I know that paper charting has become almost obsolete these days, but I work in extended care at a home care agency. We use a flow sheet for charting and it is all handwritten. I used to put lines in anything that wasn't assessed or needed when charting. There are specific items that are assessed hourly and things that would be charted should something occur in that time frame. Plus there is a nurse note area for abnormal findings. During external audits this has not been an issue but now they want N/A put in every box not used.
I think this makes the flow sheet difficult to read.
Is there specific rules somewhere that says N/A should be used?
I would think if a line can be put through half a page of unused lined paper after a nurses note or doctors note that it would be okay to Pu a line through a box that is not used on a flow sheet.
Another question I have is. When using a flow sheet that covers all aspects of cares, is it necessary to write a full chronological narration of the entire shift?
I have been a nurse for 8 years and I still struggle with writing narratives and would like to decrease the amount that I have to write.
