When taking items into a patient's room, you
MUST use the 2 patient identifiers. These are the
patient's name and date of birth (DOB). You can
locate this information on the patient's ticket.
To enter a room, knock first and announce yourself.
For example, you can say "nutrition" when knocking.
Wait a few seconds before entering. Once you enter,
announce yourself. For example, say "Hello my name
is Dawn, I am from nutrition. I have your lunch for you."
Then ask them for their patient identifiers; it must match
the identifiers on the tray ticket.
You are responsible for placing the tray on
the beside table and clearing it if needed. (If it is a male
patient and there is a urinal on the table, do NOT
place the tray on the table. Set down the tray and
put on a glove to move the urinal first.) Position the
table in front of the patient.
Briefly go over their
order. If they ask you to, read the ticket to them.
For example, while you are moving their table
you can tell them "I have your grilled cheese and
tomato soup". You did not read the whole ticket;
however, you did let them know what is on their tray.
Finally, ask them "do you need anything
else" or "is there anything else I can do for you?"
Before leaving, say "have a good morning, afternoon, evening".
Keep in mind:
You cannot remove items from the
room. The nurse keeps track of what the patient
is actually consuming.
You cannot adjust the patient bed even if
you have training to do so (schooling, previous jobs etc.).
The nurse does this. Offer to call their nurse for them
if asked to move the bed.
If the patient asks for something that you do
not have with you, verify that it does
not conflict with their diet. Then, provide a timeframe
for when you will return with that item. For
example, the patient asks for an apple. You say
"I am sorry, I do not have one with me."
Then check dietary restrictions to confirm that they can or cannot
have that item. If there are no restrictions tell them, "I will be
back in 10 minutes with your apple." If they cannot
have the item, explain to them that the item conflicts
with their diet restrictions. Then offer an alternative option.
ALWAYS let them know how long it will take.
**disclosure from author: Since this user
manual is based off my position at a real hospital,
some details have been left out. I do not include how
to log into applications, full phone numbers, names,
key codes etc.
All information in this manual has come from
personal experience I have obtained at work.
Images have been either created by me or taken
by me.
