Ok, so let me vent for a moment about shift report. When you give report please make sure your report is accurate. For example: Don't tell me that someone's potassium is fine when I ask you the level and it is most assuredly not. Please don't make this stuff up. If you don't know I can look it up. Just tell me you didn't write it down. I know better than to take report as law but when I ask the level and you say it is within normal values or slightly off I may not get around to checking it right away. If I know going in that it is really low I will put it a little higher on the priroity list and be on the lookout for a recheck or find out what we are doing about it sooner.

And for another thought, no matter what function you have make sure you get some sort of report. Nothing frustrates me more than taking over for someone (like several of our CNA's) more that halfway through the shift and they know basically NOTHING about their patients. I understand you want to hit the floor and get vitals done and breakfast out but please find out something first. It is very scary to me that you are taking care of sometimes 10 patients or more and you don't have a clue about why any of them are here. You may not need a detailed half hour briefing but at least know why they are a patient. And if they are a DNR or not. This really does make a HUGE difference.

Sorry for the soap box post but sometimes things REALLY bug me.