breezyRN315

I'm a new grad, 6 months in on a neuro/med/surg/tele floor - however, I did work on the floor as a tech for 3.5 years prior to that so I think that has helped me tremendously. I usually have 4-5 patients but on a bad night can have 6. I struggle with ADD as well, unfortunately. Here are some things I've found have helped me: I show up 30 minutes prior to my shift to gather the "meat and bones" information on my patients before I get report. I read the ED note first (and the most recent MD note if I have time), check out the labs, and imaging results. After I get report, I sit back down and take a minute to write out all my patients med schedule/nursing orders so I can get an idea of how I'm going to prioritize my shift. I know some nurses don't do this and rely solely on EPIC/Pyxis but with my ADD, I like to write all my tasks down so that I can cross them off as I go and continually reassess what my shift is looking like. I would take time to really practice and study neuro assessments, understanding the physiology behind certain deficits. There are so many extremely detailed NIHSS explanations online. I've printed out some at work and reference it regularly. I also use the sticky notes in EPIC for any abnormalities I find during my assessment! Definitely helps me keep my patients straight when I'm charting. Some nights I'm able to read through all the notes and feel very versed in my patients situation and care plan. Other nights, not so much. I'm realizing thats just the way it is in nursing sometimes. It sounds like you're doing everything right so just hang in there!