Shift change incident--Who's responsibility?

[qestout, ASN, RN]

If your shift ends, but you're staying to do paperwork (overtime) and you need to double check the patient you're charting about--and while you're in the room, the CNA doing cares discovers a skin tear on the other roommate. You look at it, and tell the incoming nurse. Should they say, "You do it, it was reported to you" or do they go assess and chart/do incident report because their shift started?

[IdrilRN, BSN, RN]

I don't know the hard and fast rule on this one but if it was me I would be nice to the person trying to get their work done to get home and take care of it myself.

[agldragonRN]

your shift ended so the incident report must be done by the oncoming nurse.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

If you have already handed off report then it is the responsibility of the oncoming nurse. But if you haven't given report yet then it happened on your shift so the leaving nurse should do it.

[JenniferSews]

Yup, you handed off the patient when you gave report and the keys, so it's the oncoming nurses responsibility.

[Michizzle]

If your shift ends, but you're staying to do paperwork (overtime) and you need to double check the patient you're charting about--and while you're in the room, the CNA doing cares discovers a skin tear on the other roommate. You look at it, and tell the incoming nurse. Should they say, "You do it, it was reported to you" or do they go assess and chart/do incident report because their shift started?

I believe it should be the oncoming shifts responsibility! It is part of nursing to come into work with the last shifts "loose ends" so to speak.

[merlee]

This was not a 'loose end', it was discovered by someone on the next shift. It was AFTER report, so it is the responsibility of the oncoming shift.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

Nursing is 24/7. Whether it happened after or a few SECONDS before report I would ask the oncoming shift to do the incident report. For goodness sakes, I don't know how many times I tied up loose ends, or took on responsibility of something that happened 30 minutes to 1 hr of me coming on to work. If the nurse is nasty about it, I'll just stay over to do it... I'll just go into overtime and explain to the managers that there is no team work and I had to stay over.

[systoly]

Legally, once report is completed, it is the oncoming nurse's responsibility, however, you're still working the floor. To protect yourself, you need to document on it. Personally, if I was in a situation like that and got the same response from the oncoming, I'd call my supervisor with a request for more OT.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Instruct the (incoming?) CNA to report it to the incoming nurse now working with the patient.

Then, before you leave, verify with the nurse that she was notified & will do the followup.

[AngelicDarkness]

Tricky question. For myself, I would chart that it was shown to me, but I would ask the on coming nurse to file the incident report and follow up with the family. I know I'm staying late, but if there is ever a legal issue, I was the one who was shown the wound, so to cover my butt I would chart it. This saves me if it is ever brought up again.

[prettymica, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN, NP]

It depends on who is working behind me. Normally CYA just handle it, because it might not get taken care of and no need for a write up months later down the road.