Progress Notes For Nursing Template

Take comprehensive and organized notes in your style using our progress notes for nursing template. 

By Nate Lacson on Mar 06, 2024.

Fact Checked by RJ Gumban.

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What is a Nursing Progress Notes Template?

Progress notes take up a large chunk of a nurse’s day, regardless of their specialty or workplace. As such, progress note-taking is a great skill to develop that is guaranteed to benefit your nursing career regardless of your future direction.

are a hugely important resource for informing clinical decision-making and medical record-keeping, and every nurse will have a different style of note-taking that works best for them. When it came to designing a template for nurses to take progress notes we knew we had to keep it simple but add in a few useful features to save time.

This nursing progress notes template is a free PDF resource for you to keep track of your patients’ progress notes in a pre-formatted structure with handy columns for the date, time, and nurse’s signature or initials.

Free Progress Notes For Nursing Template

Check out these progress note templates for nursing notes to improve your documentation, workflow, and client outcomes.

How to Use This Progress Note Template for Nursing 

It’s simple to get started using this PDF progress note template in your nursing practice, but to ensure you’re getting the most out of your template- follow the steps below.

Step 1. Download the PDF

The first step to start using this nursing progress note template in your practice is to download the PDF using the link on this page. Once you have downloaded the free PDF, just click within the interactive text boxes to start typing. Alternatively, you can print this PDF out and fill it in by hand if that’s more your thing.

Step 2. Add the date and time of your note

Every nursing progress note needs to include the date and time of your interaction to build a solid timeline for your patient and for medical record-keeping purposes. Add the date and time in the Date/Time column before you start writing the note so you don’t forget it.

Step 3. Add your progress note

We have left the progress note section blank for you to use your preferred method of note-taking. Many nurses use the SOAP, F-DAR, or PIE acronyms, and with our template, you can use whichever method you prefer for taking your progress notes.

Step 4. Add your signature or initials

Once you have written your progress note, add your signature or initials in the initials column. This is an important step for accountability, and for meeting the legal obligations for medical record keeping. 

Step 5. Save your changes securely

The last step is to save your progress note securely. If you are using this template digitally, ensure everyone accessing the template understands how to use it without overwriting each other’s hard work.

Nursing Progress Notes Example (Sample)

Can’t wait to see what this template looks like when it’s completed? We have created example nursing progress notes using this template to illustrate what this template can look like when it’s all filled in.

Download this Nursing Progress Notes Example here: 

Nursing Progress Notes Example (Sample)

Who Can Use this Nursing Template?

This template is designed for use by registered nurses (RN’s) who routinely take periodic progress notes on their patients. The structure of this template is designed for concise progress notes (not a whole medical history!) set out in chronological order. The concise nature of these progress notes makes it best for using on patients in an in-patient setting, where you may be looking after several patients on the ward at one time. As such, this template can be a great organizational tool.

This template can aid the progress note-taking process for nurses working in:

  • Perioperative nursing
  • Critical care
  • Oncology
  • Pediatrics
  • Hematology
  • Occupational health
  • Hospice care
  • Cardiac care
  • Geriatrics

And many more! Additionally, this template may be used by nursing students or trainees who are still developing their progress note-taking skills.

Why is This Template Useful for Nurses?

This template was designed with nurses in mind, with the goal of saving them time and making their busy lives a little bit easier. Some of the useful points about using this template in your nursing practice are included below:

Use your preferred style

We have kept this template simple enough for you to use whichever note-taking style you prefer. Lots of templates add in extra headings you will never use, or sections that don’t apply to your patient. No such redundancies here! 

Keep your notes organized

Our table format keeps your progress notes in a readable, chronological order. Just print out multiple copies to keep the progress notes going beyond the first page.

Provide evidence of your decision-making process

Our progress notes template puts your entry in the context of your patient’s full set of progress notes from all other nurses in their care team. As such, our completed progress notes template provides great evidence of your decision-making skills and teamwork for any continuing professional development (CPD) you are required to undertake.

Why Use Carepatron For Nursing Notes?

Your progress notes are important medical records that will include sensitive patient information with a legal requirement to be stored securely. As such, having one reliable, secure place to store your notes is a big help in meeting your legal obligations. 
Carepatron offers a digitally encrypted, HIPAA-compliant method to store your progress notes, along with all the other documents making up your patient’s medical record. As well as being secure, Carepatron is easily accessible on mobile or desktop for all members of your patient’s care team. 

Beyond storing your progress notes, you can also create, access, edit and share your notes through Carepatron with others in your team, or with your patients through Carepatron’s client portal.

Carepatron also offers AI-powered speech-to-text dictation software, compatible with all our clinical templates, as well as a whole suite of useful practice management features such as appointment scheduling, coding, billing management, and video call functionality.

Nursing Note Software
How do multiple people use this note digitally?
How do multiple people use this note digitally?

Commonly asked questions

How do multiple people use this note digitally?

When using a physical piece of paper, it’s clear that you don’t need to worry about accidentally erasing someone else’s progress note. However, if multiple people have access to the same PDF, it’s possible they could be editing it at the same time from different computers- and accidentally delete the other person’s notes! As such, we recommend setting out a clear policy or implementing digital safeguards on where and when you can save changes to a patient’s progress notes if you choose to use this PDF digitally.

What is a patient identifier?

A patient identifier is an optional additional identifier for your patient on top of their name and birth date. This could be a national or state-level identification number or an ID number assigned by your hospital to their patients.

How do you write a good progress note?

There are many resources out there on writing good progress notes, but a few things always come up as examples of best practice. If you are writing notes by hand, ensure you write legibly to keep it easy for others to read. Keep your progress notes concise, including only the necessary information. Limit jargon and acronyms to a level that others in your team will understand. And finally, don’t forget to add the date and time- our progress notes template can help you with this last one!

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