In brief: Use a pocket timer to jog your memory

In brief

Use a pocket timer to jog your memory

Carrying a pocket timer, a pager with a timing setting, or a wristwatch with a timer can help jog your memory for a myriad of tasks, suggests Mary MacLeod, BSc, RN, BScN, MBA, former manager of the community programs unit for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in Toronto.

"This simple gadget can help take one more thing off your mind," she says.

MacLeod suggests setting a timer to help you remember the following tasks: restarting of a heparin drip; drawing timed bloodwork on a patient; getting a patient off to a testing area or transferred to another unit; re-calling a patient’s family when their line previously was busy; and taking a lunch break.