And then......

Today was a very long, monotonous day. I got to work at 8:45am for stand-up, then sat in the conference room for about an hour by myself reading over the Volunteer manual and taking the HIPAA self-test. Then the HR manager came in a gave me some of my log-in information, and showed me the website where I can watch all the orientation videos and take more self-tests. I watched/tested on sexual harassment, emergency preparedness, HIPAA, Medicare Hospice Benefits and Levels of Care/patient rights, ‘Providing Hospice to Residents of an SNF/NF, ICF, or MR,’ ‘Introduction to QAPI,’ and lastly, ‘Clinical Ethics at the Bedside.’ I still have about 18 more of these videos/tutorials/quizzes to complete…

After staring at a computer screen for hours and hours, the MT returned and we sat in on the nurses’ meeting during which they discussed their pts. and reviewed some nursing protocol. Then the rest of the staff joined us in the conference room for their weekly IDG meeting from 2:30pm till about 4:45pm. Today they discussed who has died in the past week, and any changes with the pts. with last names M-L. By doing discussing half of the alphabet per week, the pts. are reviewed bi-weekly which follows hospice protocol procedures. After all the pts. statuses and conditions were discussed, one of the directors reviewed the things the Board of Health marked them for during a recent survey/review. Basically she emphasized the importance of documenting anything and everything, so if an issue ever does arrive, it is not a facility or family/pt’s word vs. the hospice company’s, but rather, their word vs. documented proof of what was done, when, and for what reason. From working at Presby, I learned that in health care, yes, documenting is good for the sake of having references of a pt’s care history, but also, to save your own butt so you don’t get blamed for something that’s not your fault. Everyone’s accountable for every single thing done with regards to a pt.

What I learned today:

· QAPI – Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement

· CoP – Condition of Participation

· EOL – End of life

· COPD – Chronis Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

· HHA – Home Health Aide