Emergencies can happen on your shift. Unusual incidents or downright strange things can also happen while you are serving a client. It’s completely natural to feel worried, anxious, or even scared when these things happen.
However, it is more important to remain calm and to ensure the safety of your client.
If your client falls while you are there, or if you need to dial 9-1-1, it’s important to document it. However, you might not know exactly where to do that. After all, the TASKS section doesn’t seem like the best spot.
As you clock out for your shift, you will be prompted to document tasks. You will also be asked if you felt you had a safe shift. These safe shift checks are the perfect spot to report incidents or emergencies that may not have been documented yet.
Safe shift check documentation should be clear and concise. Tell us the facts of what happened. For example, you might document that Mr. Jones fell while he was using the bathroom independently. You would tell us that you heard him call for help and you responded immediately. You would also let us know that you did not observe any injuries.
The safe shift check is also a good spot to tell us if you did not feel safe while at work. You not feeling safe can happen for a variety of reasons. Maybe there was a strange solicitor that was knocking on the client’s door and he returned multiple times and you felt uneasy. Maybe the client’s son-in-law stopped by to visit and made inappropriate remarks to you. Or, maybe Ms. Evelyn is getting weaker and weaker and you feel like transfers are getting more unsteady or dangerous.
In short, the safe shift check is a good spot to tell us if something happened and you can’t find another spot on your app to document it.
If you have any questions about safe shift check, incidents, or emergency documentation, let’s talk about it. Your agency representative or supervisor can answer your specific concerns or questions.