Report interruption

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After two miserable days in a unit I normally don't work on, I am attempting to give report. In the middle of my report, the newly hired RN starts asking questions. I snapped back, requesting to finish my report before answering questions. The nurse replied to me that she understood and believes everyone does report differently. I just grumbled, finished report, and left it at that. In my past experience, one listened to report until prompted for comments or questions.

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Specializes in Acute Care.

Wow, I guess you would be snapping at me then.

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I do get annoyed when I say the pt is NPO and the oncoming nurse jumps in wanting to know why... I will GET there. (The way our reports are organized on my unit, we give basics about the pt like diet, O2, rhythm, etc before procedures, so that's why it annoys me...)

I don't mind questions in general though, during report. Sometimes if you really have a question about something or the nurse is leaving something out, you might forget to ask by the time report is finished.

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For the most part, most questions I have been interrupted with would have been answered and a question wouldn't have needed to have been asked if I had been allowed to continue with report. Rarely was a question pertinent enough to warrant an interruption.

I'll gladly answer any questions after report, I just don't like to be side-tracked and distracted with questions concering things I just hadn't gotten to yet during my report.

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Specializes in PICU/Peds.

I personally think it is ridiculous to get upset if someone is asking questions during report. If I have a question, its because something is not clear to me and I will ask it right then and there, if I wait and hold my questions to the end, I may forget to clarify something. A new nurse most certainly will have alot of questions, we were all there once, and no one should forget that.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

If you find the interruptions too much, what about just saying at the beginning of report: "I had a hectic shift and it would help me a lot if you would just hold your questions till I get done." ??

Then...you could complete report, they incoming RN could ask questions and everyone would be happy.

Most of my nursing experience is ER where we got NO report - lol...

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I'll chalk it up to having a bad day, since I usually never get upset. As a previous poster stated, most of the questions would have been answered had I been allowed the opportunity to finish.

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Specializes in ICU.

wow. the thing here is to remember that questions usually are to clarify. if pertinent to the system at hand, i'll just answer them......if it's a really wild day and i have to try and focus my thoughts and it's a question i plan on getting to, i'll just say that.....i'm getting there, let me go head to toe or i might forget something. nursing is flexablility at its finest.......and on the up side......you're going home! :smokin:

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I personally think it is ridiculous to get upset if someone is asking questions during report. If I have a question, its because something is not clear to me and I will ask it right then and there, if I wait and hold my questions to the end, I may forget to clarify something. A new nurse most certainly will have alot of questions, we were all there once, and no one should forget that.

It's one thing to interrupt and ask a question about something like a procedure you've never heard about or know very little about or clarifying a specific point. It's another to continually interrupt about things you would have been hearing about during the course of that report. Bear in mind it's also distracting to the one giving report when one is frequently interrupted. Oh, and new nurses aren't always guilty of interrupting with questions that would have been answered.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I feel that report should be an interactive thing. Many times, I asked a question that prompted the off-going nurse to remember something that she forgot to chart or would have left out. The same has happened to me many times as well. After all, we are both there to care for the patient, just one is leaving and the other coming on.

Besides, if the nurse was new, she may feel overwhelmed and you could have just alieninated her and caused her to not ask questions in the future that may be benificial to a patient's well-being.

I know everyone has a bad day, but keep in mind that we should be working together for the benefit of the patient and not inadvertently undermining the confidence of new nurses.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I don't mind being interupted for a question or two. What I do have a problem with is the on-coming nurses having side-conversations while I'm trying to give them report.

I've had them get up to go to the bathroom while I'm talking; open presents from each other (Yep! last night!); I've waited 10 minutes while they print out their assignment list (every other shift gets there a few minutes before the hour to get that printed out BEFORE report!).

These bother me WAY more than questions from a concerned nurse!

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The whole purpose of report is to communicate information about the patient.

Questions are part of communication.

New nurses often have lots of questions.

Nurses have different preferences with report too.

A well done, well communicated report gets my shift off to a good start.

We are all human, and being easily irritated after a difficult shift is to be expected sometimes.

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