[Med_RN]

I am going to be participating in a group focused on changing our shift report process. I am looking for ideas to bring to the table. Currently we are using a check list for general information, ie orientation, falls risk, activity, etc. but find that too many nurses fail to give detailed info about what is actually happening with the patient. I have done taped, written, and verbal reports. Any fresh ideas?

[grapejam88]

The type of report you go to probably depends somewhat on the environment you work in and what sort of time is allowed for report. What sort of setting do you work in?

[Med_RN]

I work on a medical unit where we have 30 minutes to get report on 4-5 patients. We report to a room where we get our assignments and have about 5 min of announcements from our charge nurse, then go on the floor and get report from the nurse going off shift. I feel the general information about diet, activity, orientation, etc. should be available to us before we meet with the nurse so we can go right into the events of the day, upcoming tests and procedures, lab results, an so forth. Too often I'm only given the general information. I work with many new grads and find they are very task oriented and our report process doesn't encourage them to look at the entire picture or develop critical thinking skills. We have very complicated high acuity patients and am rarely told anything about thier diagnosis in report. Any help is appreciated.

[cassioo]

I work L&D and postpartum (done peds at same hosp) we do verbal report which works out well we hit those basics on each patient then anything important. There is 1 nurse in charge on postpartum and she gives report on all patients to all oncoming. There is time for Q&A. On L&D each off going nurse give report to all oncoming for her patients then we decide assignments based on status of each patient. Peds is same each off going gives to all incoming then assignments. On the med/surg units they give a taped report which I find frustrating when I've worked there as there are more day shift staff then night so each night nurse makes a tape then the day nurses have to find the report for her patients on different tapes...waste of time to me and often it's just read the kardex with no real status report. There was a written report at another surgical unit I worked it was better then those tapes but still you didn't have the interaction. Everywhere I've worked though I've been lucky enough to have pretty good staff and if there was anything really important offgoing staff would catch the assigned nurse to give a more indepth one on one report.

As said above it depends on what is needed on individual units.

[MrsTina]

We use walking rounds with the off going nurse, but I also work in a LTC facility ... so walking rounds is good