RNs entering all their own orders - no unit clerks?

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Feb 10, 2006

Heh, where have you been working? Happens all the time.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Feb 10, 2006

The nine years I worked med/surg/telemetry I only worked 1.5 years on a unit that had a night shift secretary/unit clerk. Everywhere else I worked until then I was an expert at order entry. I actually missed the control of knowing for sure those orders were ordered instead of trusting some number written by the secretary (I didn't even have a computer access code there). At the other places there would occasionally be a "float" secretary for the whole hospital that could come help if your unit got hit with several admits. Now that I work NICU the nurses have nothing to do with order entry other than what needs to be changed on the KARDEX.

zacarias, ASN, RN · Feb 10, 2006

It is fairly common. I worked for a while at a place that had no charge or unit secretary at night. We entered our own orders.

Now where I work the charge enters orders on new admits at night. If a doctor calls, however, and orders some tests or something on a patient, I will put the orders in, why bother the charge for that?

I think whether you have a unit secretary or not, it's a good skill to have entering orders.

KatieBell · Feb 10, 2006

Where I am now, there is never a unit secretary anywhere, the nurses do it. I agree it is a good skill to have, and it often saves mistakes and extra steps. However, I will be glad when this contract ends...but for different reasons.

allnurses Guide · Feb 10, 2006

Our ward clerks leave at 7 p.m. so night shift does their own orders.

steph

Town & Country · Feb 10, 2006

Okay.

I'd just never worked where there wasn't a Unit Secretary who floated at night.

Guess it's not all that uncommon.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Feb 10, 2006

Common practice. We lose our unit clerk after 11PM unless census is low then we may lose her at 7PM or 3PM depending. Ive even worked when there was low enough census for us to not have one during the day and the ONE in house was being floated as needed between floors. I hate when that happens.

Zee_RN, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2006

20-bed Intensive Care Unit. We have a secretary until 6:30 p.m. Many of us enter our own orders anyway; it's a huge unit (physically) and the unit secretary is just too far away and your chart is out of your reach for too long. Plus, by entering my own orders, I have a much better grip on what's going on! If I get an admission, I do give it to the secretary to assemble the chart and enter the admission orders (if we have a secretary at that time); otherwise, I do it myself.

HappyNurse2005, RN · Feb 11, 2006

I am on a Cardiac Surgery PCU, but we also get general cardiac patients. All on telemetry. I am dayshift.

It's quite busy-if we had to enter our own orders, they'd never get done. NO way. WE have a secretary and a monitor tech to watch the telemetry.

On nights, there is occasionally a monitor tech and secretary. Sometimes one peson does both jobs. (they are crosstrained)

We'd have to have a census of like, 5 patients to have no secretary!

HappyNurse2005, RN · Feb 11, 2006

I do know how to enter most orders for myself, though.

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Feb 11, 2006

Our docs usually generate the orders on the computer, as soon as they are entered, they can be read in the Order Processing Center and the Pharmacy. After they have been entered, an ancillary will print up for us. Any handwritten ones must be faxed to both those places. We frequently enter our own Stat orders, as we don't have a Unit Secretary.