3.5 minute read

HUDDLE

Good Morning Readers,

This past week, we lost a good nurse and crew in a helicopter crash in Oklahoma. I hadn’t recently connected with Adam Tebben since our student nurse days at NSNA, and it’s weird to think that our paths crossed so many years ago, only to cross again in this way. He was a true leader, even as a student, and our condolences go out to him and the crew’s family🕊️. 

Today's Top Beats

🚁 Helicopter Tragedy
💰 Big $ for Retention

💓 Moral Courage

HANDOFF

Helicopter Tragedy

The world tragically lost a first-class nurse last weekend when a helicopter crashed approximately 70 miles west of Oklahoma City, killing three Air Evac Lifeteam crew members aboard. Adam Tebben, a Kansas-based flight nurse and Emporia State University’s nursing program graduate, was on assignment in Oklahoma when the chopper went down after completing a patient care transport. Pilot Russell Haslam and flight paramedic Steven Fitzgerald also died in the crash, which the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Impersonators in Kentucky

If you work in Kentucky and received a recent call from the Kentucky Board of Nursing about a license investigation, don’t panic. It’s probably fake. Last week, the association alerted state nurses to a new scam in which people impersonate law enforcement officers and KBN representatives and call nurses to claim they’ve missed a court date. In reality, a KBN investigation starts with a mailed Notice of Complaint, not with a phone call.

Big Money for Retention

Like most healthcare systems across the country since Covid, Palomar Health in Escondido, Calif., was struggling to recruit new nurses while retaining the ones they had. So they tried something drastic: offering $100,000 over three years in sign-on and retention bonuses to both new and current nurses. The gamble worked, according to Palomar’s president and CEO Diane Hansen. She’s now focused on expanding the system’s 1:1 wellness coaching program for employees.

TODAY'S TOP VITAL

82%

The average percentage of a male RN’s salary that a female RN makes, a gender pay gap that has increased by 5% between 2003 and 2021.

PRN

YOUR NEW THING STRATEGY WITH NEW THING NURSE

Nursing Documentation: Make It Better

Nurses spend an average of 40% of their shifts completing documentation. That is a lot of time! Nurses are trying innovative ways to decrease the documentation burden. For now, here are some ways to document efficiently and effectively on shift: 

• EHR training: Ensure you are appropriately trained on your electronic health record (EHR) to know where and what to document.

• Advocate for time: Not enough time? Talk to leadership to advocate for more time. If you receive pushback, remind them that effective documentation leads to higher reimbursement rates.

• Document what you need: Learn what needs to be documented versus what doesn’t. Check out documentation guidance from educators and cross reference with regulatory organizations.  

Know your policies: Check with organizational policies to see what employers require, too. If there are duplications, work with leaders to eliminate the double documentation duties.

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TODAY IN THE CHART

SUPPLY ROOM

Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot

These WTF socks from Nurseology are probably something your charge nurse has asked you many times!

BREAK ROOM

No Fear Nursing

According to the AACN, moral courage is a great attribute to have in nursing, especially when overcoming obstacles at work. If you need a laugh, watch Nurse John use “moral courage” when facing a combative, 70 year old patient!

DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS

We’ll see you tomorrow when Savannah at Networth Nurse has even more great financial content for us!

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