Hourly rounding logs

[afteralltheseyears]

Is anyone utilizing the practice of hourly rounding to assess the 4 Ps (position, pain, personal needs and potty) and if so do you have a log up in the room for staff to document it? This practice has been found by research to decrease falls, calllights and improve patient satisfaction. How is it working in your facility?

[MelissaLPN, ASN, LPN, RN]

I would think that would be effective only if the staff/pt ratio would allow for that. Otherwise you simply have another box that a nurse/cna must fill in, to "prove" good care. I am sure the study was based on ratio's that would allow for hourly rounding to occur. I know if this were put in place at my facility it would be another thing to sign but in reality it just puts more blame on the nurse. It doesn't force the facility to make this possible. It would turn into a legal high ground for your facility to insist you must perform a task for which it is impossible. This is the essence of long term care.

[jones.rn]

At my facility each nurse and tech must sign up for an hour that you will go to each patient on the floor, check on them, and see if they need anything. in theory we are even supposed to provide pain meds if the patients nurse is busy. However when you have seven to eight patients on day shift, this seems impossible to do some days. It's all about HCAHPS.

[canigraduate]

To be honest, they're just another piece of paper to sign at the end of shift.

[ParvulusPuella]

We do it. We have electronic charting, and the care tech is supposed to check off on even hours, and the RN the odd hours. I hate that we have to chart it, because it's one more thing to chart, and with vitals q 4 hours and meds and dressing changes and assessments, we are definitly in the rooms at least once every hour. I would love for someone to invent a sensor for the door, that would pick up on a chip on our ID badges, so that every time we walked through the door it would log who was going in and at what time. Then we could just print out the log for each patients' room each day and stick it in the chart.

[caliotter3]

At my facilities these papers would be signed all at once at the beginning or end of the shift, or better yet, once a week after being prodded by someone to do so.

[Flo., BSN, RN]

My facility uses hourly rounding but I have never seen any one actually hourly round. Staffing just does not allow for it. Upper management keeps adding documentation and nursing responsibilities without changing the ratios. Actually they have changed them for the worse. Everyone at my job is just getting so burned out, I see a strike coming.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

I believe in hourly rounding. I really do believe that in the end it saves time. But I'm firmly against rounding check sheets.

We used to have sheets on the doors. When I demonstrated it slowed me down:

Usually walk out of room. Grab some foam. Rub foam in as a I walk to next room.

With door sheet, walk out of room. Grab some foam. Have to rub it in before I put hand in pocket to get pen. Sign sheet. Pen back in pocket. Walk to next room. Multiply added time by x patients and x hours. What would management like me to cut so that I have time to sign the sheet? Not to mention the time putting the sheets on the doors. The time that techs spend on it. Etc, etc.

Anyway, we're told to do it, and really, we already were doing it. But we managed to get rid of sheets. A rare success against hospital management stupidity!!

[nurseaig, ASN, BSN, MSN, NP]

We have rounding at my hospital and I hate it. With 10 patients I find it impossible to do.

[workingspaz]

lots of great points on all previous posters!( pro and con)

saved my behind last night, though.

[CompleteUnknown]

I believe in hourly rounding. I really do believe that in the end it saves time. But I'm firmly against rounding check sheets.

We used to have sheets on the doors. When I demonstrated it slowed me down:

Usually walk out of room. Grab some foam. Rub foam in as a I walk to next room.

With door sheet, walk out of room. Grab some foam. Have to rub it in before I put hand in pocket to get pen. Sign sheet. Pen back in pocket. Walk to next room. Multiply added time by x patients and x hours. What would management like me to cut so that I have time to sign the sheet? Not to mention the time putting the sheets on the doors. The time that techs spend on it. Etc, etc.

Anyway, we're told to do it, and really, we already were doing it. But we managed to get rid of sheets. A rare success against hospital management stupidity!!

Good for you! A rare victory indeed.

Totally agree that hourly rounding is a great idea and something that good nurses have always done.

[ayla2004, ASN, RN]

We have rounding at my hospital and I hate it. With 10 patients I find it impossible to do.

ive 8-12 and often its a paper exercise.