Nurses are the cornerstones of the healthcare industry, providing an essential link between physician and patient. One element that helps nurses maintain continuity of care for their patients are nursing report sheets (also known as nursing brainsheets).
These sheets are typically produced for nursing colleagues at the change of shift.
In nursing school and clinicals, you need to know about creating and using nursing report sheets to provide the best possible care for patients (and to help your fellow nurses do the same after graduation).
Nursing report sheets (also known as patient report sheets or nursing brain sheets ) are templates nurses fill out with important patient information.
These sheets are handoffs at the end of each shift and are given to the new nurse taking over for the next shift. For example, if a nurse comes in for their night shift, they would get a nursing report sheet from the previous nurse finishing their shift.
Nursing report sheets might also go with patients if they are being transferred to another hospital unit, such as from the pediatric unit to the ICU.
So, what goes on a nursing report sheet? The following bits of information are typically included:
A nursing report sheet provides essential directions on patient care to the incoming nurse – who might not be familiar with the patient and their medical needs – before change of shifts.
As a nurse, how does a nursing report sheet benefit you, your patients, and your colleagues?
Nurses often refer to these sheets as their “brain” or nursing brain sheets — essential to keeping nursing life organized.
Keep in mind that a nursing report sheet is different from an SBAR tool (situation, background assessment, recommendation tool). An SBAR tool includes important health history, an assessment of the patient’s current state, a briefing of recommended action, and so on.
While the SBAR tool and a nursing report sheet are not the same, nurses use the SBAR tool to help guide the creation of the nursing report sheets.
Just as there are different types of nurses in different health care units, there are also various types of nursing report sheets – which often have different organization styles and required information.
Whether you plan to become a registered nurse, med surg nurse , or will need an ICU nurse report sheet, knowing how to create and utilize different styles of nursing brain sheets will be essential to success in your future career.
In detail, what can a new nurse expect to find on a nursing report sheet?
Of course, you must know your patient’s name, age, and sex. Other basic patient information might include:
The nursing report sheet must display the patient’s current vitals, most of which are recorded through regular nursing assessments . Vitals help identify important statistics for different bodily functions, including cardiovascular blood pressure, temperature, oxygen levels, what the patient ate, etc.
Patient health information that is valuable for the next nursing shift includes:
As a nurse, you’ll provide medication or monitoring on a regulated basis that you’ll then record in the nursing report sheet. For example, a nurse might have to test the patient’s blood sugar at certain times during the day. Your brain sheet will help you determine if the results fall within normal lab values.
Some things you might find regarding ongoing patient care include:
Clearly, the nursing report sheet is there to help keep things organized so you never miss a beat.
The patient notes explain things not fully covered in the nursing report sheet template. For example, if the patient hasn’t moved their bowels for a few days, you may wish to write a note as a reminder to discuss the situation with the medical team to see if a laxative or enema should be prescribed.
Read more about patient notes in our post about taking nursing notes .
Other patient notes you will likely find on your nursing report sheet include:
Special patient notes are generally discussed verbally with the incoming nurse to ensure proper patient care.
Staying organized as a nurse is vital to keeping your patient happy and healthy. A nursing report sheet serves as the blueprint for everything someone would want to know about your patient – and you’ll find a lot of the elements above on many templates regardless of which nursing specialty you choose.
What’s on a nursing report sheet is just one of the many things you’ll want to know as you begin your journey as a nursing student. And you’ll need a supplemental tool for your lectures to ace your exams.
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