Unbelievable

We chart everyn 15 minutes as well while the patient is on pitocin....or in labor...

We chart q15min while in 1st stage labour, 5 minutely in 2nd stage and....

We use continuous monitoring while on pit.

Hi all!

I am an LD nurse and I am certified in advandced fetal monitoring by AWHONN so, I have a little knowlege! I am working in this hospital that only charts the fetal heart rate once an hour while the patient is on pitocin! That is unheard of to me! It is my understanding that the guidlines are for q15 minutes. Is it just me or is that crazy?? What do you all do?

Sounds dangerous, especially on pit. I'd look it up or ask!

We chart Q1 hour if the patient isn't in active labor, Q30 mins when they are in active labor (even Pit inductions). Q5 when they start pushing.

I chart more though - that's just our bare min. charting guidelines.

If you listen to Lisa Miller speak, the guidelines say that you have to ASSESS FHR etc. q 30 mins for low risk and q15 mins for high. It says nothing about documentation. Where I get fuzzy in that is how do you prove that you did assess it if you didn't write it down? A question I need to pose to her. We document way too much as it is, and if that can be answered, wow....can you imagine???? We document with PIT q 15 mins.

Glad you have the AWHONN advanced course under your belt. Just an FYI though. It isn't a certification really, its just a course you attend and get credit for. I say this only because I recently hired someone who said she had FM certification and I asked her to bring me a copy of her certification. She had the AWHONN certificate. AWHONN does not certify in fetal monitoring. NCC does as well as Professional Education Center. It just gets a bit confusing on a resume and/or when you say you have a certification. AWHONN's advanced course is a great course (and a hard test). Not raining on anyone's parade....taking any advanced course is a HUGE plus in your career. Continuing ED in EFM is key to safety.

I agree having advanced EFM classes is a plus for anyone. I am taking yet another one next month----having had many over the years. You need to remain current and knowledgeable in this. I also want you to be aware of and follow to the letter, unit/hospital POLICY on labor vital sign/fetal wellbeing charting and frequency. What others do, is clearly wrong. I know of no place where a woman on pitocin or under epidural anesthesia does not have vitals and FHTs charted at least every 15 minutes to 30 minutes, and then every 5 during the 2nd stage, pushing.

The bottom line is you know your policies and procedures and follow them to the letter---and you can exceed expectations if you feel they are not stringent enough. If you fail this, there is no defense for you when you need it.

Good luck.

If you are not following standards for your hospital community and awhonn you are leaving yourself open to be undefendable. check your standards.

Thanks for all your responses!:wink2: