How Does Your Facility Identify Code Status?

Color of arm band is yellow for DNR...white for Full Code. Yellow tape on outside of chart, on cardex and MAR for DNR. This is the protocol through out the hospital so all personnel know it; nursing, lab, xray, nutrition, etc. Hope that helps.

We have a list printed and posted at the nurses station daily, however it does not always help because of the high turn over. What I do is get my pts code status from outgoing nurses. I also read the chart and tell my aids when giving report. Whenever my pts are going for a procedure I let the techs know their code status.

We identify by their ID bracelets. We use red stickers for DNR's, yellow for chemical or limited codes and green for full codes. Don't have to worry about the stickers coming off as we have a clear plastic film with adhesive that goes over the entire band. Also, stickers are put on their charts.

We are anal about changing the bracelets if their code status changes.

My facility also has pts wear blue bracelets for DNR and a list at the nurses station

Purple arm band for DNR.

Problem came up a few months ago with all these colored plastic bands that people are wearing (like the yellow "livestrong" band). Patient had a purple one on similar to our purple. I told him that he might not want to wear that while hospitalized because in an emergency situation someone might not look closely and just see purple and not do CPR. He laughed and quickly removed it!

Hi there, I work in a smaller rural hospital in ICU. We have 8 beds as well as 18 teles that we monitor that are on the medical surgical floor. DNR status tracings on the monitor are red and full codes are green. That way when someone goes funny on the monitor, we can tell by the color without needing a chart. Our system allows for several different rhythm colors. DNR's on all floors wear blue bracelets as well as have the bright orange state forms in the front of the chart. Good Luck finding something that works! ~Ivanna

Thanks for your replies. I will run them by my unit mgr.

Amy

Our patients wear purple bracelets, there is a purple dot on the door and chart as well.

My fear would be that some people aren't quick enough to change the arm band if someone changes their mind. I've had families change their mind 1-2 minutes into the arrest (of course we are there when that happens). But I worry that a change has occured and isnt' reflected right away.

For me, in the ICU, code status is passed on in report is on the Kardex, and we also have a sheet in the front of the chart.

I work on a Med-Surg/Telemetry unit and we currently use a black and white striped arm band for DNR or DNR-CC.

Hi, newbie nurse here. Our floor is tele, and our institution uses blue bracelets to indicate DNR status. However, I haven't heard code status featured in report unless there's some discrepancy somewhere, and I've been bothered by this. I have made it a point to fish it out of the chart, and from now on I'll be putting it in my reports no matter what the status is. Should be right in there with pt's age, gender, admitting Dx, etc. I may be completely new to this profession, but this strikes me as being a matter in which there should be no ambiguity at all, especially on an acute cardiology floor.

On a related note, I sure hope the bracelet system becomes uniform at some point. I can't imagine being a travel nurse, for instance, and having to learn a new damn color scheme with every change of institution...

-Kevin