I work on a tele unit with very ill pts. Here is my question:
Our unit is trying to come up with a way to identify code status of pts without having to find the chart and look for it. This question came up when an aide trained in BLS, went into a room to check vitals and found the pt not breathing. She was unsure of the code status, and was unsure if she should start CPR untill code status was determined. Is there a discreet way to identify pts who are full codes, no codes, etc.? How does your hospital determine the wishes of a pt without having to fumble for the info in the chart when a pt arrests?
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...
We don't use colored arm bands for code status. we have a code status form in the main chart which needs to be addressed by the MD upon admission. This form has a yellow copy in the bottom which goes to the bedside chart once signed. At the beginning of the shift, we look at the code status and write in our report sheet. If MD didn't address the code status right away, we look at the old chart and if the patient is A/O, we clarify it with them and write a note to the MD (there's a note section in the code status form). It is a case to case basis. If the patient is not alert and oriented and has a family, we ask them for advance directives (to find out who's the primary agent), then we ask the primary agent for the code status. If the patient is not A/O and doesn't have a family, we look for conservatorship, then we ask the conservator for the code status. If there's no one available at all and the patient is not A/O, the patient is considered a Full Code.
The last hospital I worked in had little metal placards with a triangle on it that was placed on the door under the room number of a patient's room if they were DNR.
Specializes in Geriatrics, med-surg,ER, urology, Peds.
At our facility we identify pts that no code with a yellow armband. We do our charting electronically so all our informtion is on the computer. The pts DRN status is identified when the pt. is admitted . As soon as the the DRN order has been written the arm band is placed on the pt.
David's Harp
137 Posts
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