PSW AI Series: Streamlining PSW Documentation with AI

Personal Support Workers spend significant time on administrative work—particularly documenting patient care in progress notes. These notes are critical for continuity of care, but translating rough observations into professionally formatted reports can be time-consuming, especially at the end of a long shift.

AI note summarization tools offer a practical solution. Rather than spending 20-30 minutes hand-writing detailed notes, PSWs can input quick observations and let AI format them into structured, professional documentation that meets healthcare standards.

How It Works

The process is straightforward. You capture notes in whatever format is easiest during your shift—shorthand, bullet points, or informal language. After your shift, you paste these notes into an AI tool, which reformats them into clear, professional language organized by category (e.g., activities of daily living, mood, appetite, sleep).

For example, rough notes like:

• "Patient refused breakfast, said stomach hurt"
• "Watched TV for 2 hours, seemed calmer after"
• "Took meds at 10am without issue"
• "Complained about back pain, used heating pad"

...become a cohesive paragraph:

Sample Prompts to Use

Try this prompt with ChatGPT, Claude, or similar tools:

You can customize this based on your facility's requirements. Some facilities prefer notes organized differently—adjust the prompt accordingly.

Getting Started

1. Choose a platform: ChatGPT (free tier available), Claude, or specialized healthcare documentation tools like Nuance Dragon or Microsoft's healthcare solutions.
2. Test the workflow: Try one note to see if the output matches your facility's standards.
3. Check compliance: Ensure your facility allows this practice and that you're not entering protected health information into non-HIPAA-compliant platforms. Use institution-approved tools when handling patient data.
4. Build templates: Create prompts specific to your patient populations for consistent results.
5. Review outputs: Always review AI-generated notes for accuracy before submission—AI occasionally misinterprets context.

The Benefits

This approach saves 15-20 minutes per shift while producing more consistent, thorough documentation. Your notes become easier for supervisors and other care team members to review, reducing miscommunication about patient status. This means better continuity of care and less time spent clarifying details with colleagues.