Erase boards provide teaching opportunity

SILOAM SPRINGS — A tour of Siloam Springs Regional Hospital offered a teaching opportunity about patient communication for students at the University of Arkansas - Eleanor Mann School of Nursing.

“As a nursing facility, we are aware of the various types of communication techniques that are used in hospitals, however we became aware of SSRH’s during a tour of the hospital,” said Jacklyn Gentry MSN, RN, assistant director at Eleanor Mann School of Nursing.

Inside each patient room at SSRH there are dry erase boards mounted on the walls which are updated during each nursing shift The board includes details such as: room number date, nurse’s name, physician’s name, phone number for the room, any dietary restrictions, names of other staff assisting the patient pain-level chart, when medication was administered last and when it can be administered again and also the patient’s goal, such as bed rest.

“The boards are a great way for the staff to know a patient’s status, it allows them to ask the patient if there are any changes to pain level, find out their needs and also it helps keep the patient informed about the care they are receiving and who is administering it,” said SSRH chief nursing offi cer, Maria Wleklinski, RN. “We also include a section on the boards for staff members to track when they visit patient rooms to ensure they are rounding on their patients hourly.”