I.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

A. Business Writing and Reporting Skills

1. Memo writing
What is a memo?
 A memo writing or memorandum, is informing a certain group or
organization in an email or letter of a specific problem and/or solution. A
memorandum has an action plan with specific steps on how to implement the
plan. Memorandums are brief, concise, and easy to read.
 As with all professional correspondence, understanding how to write a memo
requires adhering to the right structure, which includes details like length and
formatting. Memos often have a page or less and are brief. 

Parts of the memo

a. Heading
o The heading includes important particulars including who is receiving
the memo.
o It indicates that the communication is a memorandum, the intended
recipients, the sender, the date, and the subject.
b. Introduction
o It uses a declarative sentence to announce the main topic of the
memo.
o The purpose of a memo is usually found in the introduction and
includes: the purpose of the memo, the context and problem, and the
specific assignment or task. Before indulging the reader with details
and the context, give the reader a brief overview of what the memo
will be about.
c. Body/ Key points
o Discussion points that elaborate or list the main ideas associated with
the memo's topic.
d. Necessary attachments
o Attachments are included if intended recipients will need to refer to
other information, such as a graph, image, or chart, below the end of
the memo.
 ACTUAL MEMORANDUM

HEADINGS

INTRODUCTION

KEY POINTS

How to write an effective memo?

1. Consider the audience/ readers

 When writing a note, keep your audience in thoughts at all times. Use
language that is accessible to everyone when creating a note for the entire
business. Use business terminology to keep it formal and professional.
 Keep it brief, concise, and easy to read.

2. Proofread and review

 An effective technique to check for errors, tone, and consistency is to read

your message aloud. If you have the time, discuss it with a dependable
coworker who can serve as a second set of eyes. You are representing the
company when you send an internal memo, so be sure the content and tone
are correct.
 3. Write a subject that is straightforward and clear.

 For example, if you need to send a memo announcing the observance of a

holiday, include the name, date and day of the week of the observed holiday
in your subject line. Send your memo at least a week before the event or due
date so people have time to adjust their plans.

2. Minutes of meeting
 Minutes are the immediate written record of a meeting or hearing. They are
often referred to as protocols, minutes of meetings (abbreviated MoM), or,
informally, notes. Typically, they provide a summary of the proceedings and
may include a list of attendees, a statement of the issues discussed during
the meeting, and any pertinent answers or conclusions.
 A meeting's minutes are an official written record of the important
statements and decisions made during the meeting. It is a brief yet
comprehensive summary of every conversation that transpired throughout the
meeting. It is also described as the formal record of a meeting's proceedings
that needs to be approve by all attendees.

Types of minutes

A. Minutes of narration: These minutes will be a concise summary of all

discussions which took place, reports received, actions to be taken and decisions
made. It includes:

 Names of the participating members.

 Name of the proposer and supporter.
Discussion summary. Ed by all of the attendees.

B. Minutes of resolution: Minutes of resolution means the written statement of

the decisions that have been taken and approved by the participating members
of the meeting. Only the main conclusions which are reached at the meeting are
recorded in minutes of resolution. These are usually used for minutes of AGMs
and other statutory meetings.

Importance or objectives of a minute:

1. It provides accurate summary of the proceeding of a meeting

2. Acts as documentary evidence

3. Opinions of the members can be reviewed

4. Guidelines for future meetings

 5. Acts as a means of accountability to the shareholders

The Main Parts of Meeting Minutes

Many organizations use a standard template or a special format for keeping minutes,
and the order of the parts may vary.

1. Heading
 The name of the committee (or other unit) and the date, location, and starting
time of the meeting.
2. Participants
 The name of the person conducting the meeting along with the names of all
those who attended the meeting (including guests) and those who were excused
from attending.
3. Approval of previous minutes
 A note on whether the minutes of the previous meeting were approved and
whether any corrections were made.
4. Action items (including unfinished business from the previous meeting)
 A report on each topic discussed at the meeting. (For each item, note the subject
of the discussion, the name of the person who led the discussion, and any
decisions that may have been reached.)
5. Announcements
 A report on any announcements made by participants, including proposed
agenda items for the next meeting.
6. Next Meeting
 A note on where and when the next meeting will be held.
7. Adjournment
 A note on the time the meeting ended.
8. Signature line
 The name of the person who prepared the minutes and the date they were
submitted.

II. RECORDS MANAGEMENT

A. Data Privacy Protocols in Data Safekeeping and Release of Records
The IRR of the DPA defines the functions of the Commission as: Rule making,
Public Advisory and Education, Compliance and Monitoring, and Complaints,
Investigations and Enforcement. Processing personal information, including
sensitive and privileged information, entails obligations under the DPA.

1. Sentinel event
o A subgroup of serious clinical occurrences that have resulted in or could
have resulted in a patient's serious injury or death is referred to as a
"sentinel event." It refers to situations that can be avoided that could
result in physical or mental harm or the risk of it occurring.
o It is defined as serious reportable events as “preventable, serious, and
unambiguous adverse events that should never occur.” These events are
also termed as never events

Examples of Sentinel Event

 Surgery or other invasive procedure performed on the wrong site

resulting in serious harm or death.
 Surgery or other invasive procedure performed on the wrong
patient resulting in serious harm or death.
 Wrong surgical or other invasive procedure performed on a patient
resulting in serious harm or death.
 Unintended retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery
or other invasive procedure resulting in serious harm or death.
 Hemolytic blood transfusion reaction resulting from ABO
incompatibility resulting in serious harm or death.
 Suspected suicide of a patient in an acute psychiatric unit or acute
psychiatric ward.
 Medication error resulting in serious harm or death.
 Use of physical or mechanical restraint resulting in serious harm
or death.
 Discharge or release of an infant or child to an unauthorized
person.
 Use of an incorrectly positioned oro- or naso-gastric tube resulting
in serious harm or death.

Response to a Sentinel Event

 Stabilize the patient

 Disclose the event to the patient and family
 Provide support for the family and staff involved
 Notification to the hospital leadership
 Immediate investigation
 Comprehensive systematic review
 Root cause analysis (RCA) for identifying the causal and
contributory factors
 Strong corrective actions to eliminate the root cause and prevent
similar future events
 Establish a timeline for the implementation of corrective actions
 System improvement

Sentinel Event Policy

a. Improve patient care and prevent such safety events in the
future
 b. Analyze the root causes that contributed to the sentinel
event (cultural, latent, and active failures), and develop
strong, actionable plans
c. Enhance the general awareness and disseminate the
learnings about patient sentinel events, root factors, and
mitigation strategies
d. Maintain trust of the public, staff, and hospitals that patient
safety is a topmost priority
2. Anecdotal
o Anecdotal reports are a type of anecdotal data gathering in which informal
reports of a particular act are documented through observations. The idea
is derived from the basic idea of an anecdote, which is a first-person
narrative of an event that a person experienced or saw. Anecdotal
evidence is then compared to empirical or scientific evidence, which is
gathered using stricter procedures and instruments.
o Anecdotal records are notes that an observer makes during a single
observation or a series of observations regarding a certain activity,
person, or group. Anecdotal observations can include a wide range of
topics, including items that were said during a discussion, the incidence
or occurrence of acts or behaviors, and a person's propensity for finding
solutions to certain problems.

Uses/Purpose of Anecdotal recordings

o It is used to describe particular behaviors, such as the interactions

between primary school kids during recess. Teachers frequently use
anecdotal recordings to design and carry out learning activities by
identifying the kinds of learning experiences that result in the greatest
progress in learning.
o Anecdotal recordings are typically utilized to pinpoint the many kinds of
developmental impairments that might happen in infancy. In order to
prepare for parent conferences, teachers also keep anecdotal records
about the pupils in different learning environments.
o Anecdotal records are a means to gather rich, in-depth information from
first-hand experiences in general.
 3. Incident Report
o An incident report is an electronic or paper document that provides a
detailed, written account of the chain of events leading up to and following
an unforeseen circumstance in a healthcare setting. The incident doesn’t
have to have caused harm to a patient, employee, or visitor, but it’s
classified as an “incident” because it threatens patient safety.
o Incident reports are used to communicate important safety information to
hospital administrators and keep them updated on aspects of patient care
for the following purposes:
 Risk management. Incident report data is used to identify and
eliminate potential risks necessary to prevent future mistakes. For
example, if an incident report review finds that most medical errors
occur during shift changes, risk management teams may suggest
that nursing staff develop standardized turnover protocols to avoid
future errors.
 Quality assurance. Quality assurance is all about patient safety,
customer satisfaction, and improving healthcare quality. Quality
control groups comb through incident reports to look for indicators
that suggest a patient received high-quality, patient-centered care
at a reasonable price.
 Educational tools. Incident reports make great training tools
because everyone has an innate ability to learn from their
 mistakes — or the mistakes of others. Healthcare teams often use
resolved incident reports as educational tools to prevent similar
occurrences.

4. Kardex
o The communication system commonly use in the medical field known as
Kardex is utilized in long-term care facilities to record patient care
summaries. It was developed by long-term care experts who understood
the importance of providing all pertinent staff members with access to key
patient data.

KARDEX SAMPLE FORM

5. Patient’s Chart/Records
o A patient medical chart, often known as a patient chart, is a
comprehensive record of a patient's clinical data and medical history.
o It is a private medical record that contains systematic documentation of
an individual patient's important clinical data and medical history.  Medical
records that are accurate and complete allow healthcare providers to
make informed and appropriate decisions about optimal patient care.
o A typical patient chart includes the following information:
 Demographics. This data is important to have since a patient’s
race and gender can predispose them to certain conditions.
 Medications. When you know which medications a patient is
taking, you’ll know whether you should increase or decrease their
dosages. You’ll also have an easier time deciding whether
additional medications are needed.
  Allergies. Prescribing medications to which a patient is allergic is
obviously a bad choice. However, if you don’t know the patient’s
allergies, you could easily make this mistake.
 Family history. This information matters, since seemingly
innocuous symptoms or lab results can indicate the earliest
phases of a condition common in the patient’s bloodline.
 Medical history. Knowing when a patient last saw primary care
physicians and specialists gives you a timeline that’s key to
determining which treatments have and haven’t worked.
 Immunizations. You can likely rule out certain illnesses as causes
of a patient’s symptoms if the patient is vaccinated against the
pathogen or otherwise immune.
 Surgical history. If a patient has had a certain type of surgery in
the past, then perhaps some of their current symptoms pertain to
unexpected consequences from that surgery.
 Lifestyle. Knowing a patient’s lifestyle factors such as smoking,
occupation, alcohol use and exercise level can help you make
more accurate diagnoses.
 Developmental history. Especially in pediatrics, motor skill
disorders and learning disabilities could tie into a patient’s current
symptoms.
 Pregnancies, if applicable. Pregnant patients may be unable to
take certain medications, and some symptoms are more common
in the weeks and months after pregnancy.
6. 201 file
o The 201 file is the employee's record in the organization. The 201-File
tracks a wide range of personnel information and produces
comprehensive reports that It contains an employee's personal
information such as full name, address, date of birth.  A "201" file may
also contain the employees' SSS number, TIN, PhilHealth registration,
HDMF number, educational transcripts/diplomas, performance reviews,
issued remedial actions, clearances, and other information.

B. Role of the Nurse in Record Management

o Patients' records serve as a documentation of the care processes that
have occurred, as well as a means of communication among nurses for
the continuous treatment of patients. In order to effectively manage their
patients, nurses must ensure that their records are accurate and
thorough. A comprehensive, timely, and accurate record-keeping system
is required for good nursing practice. There is no proof to indicate that
care was provided to the patient without thorough documenting, and in
nursing practice, it is said that "what is not recorded has not been done"
(Marinic 2015; Taiye 2015).
 o Nurses must always remember the characteristics of good
Recording and Reporting:

 Accuracy: Information should be correct to prevent serious

mistakes. Use of correct spelling and the institutions accepted
abbreviation and symbols ensure accurate interpretation of
information. It should be always complete with accurate signature.
Do not use nick names.
 Conciseness: Use a few words as possible to give the necessary
information.
 Thoroughness: Even a concise record or report must contain
complete information.
 Up to date: Recording should be done on time. A definite time and
routine for the reporting make more time and routine for the
reporting makes more efficient management. Delay in
recording can result in serious omissions and delay the work.
 Organization: Communicate all the information in a logical format
or order.
 Confidentiality: The information should be confidential.
 Objectivity: Presentation of facts not personal feelings, to give true
picture.
o Importance of Records and Reports:
 Legal evidence
 It avoids duplication of treatment measures
 It avoids duplication of diagnostic and procedural measures
 It will assist in continuity of patient care
 It helps in health insurance of the patient

References:

https://www.csuchico.edu/slc/_assets/documents/writing-center-handouts/how-to-write-a-
memo.pdf

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/memos/
parts_of_a_memo.html

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/memo-writing-guide

http://www.dspmuranchi.ac.in/pdf/Blog/minutes.pdf

https://fm.okstate.edu/site-files/im-files/training_doc/cp-08-meeting_minutes.pdf

https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/fbla/pdf/minuteswithsamples.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK564388/

https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/S_T/Sentinel-events
https://study.com/learn/lesson/anecdotal-records-template-examples.html

https://gvacpas.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/human-resource-management-system-the-
philippine-201-files/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6111626/