Worst information given in shift report!!!

All of that information can be found on the chart. It just drives me nuts when report drones on and on because we are giving I&O, IV credits, BMs, etc. If there is something abnormal about that information, fine, tell us in report...otherwise, if we need to know, we can look it up.

All of that information can be found on the chart. It just drives me nuts when report drones on and on because we are giving I&O, IV credits, BMs, etc. If there is something abnormal about that information, fine, tell us in report...otherwise, if we need to know, we can look it up.

Yup, in a perfect world, but alot of times, this stuff isn't even charted.

What has been some of the worst information you've ever been given during shift report on your patients? Don't you just hate hearing "i don't know" or "i'm not really sure" when it comes to essential information like last BM, last BS on a diabetic patient or I & O's (especially on surgical patients)?

My pet peeve about report in LTC is the nurse who just says "everybody's fine" and expects that to work.

All of that information can be found on the chart. It just drives me nuts when report drones on and on because we are giving I&O, IV credits, BMs, etc. If there is something abnormal about that information, fine, tell us in report...otherwise, if we need to know, we can look it up.

I agree here, 100% - and then some. ALL of this information better be charted, or there is a huge problem on the unit in general. All I need is a brief history of the current problem, recent changes/treatments, any known plans for the immediate future. I don't expect people to have the chart memorized. It's my job to do my own research.

LOL yes everyone is fine.. I was told that in a LTC setting and Jane Doe had expired that day. Mrs Jones was FINE, but fell out of her w/c earlier that day and on my shift during assessment found she had a broken hip.. Just amazing...

I hate when I come out of report armed with the knowledge that Mom changed her shirt twice and Dad owns a restaurant but only findin gout 4 hours into this shift that baby has a critcal white count... Just one example... We had a nurse that would go on and on about the stupidest things and then gloss over or skip need-to-know assessments, labs, etc. The aide and I would crack up during taped report and fast forward through most of it, or I would just zone out and hope I didn't miss the one important detail she gave!

the worst report i ever got was a taped report. i had floated from med/surg to neuro to do charge on the night shift. our shifts started at 11:15, and that's what time i showed up to work. their shift started at 11:00. so when i got there, i found the taped report, two nursing assistants (one from an agency and one that actually worked there) and no nurses anywhere.

the tape started out: "the narcotic count is off and has been all day. in bed 1 is mrs. doe. she's seizing. she's been seizing all day. in the next bed is mr. jones. he just came back from surgery. we don't know what he had done. in room 3 is a dnr and another surgical patient. in room 4 . . . "

i listened to the tape and came out of the report room to find both aides frantically flipping through the kardex. knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that something was amiss, i asked "what's up?"

"oh, ruby," one said. "which patient in room 3 is a dnr?"

"why," i answered somewhat sarcasticlly. "is one of them not breathing.?" i should have known better. the one that wasn't breathing wasn't the dnr.

I think we all do when we're new. I had a patient that was going to be discharged the next morning. A very obvious walkie-talkie with cellulitis. During report I mentioned that he will be going home and that he was fine, after going over the kardex and left it at that. Stupid me forgot to mention ANYTHING in regards to his cellulitis, I for some reason omitted that info! That was his diagnosis for admission for crying out loud, what was I thinking. Needless to say, oncoming nurse had alot of questions for me when she came out of report. LOL I won't make that mistake again!

My biggest pet peeve is when ER calls to give report and they just read the pt. name and diagnosis and the new orders and never tell me what made them go to the ER in the first place.

My biggest pet peeve is people who give reports that are so slow and includes information that's not pertinent. Especially if a patient is stable and the oncoming nurse had that patient the night before and just suppose to get an update. And it's already 730 and everyone left already, while you still have to sit there and wait till the other person finishes report so you can give your update. Personally when I have my same two patients again the next night I don't wanna know about stuff that would already be obvious to me such as a patient's history, or how many visitors this patient had, or how much a pain in the a## this patient's been all day. I like to be given report that's to the point. And from head to toe....Another pet peeve is when i get report, the nurse jumps from one body system to another then backtracks. As oppose to doing a head to toe with updates, which streamlines the whole process.

Report from ER for an admit with diagnosis of L arm weakness R/O CVA. We generally received a head to toe report and when it came to the cardiac report, it was reported to me the patient's rhythm was "irregular", he was on the monitor in ER and was being admitted to a telemetry floor. As soon as we hooked the patient up, his irregular rhythm was clearly A-fib. Hummm, anyone ever heard of an association between A-fib and CVA? Doc was thrilled to hear this finding had been missed and promptly heparinized the patient. Granted some doc was responsible to assess the patient in ER and I don't know how that could have been missed (yes his ER strips all showed a-fib so he didn't convert on the elevator).

I don't consider last BM to be crucial, you can just ask the pt, that is something they will know (unless they aren't talking). I hate when I get a rushed report and they forget to tell me something really crucial which I uncover after reading through their charting or during assessment.

I have been known to forget to give a piece of info during report (usually not crucial, just a need-to-know) and call the nurse from my cellphone on the way home in the morning just to give her the info.

Melissa

What has been some of the worst information you've ever been given during shift report on your patients? Don't you just hate hearing "i don't know" or "i'm not really sure" when it comes to essential information like last BM, last BS on a diabetic patient or I & O's (especially on surgical patients)?