5 Tips to Help You Stay Organized as a US Registered Nurse!

As a Registered Nurse, our profession is often unpredictable and no two shifts are ever the same! Being organized from the start of your day is critical to ensuring that you have a successful shift ahead. As an international Registered Nurse, I quickly discovered the importance of being organized at the start of my shifts when I immigrated to the USA as a USRN!

Here are 5 tips to help you stay organized as a Registered Nurse in the USA!

Tip #1: Prepare Your Supplies and Meals the Night Before Your Shift

As a nurse, being prepared and organized the night before your shift is helpful in arriving on time and not forgetting what you need. I always set aside my name badge, pens, tape, scissors, stethoscope, and scrubs the night before my shift so that when I wake up early in the morning I don't forget anything! Many hospitals in the USA rely on name badges for access to supply rooms and for easy-entry access to your computer for charting, thus making for a long day if you forget your name badge and you have to ask others to open rooms for you! I also plan on having my meals ready the night before my shift so that I don't wake up having to worry about what I am going to eat that day and scrambling to put meals together which can take up valuable time in the morning. Hospital meals can be expensive, so being prepared and planning ahead can save you both time and money!

Tip #2: Plan to Arrive on the Unit 20-25 Minutes Before the Start of Your Shift

We have all been there... we've woken up to either a snow or rain storm, or even construction or a car accident on the highway that delays our commute to work, resulting in us running from either the bus stop or our car to the hospital to make sure we are on time. By always planning on being early for the start of your shift you give yourself a buffer to allow for small delays, pick up a coffee, and to enjoy your morning commute without having to worry about being late for your shift! It is difficult to have a good day when you arrive late to your shift and haven't had an opportunity to review your charts before morning report and are still in that flight-or-flight state with your heart pacing. Plan to arrive early each day to avoid this completely!

Tip #3: Complete a Thorough Pre-Report Chart Review and Write Down all of Your Tasks for the Day

Most hospitals in the USA now use electronic computer charting with the Epic Charting system being one of the most popular platforms used. When I had been working in Canada we had used paper charts, which meant that I had to write down everything on a sheet of paper before my shift including the patients name, date of birth, diagnosis, allergies, surgeries, etc. which was very time consuming! With computer charting in the USA, it is easy to print off your patient report sheet with all of this information already on it! This sheet will also have columns for each hour of your shift for you to make notes in. The first thing I do when I arrive for my shift is I review which patients I have, print my reports, and review the orders for each patient. I also take this time to write down all of the medications, procedures, laboratory and diagnostic tests, and anything else that is scheduled for my patients. When you take the time to review the patients charts before your shift report, you can then plan to ask important questions in your morning report that will later save time and eliminate any confusion in your day. For example if a patient has an order that states they are G-tube fed every 4 hours, you can plan to ask the off-going nurse when the last feed was, and when the next one will be, rather than having to look back in the chart trying to locate this information. When you review the chart and orders before your shift, it also gives you the opportunity to review any unfamiliar diagnosis's, medications, or procedures that you will encounter for that day.

Tip #4: Prioritize the Order in Which You Plan to See Your Patients and Deliver Care

When I review my patients charts and finish morning rounds I make a plan on how I will prioritize my the start of my shift, which can be chaotic without proper time management. Often the morning will be busy with assessments, vital signs, administering medications, and assisting with the first meal of the day. Prioritizing your most highly acute patient to see first is often the best and most appropriate approach to take. Tasks can also be priorities too and don’t all need to be done first thing in the morning. For example, administering time sensitive medications at 8am is more important that completing a daily dressing change that can be done either later in the morning or in the afternoon.

Tip #5: Set goals WITH Your Patients and Not FOR Your Patients

Collaboration is key to delivering safe and high quality nursing care, and also to ensure that you remain organized throughout your day. Setting goals together with your patients and families, and establishing a plan of care and times to complete various tasks will help you and the family manage your time effectively while addressing any concerns that they may have. When you initially introduce yourself to your patients and families it is important to always ask them if they have any concerns and what they would like to discuss in daily rounds with the interdisciplinary team. This will allow for both you and your patients and families to work together to achieve collaboratively set goals rather than to assume what those goals are for them.

These 5 tips will help you stay organized, manage your time effectively, and allow you to deliver safe and high quality patient care when working as a Registered Nurse in the USA! Don't be afraid to delegate tasks or ask for help, and to offer help when you are available to do so. Nursing requires a team dynamic to be successful! As an international Registered Nurse who now works as a USRN, I have learned this first hand!

Ready to apply? If you are ready to begin your application to become a US Registered Nurse with Medliant International Healthcare Staffing please reach out to us on our Medliant Website, Facebook (Medliant International Healthcare Staffing), or Instagram (@medliant).

You can also email your resume to nursebrennan@medliant.com to start your application. Let Medliant help you begin making your American Dream come true today!