Nurse Visits Organization....Help

[athomemom56]

OK, I do skilled nurse visits. The minimum amount of time I have to spend in a clients home is 30 minutes. Of course this can take longer if there are doctor calls to be made or a wound tx needs to be done etc.

I am usually a pretty organized person by nature. I need some help with this one. How do you organize yourself so you can go in and take care of your client, and be able to leave within 30 minutes, yet give them that special attention so they don't feel like they are just a number.

I have several clients, so I have a 3-ring binder and I have each clients paperwork inside with page dividers separating each one. In the back of the binder, I have plastic jackets...one contains charting info that has to be turned in. Another has info I want to give my nurse manager (stuff that she doesn't have to have right away), and another has stuff I want to bring to the main office on my next visit. In the front of the binder are blank nurse visit notes.

Then I have a separate binder that contains Information on all the different conditions and diseases my clients have (copied them out of my med surge book and off the internet). I carry them in my rolling tote (which I love so much more that a bag!!). Inside my rolling tote I have a little square tote that I keep my steth, bp cuff, thermometer, oximeter in. So, ladies...and gentlemen, how do you organize things? I still find myself taking too much time and I am not sure if its due to not being more organized or talking too much OR just moving too slow. I'd love to hear how you conduct your visits from start to finish would be great.

Barbra

[cookie102]

hi, i can tell you i start my assessment from the time my patient answers the door, looking at their gait, looking around the house etc....we are still on a paper system so i find if i fill out the demographic info on the nurses note before hand, for some reason it cuts my "paper work" time way down,,i chat with my patient first, then do the vitals, i leave the wound care or treatment to the end

getting to know your patient well, makes the visit go smoother as you are in-tune to problems they are having

staying organized is the ticket!!!!!