What happens when you forget to do things????

[lilypad2424]

It was one of those shifts yesterday.......

I swear, I keep remembering things I forgot to do I'm sure my flow sheets have holes all over them, and I forgot to write a verbal order from a doc in the chart! AAAAHHH. I did write it in the MAR, and pass it on to the night nurse, but did not put it in the chart.

I am 2 months in, and yesterday was by far, the most stressful shift I have worked. Now I will spend the rest of the weekend worrying about what I missed.

Can anyone ease my anxiety?

[Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

It's not uncommon to miss things at work and suddenly remember them as you're driving home or trying to go to sleep. It happens to everyone.

I'd suggest that when you are too busy to chart as you go, keep a 'cheat sheet' of times and what you did, so you can go back when you have a second and chart them. Try your best to chart as you go which will help you with time management, especially if you work on the floor. As far as not writing a doctor's verbal order, when you phone the doctor, you should have the chart with you to write it down, verify by reading it back to the doctor and sign. Always do this. Otherwise, it may come back to haunt you or be reported for "practicing medicine" if you administered a medication without an order recorded from the doc.

It may be different at your hospital and you should check your policies, but when I worked the floor, nurses could not take verbal orders from a doctor if they were present on the floor. They had to write it him/herself. It covers the nurse from any misunderstanding that may occur later.

It'll get easier, just stick with it!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Post has been moved to the General Nursing Discussion forum.

[Cat_RN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Keep a memo pad with you at all times. I am constantly jotting things down and crossing them off when I complete the task. It's the only way I can remember! Write everything down! Before I go home, I look at it one more time to make sure I've done everything on the list or passed off what I cannot do myself.

Also, post it's are very handy! I have 3 or 4 pads lying around my nurse's station and med cart just in case I need an extra reminder

[MMA-N-Nursing]

To me its not a biggie. I just call the and let my coworker/nextshift nurse know "OH I forgot to do this so when I come back to work I'll finish it" (that is unless forgeting to CHART NEW ORDERS IN MAR's [carrying out] may cause harm to patients such as d/c med or change of dosage.)

I get scratch paper and write down things and post it on my MAR then throw it away after my shift