Hourly rounding signoff sheet

[fungez]

Way back in the day, back when dinosaurs roamed and the earth's crust was still cooling, I was a GN. And back when I was a GN a couple of things were understood. Number one, we were professionals and not customer service reps. And number two, some days every little thing was not going to get done, especially if we were having a busy day or we were short staffed.

I really miss those days.

Now, customer service is paramount over patient care, and management never gets tired of thinking of little, stupid things for us to do. I'm convinced that is because hospitals are so top-heavy in management and they have to think of things to do to keep their jobs, otherwise they'd get bored playing computer solitaire all day. But that's another rant.

Anyway, the latest thing is those @#$%#@ hourly roundoff sheets. Please don't misunderstand me. I check on my patients at least hourly. But forcing me to stop at the door, put my glasses on, root around for my pen, write on a vertically hung piece of paper, shake the pen a couple of times, finish signing the paper, put my pen back, take my glasses off, multiplied x5 patients x12 hours, adds nothing to my patients care and greatly to my general fatigue and aggravation level.

To make it more insulting, these papers do not go into the patient chart. They are thrown away. So I am instructed by a bunch of dingalings to fatigue and aggravate myself for something that will just be thrown away. I don't think so.

GPS chip me. I don't care. Hang a badge reader at each door so I can prove I rounded. That's okay too. But I will only stop what I'm doing to write something down on a piece of paper that will only be thrown away if every manager will agree to stop what he or she is doing every hour to do something equally meaningless. Stand on their heads, sing the Old Macdonald song, whatever. But they have to do it every hour they work.

Anyone agree with me? Or is the consensus is, shut up and sign 'em, there's more important things to worry about?

[NYRN05]

i agree....its a bunch of crap !

[CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN]

Don't you just love it when the hourly rounding sheet is behind the patient's bed in front of the bedside table between the patient's aunt and sister. Feel like playing pen darts anyone?

Thank god I never have yet had a patient's mom or cousin or wife come at me with the darn sheet asking me "where the hell were you?" Perhaps I'll mention that I'd been in the room every so often and I planned on checking off the sheet as I always do toward the end of shift or bury myself in my computer module unwilling to face reality. "Who needs to carry around a pen during rounds these days?," I'll tell my supervisor as she types out my write up speedily on her mac.

[sistasoul]

This just got implemented at my hospital. With all of the charting the same information multiple times and then giving verbal report on the same information how is there time to round on patients hourly. Some days I am lucky if I get in to their rooms twice a shift on an 8 hour shift. This is not too mention the med pass with the scanning system which makes passing meds take that much longer. Have to chart in the computer, on managers report, on handoff reports, and then give verbal report.

I don't know if the people who make these decisions are forner floor nurses or not. Shame on them if they are. I would love to get to my patients room every hour but this is not realistic with all of the confused patients and demanding family members that take up your time.

[traumaQN]

I thought it was only our hospital that did that. We have the 5 P's we have to ask each pt during the rounding, and I have actually had a pt say, "no I don't have to pee" before I ever started the scripting.

[traumaQN]

I'm convinced that is because hospitals are so top-heavy in management and they have to think of things to do to keep their jobs, otherwise they'd get bored playing computer solitaire all day. But that's another rant.

I totally agree.

[Selene006, BSN, LPN]

I feel for you fungez! I work on a long-term/subacute rehab floor housing 30 residents. In between the IV pumps beeping, tube-feeding pumps beeping, family members with their endless list of desires, phone calls (no secretary), endless paperwork, a dozen wound dressings, and CNA's who are always fighting with each other, the last thing I would want to be concerned about is signing my name to a useless piece of paper! But in long term care, we're constantly having to fill out packets of useless papers...Good luck!

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Got you one better. We had to assign points on every patient on the floor to add up to the acuity. Then someone had to take the sheet down 8 floors and to the other end of the building and drop it in a box. After a year or so guess what we found out. NO ONE EVER looked in the box. It was discarded at the end of the week and placed empty ready for Mondays influx. Our hourly checkoffs were at least placed on the back of the room door with a pen on a string...that is if no none stole the pen first.

[NightNurseRN]

I completely agree. What a waste of paper and time. Another thing for family members to gawk at and complain about if they see an empty space. And what happens if there's an empty space at the end of the shift? We fill it in with a made up time. Give me a break.

[casper1]

I agree totally. I have a theory do you think this could be a plot to expand nurses patient load. If I'm expected to round on every patient every hour I could have eight patients,any nurse would agree that would be a a dangerous assignment. Any pateint would have the right to be upset if their nurse was spread so thin. But if I'm required to see each patient hourly my patients may have the illusion that the hospital has enough Nursing staff even if this is not the case. The nurses are killing themselves trying to make it work. Your not allowed to tell the patients your short staffed. You must always say you have plenty of time .

Crisis happens in hospitals, patients conditions change. Bed shortages assure that only the sickest patients are admitted, so for the most part all your patients are unstable. I've had patients that were stable on their current medication regime become unstable, the doctor decide to stop their cardiac drip or taper their lasix of predisone to quickly the patient becomes unstable and I have a crisis on my hands. This usually happens on Nights , after the Day doctors make rash decisions. Stabilizing a patient in crisis takes time, and you might miss rounding, next think you know your in trouble for missing someone, no one seems to care that you stablilized a very ill patient.

We are educated intelligent Nurses who should be allowed to care for our patients as we see fit. I not fond of rounding, but if I have a patient load of 4 or 5 patients I will do it, It is possible that if every one is onboard, their are sufficient techs and nurses to care for the patients and the burden of rounding is a team effort with Nurses and tech that have reasonable patient loads, rounding does facilitate team work. But i'm nervous it can be abused, and lead to more staff burnout.

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

I used to work at a hospital where they matched what time your tracer said you were in the room to what time you signed the hourly round sheet. If the times did not match you were written up.

[fungez]

I used to work at a hospital where they matched what time your tracer said you were in the room to what time you signed the hourly round sheet. If the times did not match you were written up.

Isn't that nice. If tracers were tracking you what's the point of signing the sheet except to make extra, unnecessary work?