I just attended my first Life After Orientation. It’s an hour of talking to the nurse educator and the VP of Nursing. It’s probably better to go with a list of things to talk about next time but here were a few topics.
- Delegation to the ancillary staff, especially regarding fingersticks, stat EKGs, answering call bells
- Handout off to the next nurse – IV rounds with both nurses and bedside handoff; making sure there’s enough fluids in the bag for the next few hours and the patient is medicated for pain prior to report (if necessary)
- Breaks – before going on break, do a quick round to make sure everyone is ok. Then tell the 2 nurses next to you on the unit, the charge nurse and ancillary staff you’re on break. It’s a good way to recharge and eat!!
Hospitals talk about patient satisfaction scores all the time now because it’s one of the major factors for reimbursement. I have to say that I’m proud of the unit I’m on because it just went from the lowest to the highest scores in the hospital. We aim to have nearly every score above 90%.
Ok that’s it for now.