Two separate problems to fix
The nurse wrote a real finding in the wrong client's notes. Two rules apply: the wrong entry is corrected so it remains readable and traceable, and the valid finding is recorded in the correct client's notes as a late entry. Option 3 does both correctly: a single line through the entry, the words mistaken entry, the date, time, and initials, and a late entry in the other client's chart.
Correcting the wrong entry
On a paper record, an error is corrected with a single line drawn through the text so that it can still be read. The nurse writes mistaken entry (or error, according to policy) with the date, time, and initials of the correction. The original must never be erased, scribbled over, or covered with correction tape or fluid, because the record must show what was written and when it was changed. Hiding an entry can look like falsification of a legal document.
Recording the finding for the correct client
The pin-site check was real: the nurse checked the other client's pin sites at 10:00 and found them clean and dry. That finding belongs in the other client's notes. Because it is being written at 13:00, it is labeled a late entry, showing the current date and time and stating that the assessment was made at 10:00. Writing it as though it were charted at 10:00 would misrepresent when the note was made.
| Option | Correction | Late entry | Verdict |
|---|
| 1 | Correct | Charted as if at 10:00 | Wrong |
| 2 | Correction tape hides the original | Correct | Wrong |
| 3 | Single line, label, date, time, initials | Labeled late entry | Correct |
| 4 | Initials only, no date and time | Correct | Wrong |
Watch out! Each wrong option differs from the right one by a single detail. Read every element: how the original is crossed out, what is written beside it, and how the time of the new entry is shown.
Exam takeaway
Key point! Correct errors with one line, keep the original readable, add mistaken entry with date, time, and initials, and chart valid findings for the right client as a late entry.