News and notices. November 28, 2014

How to keep good nursing records

Patients’ records must provide an accurate account of their hospital stay. SOUTH AFRICA © Elmien Wolvaardt Ellison
Patients’ records must provide an accurate account of their hospital stay. SOUTH AFRICA © Elmien Wolvaardt Ellison

In the busy working day of a nurse, with the many urgent demands on your time, you may feel that keeping nursing records is a distraction from the real work of nursing: looking after your patients.

This cannot be more wrong! Keeping good records is part of the nursing care we give to our patients. It is nearly impossible to remember everything you did and everything that happened on a shift. Without clear and accurate nursing records for each patient, our handover to the next team of nurses will be incomplete. Needless to say, this can affect the well being of patients.

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