After years of bedside nursing, I have finally created the perfect nursing brain ! So much happens during one shift and it is really easy to lose track of what happened when, when things are due, when you gave an extra PRN, etc. Documenting is a key nursing skill so having this nursing brain piece of paper to fall back on is crucial!
One main thing on my brain is that I have broken down the time portion into 2 columns. The reason I did this was so I could see what was scheduled vs what happened in the shift. I give a lot of PRNs at my job and it is easy to lose track of what I gave and when so the second column has helped immensely. It also can serve as a timely report for shift occurrences for the charge nurse or updates for a nurse who is coming back to the same patient assignment!
I keep track of my patient’s ins and outs every hour. Fluid status is of upmost importance in the CVICU!
If I have enough time at work, I like to draw out my patient’s cardiac anatomy on the back of my brain. This helps me really think through the blood flow and anticipate signs/symptoms of disease.
Everyone has their own forms of shift organization and this brain works best for me!
PICU CVICU Nursing Brain
Simply pay $5 and input your email address. I will email you the PDF version of my nursing brain to the email provided!
$5.00
The Traveling Nurse 