Tech to tech hand off !!

ExpatHopeful, LPN, LVN · Mar 24, 2010

Hey there,

I don't know that my answer will help since at the time I working in the UK, not NY, but when I was a CNA on a med-surg floor we sort of did nurse-CNA hand off and CNA-CNA hand off.

How it worked on my floor is that all the RNs and CNAs about to begin their shift were met by the charge nurse/supervisor for the previous shift. The charge nurse did a quick run down of all the patients on the floor (name, age, MD, reason for admission, op, current condition, drains, IVs etc). That way we all had general sense of how busy the unit was and what state everyone was in. From this the CNAs knew who needed extra help because of stroke, recent op, fracture, etc. The charge nurse might also give a specific comment to the CNAs about something that needed doing that shift, check on stock, extra help for someone. We then broke up for the RNs to get detailed hand off on their assigned patients. The CNAs would quickly check in with the CNAs just ending their shift to see if there was anything to hand over, although a lot of times there wasn't.

I found it very helpful as CNA at the time to get a sense of how many patients needed extra help and with what and which RNs would need my help too. That way I could be more proactive in checking in on these patients before they had to ring the call bell. Not to mention that way I knew who was NPO and shouldn't have water, or who was going home that day and didn't need their linen changed. Also, it really made me feel like part of the team and more valued by my colleagues. There were a couple of months under a different manager when CNAs were not invited to hand off and it made me feel like I was not part of the team and didn't need to know anything, which wasn't true.