Starting in ICU - Need Advice

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 28, 2015

You can use one of the many brains floating around here as a template which you can modify to suit your needs. That is what I did as a new nurse.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 28, 2015

Hey fellow RNs, I just passed my NCLEX and I will be starting my new career in the ICU. I am both afraid and excited. I just wanted a little bit of help from you. My first request is a good report template for ICU or some people call it a brain. I have tried looking but really can't find good ones that people use. I would greatly appreciate it.
Also one other thing, I was not really taught a lot about charting during school and I wanted advice on that as well. How often should I chart? What should I chart? Please help with both of these. Thank you.

I'd advise against settling on a "brain" before you start your job. There may be a particular format that your new colleagues use because it works best with their workflow or because some tool of an intensivist requires it. (Oh yes, it happens.) Ask your preceptor early on what works for them and why. If you find a lack of consensus on their unit, feel free to adapt one of the sheets floating around here.

ParvulusPuella · Jun 28, 2015

Charting and frequency of charting will be something you learn on the job. It's not standardized between units or hospitals.

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Jun 29, 2015

Have you spent time on your unit? It's possible that the nurses already have a system in place. Many units that I've been on have blank report sheets available to all nurses at start of shift so that everybody is on the same page during report (and so that nothing crucially important is missed). On my current unit, our sheets even include a 2400 hour timeline so that you can write your schedule directly into it.

Charting will depend on your unit policy as well as provider orders--your preceptor should definitely be able to give you a sense for what needs to be charted and when. In addition to charting regularly scheduled assessments, ALWAYS chart if you did something (procedures, skills, ADLs, tests, even teaching)--if you didn't chart it, it didn't happen.