I forgot to give report!

[nursejohio, ASN, RN]

I took boards in April, and I started on my unit in June. I got off orientation in Sept. I think I'm doing ok for the most part, still really stressed about almost everything though. About a month ago, I forgot to chart my third assessment and got a note about that from an audit. Wednesday was the absolute worst day (horrible families, 3 CIWAs) and as I'm driving home I remembered a couple things I'd forgotten to chart. Yesterday I took over for one of the old school nurses (she's one of the "eat their young" nurses we hear about) and started feeling a little bit better about my charting cause she hadn't charted her 11am assessment. The rest of my shift wasn't bad, had all my meds done on time and my charting done by 7. Gave report, came home, no problem. I woke up this morning, and was thinking about last night. I talked to the nurse getting one of my patients, told her I'd give her a minute to look over everything and I'd come back and give report. I talked to my PCTs for a minute, and the nurse getting 2 of my other patients told me she was ready. I went around the corner and gave report on them. I had to tube an order for one of them down to pharmacy, so I was gonna do it on my way out. I went to the locker room, got my coat, tubed my order down and left.:uhoh21:

I can't believe I forgot to report off on 2 patients! I know that in the grand scheme of things there are worse things to do, but I still feel horrible! The patients were both stable, one is probably going home today. All the orders and meds were done and current and there really wouldn't have been much to say for either of them.

I've already changed my brains so I've got a box to check after I give report so it doesn't happen again. Anybody else have ideas on how I can make sure I don't forget to do things?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

OK, on each of my kardexes, I have the Pt's name and room number. When I'm finished charting, I circle the room number in black ink. When I'm finished with 24 hour chart checks, I circle it in red ink. When I've given report, I XXX over it, so I know I'm done with that patient.

If I have to do something unplanned at the end of the shift, I HIGHLIGHT it so as to make sure I don't forget it.

But I think we've all given report over the cell phone on the way home, or some version thereof.

Hope that helps!

[miphillli]

RELAX you are so stressed you are forgetting things...you will notice that you will forget much less as you become more relaxed,your check box idea is a good one.Good luck.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

I think you have the right idea as far as using your report sheet as a tool to remember to do things before you go home. What I did with my report sheet was place a big slash across the box of each patient as I gave report (my sheet was organized as a bunch of cells on the left and right side of the paper). If there was something I wanted to stick out on the page I would circle it in red ink (always carried a tri-color pen) several times so it kind of stuck out at me. When I completed that thing--another slash went through it. Always double check your brains just before you clock out or leave the unit (along with your pockets). I'm sure that anyone looking at my brains just before I left work thought it looked like a bunch of scribbles, however, every mark on it meant something to me. The more you can write down, the less you have to remember, but you do have to remember to check what you've written down periodically! Two of the biggest thrills you can have are (1) not losing your pen and using the same one day after day, and (2) having that pen run out of ink on you! :w00t:

[Larry77, RN]

I put all my pt info in squares for the shift (brain sheet) then after I report off I put a big "x" over the square that way the only time I know I'm done is all my boxes are "x" out.

[AtlantaRN, RN]

it happens, I always post my cell and home number in case anyone has a question...i know they taught us in school never to keep report sheets, but I do, it goes home in my bag, then the next time I work, gets put in the shredded...sort of a cheat sheet in case I get a call and have forgotten to give report LOL (it happens) and i've been a nurse 10 yrs

linda

[sjrn85]

It happens to everyone at one time or another. Don't let it discourage you.

But please, retire the "older nurse eats her young" expression. You ad a bad experience with an unpleasant nurse, and nurses of all ages/experience levels can be this way. As an "older" nurse, I can't tell you how this offends me, and it automatically makes me a little less sympathetic to the poster, because I feel like the person who uses that expression has some issues, too.

[HyperRNRachel]

OK, on each of my kardexes, I have the Pt's name and room number. When I'm finished charting, I circle the room number in black ink. When I'm finished with 24 hour chart checks, I circle it in red ink. When I've given report, I XXX over it, so I know I'm done with that patient.

If I have to do something unplanned at the end of the shift, I HIGHLIGHT it so as to make sure I don't forget it.

But I think we've all given report over the cell phone on the way home, or some version thereof.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the tips. I had started making myself notes with different colored pens but I thought I was being too anal, now I know I can keep my various pens and at the same time improve my time management skills! Great tip.

Thanks-

Rachel

[control]

i've done this once before. it happens. good thing you remembered eventually and called back or returned.

i never was fully aware of the "mental check" i used to do as i was walking out of the hospital until the day i realized i forgot to give report. if i'd been on my way home and had to come back i would have been pissed. :)

[bluesky, BSN, RN]

It happens to everyone at one time or another. Don't let it discourage you.

But please, retire the "older nurse eats her young" expression. You ad a bad experience with an unpleasant nurse, and nurses of all ages/experience levels can be this way. As an "older" nurse, I can't tell you how this offends me, and it automatically makes me a little less sympathetic to the poster, because I feel like the person who uses that expression has some issues, too.

Sorry but the expression is there for a reason. The reason is that there is an unfortunate practice among older, bitter, mean-spirited nurses of treating new people poorly. Now fortunately only a minority exhibit this behavior, but it is prevalent enough, and confirmed and reconfirmed by so many nurses, that you just can't deny the existence of the phenomenon. Besides, if you're not an abussive nurse, then you're not the one being described, so why do you care?

[sjrn85]

I care because it perpetuates a stereotype that is just not true, and I am sick of seeing "older" nurses take it on the chin repeatedly. So much focus is put on a few bad apples. A while ago, I dared a particular new nurse here to start a thread about positive experiences with preceptors. Guess what happened...it died quickly. It's so much easier to complain and villify.

I have had some really unpleasant encounters with new nurses (as have several of my "older" colleagues), yet you don't see us running around hollering about how "new nurses like to eat old nurses." Believe me, I have seen my share of arrogant newbies.

People thought for centuries that the earth was flat, and they felt they had ample reason to believe it. They also thought the sun revolved around the earth, too.

I'm not denying that hazing exists, but the way you'd read the boards here, there are few nice "older" nurses. That is simply untrue, and right now calling people on promoting a hurtful stereotype is my "raison d' etre." Think of how it affects students/potential students...they're getting the message that "older nurses = mean-spirited, bitter nurses" who will have it in for them.

Mean people eat mean people, plain and simple. Being mean is not specific to one age group.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

I keep my report sheets for a month. You never know.