Unit two: Strategies for Professional Practice II Time Management D: Traps to Avoid

TRAPS TO AVOID when deciding how to manage time: Nurse fills out pre-op checklist at beginning of shift rather than assessing clients Pt. being admitted needs VS, wgt, baseline assessment and patient orders. The first two tasks can be delegated to Nursing Assistive Personnel so that the nurse can complete the baseline assessment of the patient, then call the physician for orders

TRAPS TO AVOID: continued Responding to the squeaky wheel perhaps the family member who has vocalized the loudest but ignores a more pressing patient need that is more critical

TRAPS TO AVOID: continued Completing tasks by default: nurse feels obligated to complete task that no one else will complete: eg: emptying the garbage rather than asking housekeeping to do it

TRAPS TO AVOID Relying on Misguided Inspiration: nurse feels inspired to document findings in the chart avoiding taking care of a higher priority responsibility

TRAPS TO AVOID when setting priorities Decide if activity is urgent or not urgent, important or not important Eg: sometimes laboratory data, vital signs, I&O are ordered more frequently than the status of the patient indicates Frequent monitoring of these assessments may make no significant difference in patient outcomes. Nurses need to try to get these orders changed.