Time Stamping in Standards of Care policies

[Erin Michelle]

Hello! 

I am part of a workgroup that is trying to restructure our standards of care policy across med surg, pcu and ICU. I was asked to reach out to other nurses and ask how you guys time stamp things such as a head to toe, I&os, ect. Do you use qshift, q12 hrs, bid, tid, ect. 

 

Thank you so much in advance for your help and consideration! I appreciate you all so much! 

[JKL33]

Not to be dense but what you are asking might be a bit ambiguous or maybe it just isn't clear what other options you are considering.

Yes, nursing care orders are often q4, q8, etc, etc. Those that are standardized have had appropriate intervals determined in conjunction with medical staff/medical director recommendations based on relevant evidence that informs the decision making. The hospital doesn't get to make these up (or at least they shouldn't, IMO). Other intervals are not standardized and are individualized based on patient condition/need.

Maybe others will understand what you mean by wanting to standardize these across the different departments you mention. By that I assume you do not mean having the same standards for different areas as that seems like it would be hard to do since the condition of the patients in these areas varies very significantly. So that is where it is a bit unclear what you are asking.