Top Tips

What are some of your top tips, you know, those little nuggets of information that we all LOVE? :redbeathe Tips on how to get the job done, right, better faster? Let me have it!

Whaaaaa????

Know your residents.

experience!

Tips on how to get the job done, right, better faster?

Let the phone be your friend. If it's a new admit, call the discharging facility about certain pieces of info about the patients. Tell them to fax it. I heard once nurse verifying info over the phone like allergy information, components of medical history. It was my life saver.

Faster? Management will love you if you finish your work on time, always accept assignment without complaints. If you get into overtime always, management won't be happy with you cos they have a budget and you'd be messing with it. In orther words, be the super man/woman who does not ask for help but rather able to help other nurses. Now this one is magic cos your fellow nurses will LOVE you. You will start to hate the lazy ones though :)

Talk with other nurses who do it better and finish on time. Eliminate chit-chats. Now I learn this from a Pulmonogist while she was writing orders. She said to me, "I'd like to talk with you, be friends, etc. but I have to get to three other hospitals, finish my work and get home to spend some time with my little daughter. So I have to stop smiling so people won't bother me unnecessarily". When you send that kind of message across by your actions, people will bother with stuff only when it's very important, and you will be able to work faster :)

Have IVF hung behind before the 1st bag runs out.

Pre-prime your tubing if running continuous amiodarone.

When passing meds like IV antibiotics, NGT and heparin flush, start from clean to dirty (IVPB, flush, then NGT meds).

Organize your time at the top of each hour in order to include everything that may need to be completed, meds accucheck, turn, oral care.

Ask your patient if they have pain before you enter the room for an assessment. This way you can bring the med in and not have to go back and forth as often.

If your patient has an "almost hypoglycemic" FSBS (between 70 and 80), give them apple juice instead of making them feel like crap for the next 24 hours with an amp of D50.

Be prepared.

Be flexible.

Know that everything will not go the way you thought it would.

And have a good attitude.

LTC tips.

Remember why you are there. Yes it is about the pay check or we wouldn't work at all, BUT...you are taking care of someone that needs long term care. No one wakes up and says one morning "I want to go live in an institution that tells me when to wake up, what to eat, when I can go to the bathroom."

Be organized but be flexible.

Respect works both ways. Know your CNAs and listen to them.

Be prepared. Stock your carts before the shift.

Delegate and learn how to delegate. This is an art form that isn't taught in school.

There are tons more of these ideas in the other threads.

1- keep your NGT/DHTs in!! dont be afraid to use mitts, it takes less time and less pain/anguish for the pt than having another tube dropped. i am obsessed with keeping my tubes in, it takes forever to get a DHT down and most of the time they end up needing it under fluro..sigh

2-help the other shifts, we have to double-sign orders and i always help the offgoing shift to make sure they've signed everything they're supposed to, they are exhausted! i always ask the oncoming shift to do the same for me, "take a glance & make sure i've signed everything please" they are happy to do so and that way we double-check each other. we catch things like meds we gave but forgot to sign off on, lab results, etc.

3-dont be afraid to ask for double-checks if you feel you need one. i was having a crazy busy night and someone climbing out of restraints, someone else on the call light every 5 secs, family members who wouldnt leave me alone and trying to dose calculate synthroid. went to another RN who wasnt so busy, asked for a double-check of my numbers. they were impressed that i would do so but i care more about my pts than my ego.

4-label your IV pumps! i use triples most of the time and i utilized the smart feature with my drips and then i put a sticker above that one that says in big letters "Heparin" and then i put my IVF in the middle one with a label on it and then my other drip in the last one with a label. i also label my IV lines near the patient so if they crash we can take off the ones we dont care about and they just have NS or whatever their IVF is going.

Have fun. Go for 100%, but dance if you can get 90%.

Thanks guys! Lovin' this stuff!

I have been in LTC for Years and years- the best advice I can give you is- treat each and everyone of the residents like your grandparent. because, they are someones grandma, or grandpa, or aunt or uncle. The needy PIA resident is someones mom- before that, someones love.. they are old, but havent been old forever....