3 charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners

When it comes to charting, LTC/SNF nurse practitioners face unique challenges that contribute to working after hours—often on nights and weekends.

Which is why as The Nurse Practitioner Charting Coach, there are specific charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners that I share!

I round at our local nursing home every Tuesday morning. I love getting to provide quality care for patients who are in the LTC/SNF setting. While I’m not in the “thick of it,” seeing dozens of patients across multiple facilities, I still face some of the same struggles. And I can absolutely see why LTC/SNF nurse practitioners find charting to be such a daunting task.

If you’re finding yourself staying late to finish notes or bringing charts home over the weekend, you are not alone—and it’s not because you’re doing anything wrong. The environment of long-term care and skilled nursing facilities simply makes real-time documentation difficult.

Let’s explore why this setting poses unique documentation challenges—and then dive into practical, time-saving charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners.

Why LTC/SNF Charting Is So Challenging

Charting in long-term care (LTC) or skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is vastly different from outpatient clinic or hospital settings.

Here are a few of the top reasons nurse practitioners in this field fall behind:

❌ High Patient Volume

Many LTC/SNF providers are responsible for 20+ patients per day, and that’s not including phone calls during the work day or weekend coverage. LTC/SNF nurse practitioners have to know a little about a lot of patients.

And with so many patients to see in a short amount of time, it’s easy for documentation to get pushed off. It’s no wonder there are specific charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners.

❌ Little to No Time Between Visits

Unlike a clinic where you return to your workstation after each patient, LTC/SNF rounding is fast-paced and continuous. Typically, you’re accompanied by a charge nurse and going room to room without a break to chart.

One of my top tips for clinic and hospital-based nurse practitioners is documenting in real time (aka signing chart notes off right after you see the patient). Unfortunately for in the LTC/SNF settings, real-time documentation nearly impossible.

❌ Traveling from Facility to Facility

Many LTC/SNF NPs work across multiple facilities, spending a portion of their day driving between locations. Not only does this cut into patient-facing time, but it also eats up potential time for documentation. Which is why there are specific charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners.

❌ Relying on Memory for Charting Later

When you’re seeing dozens of patients and charting hours—or days—later, details get fuzzy. It’s not just inefficient; it’s risky. Important clinical nuances can be lost or inaccurately recorded, which can affect both patient care and legal protection.

As you can see, LTC/SNF nurse practitioners face a perfect storm of obstacles when it comes to charting. But don’t worry—we’re about to dive into specific strategies that will help you chart smarter, not harder.

Charting Tips for LTC/SNF Nurse Practitioners

Here are a few specific charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners!

Tip #1: Create Custom Templates

One of the easiest and most effective ways to streamline your documentation is by using custom charting templates.

In LTC/SNF settings, many of your visits are routine or follow-ups, such as:

• 30-day, 60-day, 90-day recertifications
• Annual wellness checks
• Chronic condition management
• Acute, sick visits

By building a customized template for the top visit types, you can drastically reduce the time spent typing repetitive content. These templates ensure you’re covering all required elements while staying efficient.

💡 Need help building your templates? Check out my Comprehensive List of Smart Phrases! I have some 30, 60, 90 day recertification exam, chronic medical conditions, and acute visits that would work great for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners.

Tip #2: Use an AI Medical Scribe

AI medical scribes can truly be one of the game-changer charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners.

AI Medical Scribes listen to your conversation with the patient and automatically generates a high-quality clinical note—in seconds. This means you no longer have to rely on your memory hours after seeing the patient or spend your evenings re-creating visits from scribbled notes.

This tool is especially helpful when you have minimal time between patients and need to dictate and go. You can simply open an AI Medical Scribe and talk into the system to capture a visit while you’re driving. This can be one of the perfect charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners!

Tip #3: Build and Use Smart Phrases

If you’re not using smart/dot phrases yet, you’re missing out on one of the biggest time-saving tools in your EHR. Which is why this is a one of the top charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners.

Smart phrases are pre-built blocks of text you can drop into any note with a simple shortcut. You can create your own for:

• HPI templates for common diagnoses (e.g., UTI, COPD exacerbation)
• Treatment plans
• Recertification exam
• Patient education
• Review of systems and physical exam findings

For example, for the typical recertification exam, you can create a smart phrase that includes:

“Reviewed care plan and current orders. No changes at this time. Patient and nursing staff verbalize understanding and agree with plan of care.”

You’ll cut your charting time in half by not retyping the same information over and over again.

📝 Want help getting started? Check out a preview of my FREE Jumpstart List of Smart Phrases—and don’t forget to explore my Comprehensive List of Smart Phrases helpful for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners.

Succeed in the LTC/SNF setting

Working in a long term care/skilled nursing facility can be a very rewarding career. You get to care for patients that may not be seen often by a medical provider.

You get to build strong relationships not only with the patients, but also the nursing staff. And you truly get to make a difference in these patient’s lives!

However, the charting can easily overburden even the strongest nurse practitioners.

But you don’t have to feel overwhelmed with the charting in a long term care facility setting! Use these charting tips for LTC/SNF nurse practitioners!