How does your facility give report?

[2monkeys]

We are searching for the best way to give report. There are changes that are occasionally missed. We are a small rural hospital with about 30 med/surg beds, and our average census is about 18. Our report takes about 30 minutes but can be longer. I read somewhere about "silent report" where the nurses read the patient charts and then ask questions before the next shift leaves. Has anyone tried that and how did it work?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

We have a written report and we use a form that we made up for it. Saves a lot of time.

The only drawback is that I don't get a heads-up on important things like knowing who has blood infusing or other drips that I would want to check first thing.

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

WOW, I actually just wrote up a proposal for a meeting tomorrow on how we can make our reports more efficient!

I work in a assisted living facilty with 160 residents on our dependant side (the independant has just as many but we nurses do not attend those folks). We have a Nurse's 24 hour communication notebook that we nurses write all the shifts events down in and have the next nurse read...yep, lots of redundant writing..but it seems to work well.

However, there are many things that can happen right before end of shift that you haven't had the time to write down or are in progress...but that next shift nurse is already attending things for their shift and hard to track down and give verbal report. Then of course you have my swing replacement who is always 10-15 minutes late for shift!

I proposed to do what our caregivers do before they end their shifts. You see, my caregivers come in 15 minutes early (which is allowed) to get verbal and read the written report (they also have 24 hour communication books too). This has been great for them, horrid for us nurses who start their shifts on time..and by that time the caregivers are already calling us for help (so report is always interrupted or delayed).

I proposed we do the same thing, but actually block out 15 minutes before shift for verbal report that is uninterruped unless there is a life theatening emergency. We can call it...Change of shift report for all extensive purposes (and all those familys calling to check in on grandma during our change of shift).

So basically, 15 minutes before shift nurses will be considered off floor duty to get report and read the 24 hour communication book, then will announce when they are on floor duty on our walkie system. I have always worked in places where nurse's actually had formal change of shift reports with verbal (one place taped it on a recorder for next shift)...so I think that asking for some time for the Nurses to give a verbal report isn't much to ask for! Plus, with all the charting one does in a shift, sometimes the written report is too short, and a little addition in person really helps especially if there is a question!

[2monkeys]

currently we tape report and then the nurses coming off duty wait until we are done to asnswer lights and allow for questions. but we also have too much extraneous info in the reports, like aaox3, skin pink warm and dry, etc. what i am looking for is sort of a "template". we have tried many things before, i want them to tell about the diagnosis and conditions relating to it, and any new diagnosis since admission. report by exception. we have a little trouble with this because some nurses want to know lung sounds even if they are clear, they are afriad the other nurse forgot to report it. the charge nurse is supposed to come in 15 minutes early and setup the assignments and kardexes etc. that rarely happens. i am going to enforce it at our next staff meeting. thanks for your reply!undefined