How do you give next shift report?

Verbal...and I like verbal report best. :)

We do a written report, but do walking round verbal, which goes very fast. Night writes the report for the day and the next two shifts add on what happens during their shift. During verbal walking rounds you hit the highlights. Works well.

The charge nurse gives the oncoming shift an "overview" of all patients on the unit (who's got drips, scheduled tests, which patients are complete care, etc). The oncoming shift divides up the patients and then each nurse gets a 1:1 report from whoever had their patients on the previous shift. There is a report sheet that contains info for all patients on the unit- diet, activity, IV's, tests, treatments, etc so that if a nurse is off the unit the other nurses have some baseline information about that nurse's patients. Each nurse updates their patients' info prior to report and a copy is given to each of the oncoming nurses.

Hello!! I'm Oliver from Spain.

In my country we give to the next shift a verbal report, and also we have to write a report in each patient folder when we finish the shift. In some units we also use the computer.

I have another question for you guys.

How is a normal day in your shifts? what do you do first? Where I've been working, usually we have to prepare the medication for all the patients first, then we have to cure/dress (I don't know how to say this) all the wouds, IV sistems, to measure blood pressures, differnet nursing activities, etc. then to give out all the medication, and at the end of the shift to write everything (to make a report)

So, What do you do? I'm really scare about to start working in this country and I would like to know if everything here is very different.

Thank you all and I'm sorry for my English.

By!

I'm not working yet but here in our place, the ratio of nurse- patient is 1:20. and well, they don't really have enough time to do the NPI so they just prepare the medicines, check who needs to change IVF's and who has a fever or something like that and then write the NCP.

that's how they do it here. but anyway, they give verbal or oral report.

We give verbal reports. I am charge nurse for 26 residents.

In our Emergency department we just started with bedside report. This gives the outgoing nurse a chance to say good-bye to the patient and also introduce the oncoming nurse to the patient. We initially started this due to complaints of oncoming nurses that the last nurse left things undone, or left the room a mess, ect.... Now that we have changed to bedside report this occurs much less because the 2 nurses during bedside report go over IVs, needed labs, disposition, ect... The biggest advantage to this has been the patient service aspect. Often times the patient is unaware of change of shift and they appreciate the good-byes and introductions.

The nurse who had the patient on nights talks to the nurse who will have them on days - we get the whole scoop unfiltered by a charge nurse. Works well except for those who think they need to give every detail such as IVF flavor and rate...

I give verbal report but there is a note list and then our full report copies in the file in the pt. home. Original are sent to main office.

Angie

I work on a 36 bed telemetry unit and we tape record our reports. I think this method is very inadequate. One tape is played at a time instead of everyone listen to their own on headphones. Purpose behind it is so the charge nurse can listen to the report. Report can take up to 1 1/2 hrs

We tape report, and it works well for us. The oncoming shift listens to the report from 7-7:30, we cover the floor, and then we go home.

If we don't have time to tape (which rarely happens), we'll give a verbal, nurse to nurse report. Either way, we almost always leave on time because of the half hour overlap.

We tend to do all three where I work. It's verbal in the nursery, but if an oncoming nurse is going to be late for some reason, we'll do a written. Out in OB-Gyn, we'll tape report.