are not soaked things like this. As they do their walking rounds the offgoing CNA also gives report to the oncoming one.

A few days ago a nurse from the shift that follows ours was complaning to us that her CNA's were complaining about things they say our CNA's did/didn't do.

Our response to her was that whole reason for walking rounds is to make sure that the offgoing CNA did what they were supposed to do and that if the oncoming CNA didn't like what was seen etc, THAT was the time to bring it up, not hours later. If you do walking rounds and accept the assignment you cannot complain about it later. Didn't her oncoming CNA check the garbage pail to make sure it was empty? Oh no? Well then too bad for her, thats why we have them do walking rounds.

The complaining stopped. And the oncoming CNA's now verbalize what they found wrong with their pts and the rooms and the offgoing CNA now fixes said problems.

[NurseExec]

My CNAs also do walking rounds, for the same reasons. They have the opportunity to correct any issues with each other rather than doing the whole complaining thing. Works pretty well :)

[BinkieRN, BSN, RN]

No, ours don't but I think it's an outstanding idea for all of the above reasons

[medsurgrnco, BSN, RN]

I think walking rounds for CNA's is a good idea. In one hospital where I worked, the charge nurse had to go around to all the pt rooms with the off-going CNAs to check to make sure everything was in order. The CNAs felt very insulted by this!

[CNA_Timmy]

Where I work we are split into teams. At the start of each shift the new team meets with the leaving team and do walking rounds, new nurse, leaving nurse, new aide, leaving aide. It is working out well, except when there is an overlap where the teams are adjusted due to census at the end of a shift, and all of a sudden you have to add on another nurse and aide to a room... lol small rooms with six people can get very crowded.