Nightly chart checks - last 24 hours only or go through ALL orders?

[Iggy123]

RN's (me included) are confused about this...most nurses just do 24 hr chart checks only for new orders within the last 24 hr time period. Others report that we have to check ALL orders from the beginning of pt's admission and ensure everything is correctly transcribed so that no errors are made. This includes meds, tests, etc basically every doctor's orders. How does it work at your hospital? Just curious to hear what other RN's do...

I thought the point of 24 hr chart checks is that staff are doing them every night so theres no point of having to go through allllll the way back. And it takes a super long time if this is required

[Da_Milk_of_Amnesia, MSN]

When i go my check I go back through out the previous day and check to make sure the meds have been written down appropriately (we use paper MARs right now going to MAK soon) make sure that any blood work is put into the computer and any tests are put in for the morning. Some other places may do it differently that my hospital tho

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Last 24 hours is all that is REQUIRED

[jnrsmommy]

Where I work, we work 4 nights on, 2 nights off. I always check up to the point of the last time I did a chart check on that chart (I'm very anal about the checks), so on my first night back after my nights off, I go back over the past three days.

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

24 hours. We have pts who can be with us for months! If you went back to the admitting orders, you would never finish. Besides - would that be a little redundant? How many times do you need to check that the orders were done.

The last 24 hours to insure nothing was missed should be plenty.

[oramar]

If I was on duty for several days in a row I would go back 24 hours. However, If I was off several days I would TRY to look back a couple of days. I say try because sometimes it is not possible.

[meandragonbrett]

Others report that we have to check ALL orders from the beginning of pt's admission and ensure everything is correctly transcribed so that no errors are made.

Some people you work with are clearly delusional.

[caliotter3]

My boss did this at my facility. She checked the last 24 hours except at the end/beginning of the month. At the monthly changeover, she checked everything thoroughly.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I always look through the previous shift, we do 12 hr chart checks so that everything is verified. we date, time, inital them...then I always go back through again just to make sure, and "try" to look through the previous day if I have the time. sometimes it will help us figure out what else we need to do to help our patients. something may have been ordered two days ago, but not done.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Our policy read 24 hour check or/back to the previous 24 hr check. Sometimes there would be no orders for a week or more at a time and then you'd see multiple nurses' initials all across the bottom of the last order.

[Iggy123]

Sorry forgot to add: I meant to write too that if you know you have been checking all the orders, you dont have to go through ALL the orders every time just the ones you haven't done if youve been off

Say you work 5 days then you are off for 21 days, then the next time you would be working you would check the last 21 days that you werent there...

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Say you work 5 days then you are off for 21 days, then the next time you would be working you would check the last 21 days that you werent there...

Seriously? You would check through 21 days of orders? You would have the time to do this? Is this acute care?