Hourly Rounding

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Our unit (ED) is implementing hourly rounding this week; all staff has been educated in the past few weeks, but there's a lot of resistance. The research presented to us sounded great, but there's not a great staff buy-in yet......Those of you who are doing who have already implemented rounding, what differences are you seeing? Is it working for you? How did you get staff to do it? And how long until everyone is on the same page?

Specializes in Peds Oncology, Public Health, Peds Emerg.

I've worked in two different major pediatric hospitals, both in Oncology and Emerg. Two different cities. We always checked our kids a minimum of q1h, no matter what. Now, these were kids, and they can change quickly. But, can't adults also?

I'm going back to work after a few years/mat leaves, starting in an "adult" Emerg next week (AAGH!!). I'm not sure what their policy is yet, but the thought of only checking people every few hours kind of freaks me out... I guess this is the real world of adult Emerg?

Specializes in ICU.

Sorry, but I think hourly rounding should be mandatory. I work on an extremely busy ward and I round every hour. It doesn't mean I have to do anything to check to make sure my patients are still breathing. Many a time the only way we have caught a patient from coding, in severe pain, IV's going interstitial, a confused patient climbing out of bed was by rounding.

I can't imagine not seeing a patient for 3 hours and then finding they have been dead on the floor for the last two. At minimum, you should be thinking about your licence.

Sorry, but I think hourly rounding should be mandatory. I work on an extremely busy ward and I round every hour. It doesn't mean I have to do anything to check to make sure my patients are still breathing. Many a time the only way we have caught a patient from coding, in severe pain, IV's going interstitial, a confused patient climbing out of bed was by rounding.

I can't imagine not seeing a patient for 3 hours and then finding they have been dead on the floor for the last two. At minimum, you should be thinking about your licence.

They may be mandatory, but if nurse is too busy, she'll initial another BS piece of paper without doing it, because you can't leave the patient who is about to code and do your "mandatory" rounding, smiling around, getting Kleenexes and sodas for family members and polishing your therapeutic communications skills with other patients. Rounds are done without being mandatory, when staffing and patient acuity allow for it. It won't be done even if mandatory if you have more critical things in hand.

I've been working on the same surgical unit for over 11 years. Often 6, 7 or 8 pts each. We have always had hourly rounds. Chances are I'm so busy running around that I see most of them every hour anyway even if it's just a for a moment. If I'm in a ward and doing something for 2 of my patients I can see what the other 2 are up to. And if I have a quiet pt in another room, I just make a quick visit. I've never done it any other way so I guess I didn't know better. You'll get used to it.

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