Your daily tasks

[wlb06]

Hi Everyone,

I am a male pre-nurse, new to the site, and about to start in an ADN program in the fall. I also have a BS in Exercise Science.

I was wondering if you nurses could give a short to the point list of what you do from when you get to work to when you leave work. Also where you work and in which dept.

I am trying to get a good idea about what I might be doing in the future.

Thanks a lot and take care...

[marie-francoise]

You may want to Google the following:

a day in the life nurse

This serves up some pretty detailed descriptions. Also, I am going to try to shadow a floor nurse through his/her full shift since in my clinicals I have had a hard time actually SEEING the full "day in the life of a nurse" picture. (I am in an ADN program.)

I also will be very interested in seeing the responses to this post.

[icu26RN]

Hi,

I work on a medical telemetry unit. My day definitely depends on the

acuity of my patients. But here is what I try to shoot for.

Get report

Check labs

Assess patients

Report to CNA's, get vitals from CNA's

Administer medications

Educate pts and family regarding meds, labs, procedures, teaching

Follow up on tests, call Drs if necessary,

Check off orders throughout the day

Documentation, check on telemetry strips

Chart checks to make sure orders were completed

Report to the next shift

Sometimes your day gets busier when you have several admissions/discharges. You have to do pt history, admit assessment,

discharge teaching. There is also a lot of documentation to do and it can be difficult if you get behind. let me know if you have any other questions.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Ok, here is the skeleton frame of my day.

Charge nurse gives out assignments

I get report on 1 or 2 Surgical ICU patients from the night nurse.

I do full head to toe assessments, check alarms and equipment and document

Doctors come on rounds. I work in a teaching hospital-large flock of white coats.

Check new orders and bring up concerns with docs on rounds, clarify confusing orders

morning 10:00 meds

Vital signs and urine outputs are done hourly or every other hour

12:00 meds and full assesment

Write nursing notes on patients in their charts.

lunch

I turn/reposition patients every 2 hours. Other nurses or an aide assists.

Mouth care with a swab/sponge is done every 2-4 hours.

Family visits

evening meds

Final "fluff and puff"- change patient gown and topsheet so patient is tidy for nightshift. Nights does baths.

Final tallying of patient fluid intake and output. Check paperwork for completeness.

Report to night nurse.

[Scrubby]

Heres what i do in the OR

Check where i'm allocated

Check the cases for the day

Walk into the OR and set up the trolleys, instrument trays, equipment etc and fingers crossed that the set up was done the day before!

Check theatre lights, suction, diathermy

Discuss with other nursing staff who will be scrubbed for each case

Wait around for all the staff and then someone grabs the first patient

Scrub or circulate for each case

Have morning tea at about 10

Lunch between 1130-1230

Clean between cases, take instruments to the dirty lift, escort patients to recovery

Sometime during the day order instrument trays and set up baskets with stuff for the next day

At the end of the last case clean up the OR

Then either sit in the tea room with other staff if we finish before it's time to go or just go home.

[kwagner_51]

My day is a lot different because I do 1 on 1 nursing with just one pt at a time.

Come in, receive report from family,

make first tea,

Ck pt for wetness

do complete bed bath

shampoo hair

start feeding [g-tube]

do PROM et ROM

get her up in the w/c via hoyer lift

comb hair and put in ponytail

document in nurses notes

give meds every hr except 1000, 1900, et 2000

change briefs,

restock chucks, and briefs

take out trash

give report to family and leave

12 hrs.

Another pt, on shift, receive report

fix breakfast

feed pt

take puppy out to potty

play with puppy

talk to pt

repositon pt in w/c

fix lunch

feed pt

change brief

give report leave

8 hrs

This is shift work in Home Health.

[Djuna]

This is a typical day in my ER;

Triage-take patient history and presenting problem, do BP, HR, RR, SaO2, BSL, ECG, palpation of abdomen, auscultation of lung fields, MSU, give analgesia or antipyretic (all as required according to hx and presenting problem), document all findings on computer

In the ER-attach patient to monitor, ECG, serial ECGs, insert IVC, take bloods, start IV therapy, check computer for blood results, give pain relief, antibiotics, other drugs as required, insert NG tube, insert IDC, document on paper and computer, liaise with other health professionals, eg, mental health, physiotherapy, wards, OP clinic, make beds, escort patient to Xray or CT as required, apply POP back slabs for simple fractures, maintain neurovascular, neurological, general obs charts, wound dressings,

General-order medication then put them in cupboard when they arrive, stock drawers, juggle 10 jobs at once, supervise junior staff, tell the Drs how to do things when they have no idea, eat on the run, never have time to go to the bathroom, take phone calls from the community asking for advice on stupid things (and sometimes not so stupid things)

No doubts there are all kinds of things I've forgotten but you get the general idea.

[loriangel14, RN]

I work in a complex continuing care facility

change

get coffee

listen to report

say good morning to my pts

do glucs and VS

help set up breakfast trays and feed pts if needed

do 0900 meds

set up independents with basins to wash and help the others

break

finish up if all are not washed

get up the pts that are getting up for the day

make beds

chart

help with lunch

have lunch

toilet and put people back to bed

finish charting

break

narc count

go home

I also stock carts, talk to families,talk to pts, find things pts have

lost,help coworkers with heavy pts.,go to staff meetings.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

Pick up my schedule

Copy pertinent information from charts

Drive to client's home

Carry out plan of care for that visit... could be assess for admission, educate, collect specimens, send out to hospital or discharge.

Return phone calls

Drive a million more miles to my next client's home or nearest lab while listening to favorite CD for the day.

Repeat

Come home and complete admission paperwork when applicable.

[ASSEDO]

Don't forget to take your full lunch and use all your breaks. Take care of yourself first.

[RNMom2010]

Wow thanks this post was really informative!! Home Heath sounds great, especially being able to list "Play with puppy" on your task for the day! I love the idea of 1:1 ratio, however how much experience do they want before they hire into home health?

[MIA-RN]

generally on my m/s unit, the plan is to assess all patients every 4 hours. Thats about it for formal stuff. There is always so much more to do:

1445: punch in and review Kardexes

1500: get report

1530-ish: talk with tech, discuss individual pt needs and expectations.

1530ish: see all patients, full assessments, meds as ordered. Review and sign charts. Check for new orders.

1800 or so: come up for air and a little mountain dew. continue with meds/tx/etc as ordered.

2000: See 1530

2100 or so, generally get a lunch break, a new admit, or both.

2200: Begin to tally up I/O, hang new IVF for next shift, help pts get settled. Meds as ordered.

Random and continual: flush iv locks, hang meds as ordered. take a new admission, follow up and whatever issues the patient has, ambulate post-ops, bandage changes, hourly rounds on all patients, turn pts who can't turn themselves. Fresh post-ops get lots of assessments, much more than q4h, so add that in too. And various things to fiddle with on most patients--foleys, NG tubes, JP drains, PCA pumps, IV pumps, Incentive spirometers, O2...