When the management on my hospital floor decided to have a standardized nurse’s brain for everyone, this began with a mixed set of responses from the nurses. There is no perfect solution for anything, and everything has both a set of positive and negative attributes. Pros of a standardized nursing brain are discussed here, now its time to review the negatives of implementing a standardized brain.
#1 People resist change
Nurses fall into habits. Their time management task list and notes are a massive part of the pattern. Not one particular system is taught in school, so nurses, through time, develop their strategies. When a mandatory change influences a strategy that’s a personally developed one, it’s going to be hard to one day change. People naturally resist this change. The more people who oppose a new nurse’s brain and evolve their system, the longer it will take to see the positive attributes which cause nurses to resist the latest change in the unit.
#2 Unable to organize ideas the way it works best for you.
No one has directions on how to keep notes and tasks for a shift. A trial and error is the only course in finding the process that works best. When given a standard sheet, there is no longer a chance to fix or improve on the process day to day, the brain is what it is and needs utilization.
#3 Unable to change
The nurse’s brain is unable to be changed unless management takes suggestions. For instance, if there is a spot for surgery and hospital occurrences, well, if you work on any surgical floor, especially one with elective surgeries, the same information will be documented twice or three times if including the admission. The best chance to expand or delete one or more of the areas. Make suggestions to management, if you thought about it, someone else has too.
#4 Unable to be specific between units.
Each unit has specific areas that need expanding. If you’re on a floor like a telemetry or neuro, information for cardiac or neuro checks will require a more substantial area to note during the shift. ICU with high acuity, the variety of notes depends on the individual patient. A unit like maternity has a demographic that’s young and healthy, a completely different set of sections are separate from any other. It’s impossible to have a standardized form for an entire hospital.
It’s hard to produce a perfect nurse brain sheet for an entire hospital. The idea for nurses to collect the same information makes it easier to give and receive a report, but there are several downfalls.