In this video, I’m basically stepping in as your preceptor and walking you through how I give report on a med-surg floor—without letting it stress you out or drag your whole shift down. Giving report can be scary as a new grad (and honestly, even as a traveler I still get nervous sometimes) because you never know what kind of temperament you’re about to deal with. So I talk about how I read the room, how I handle the nurses who ask unnecessary questions, and why I’ve learned to organize my report like a script so I don’t get too chatty and go off on a whole story time. I also get into the non-negotiables: you have to assess your patient and you have to assess your chart. I don’t care how “good” report sounded—at some point in your shift, you need to get in the chart and read the notes yourself, then go see and assess the patient yourself. I break down what I include in report (why they’re on tele, allergies, surgery details, dressing type, diabetes trends, IVs/fluids, skin, and the plan like rehab vs home). The whole goal is critical thinking and being fair—clocked in means it’s time to work, and clocked out means go home.