Case Study: A Hack to cut your visit time by 50%

Oct 7

The Transformation You Deserve Starts Now

Are you a Primary Care Provider (PCP) who loves patient care, but dreads the after-hours chart pile-up? Do you feel that gnawing anxiety when the clock hits 5 PM, knowing your actual workday is far from over?

I know that feeling. I am an NP with people-pleasing tendencies (it’s now in remission) and I used to work late nights and weekends, sacrificing my personal life just to meet my patient’s needs. My wake-up call came when I was too sick from overwork to enjoy a vacation had already paid for in full. That's when the truth hit me: Working harder wasn't the answer, a better system was.

My system led to Chart Smart Mastery, a proven blueprint to keep your total work within a protected 40-hour week. The transformation is simple, but radical: Your work is not your life. You deserve a defined work week that ends.

The "Ordinary World" of Overwhelm

Most NPs leave school fully prepared to diagnose and treat, but completely unprepared for the sheer day-to-day demands and logistics of practice. You're set up to fail, not because you lack clinical skill, but because you lack crucial efficiency and system skills. The pressure to be "always-on" and the culture of self-sacrifice mean your personal life shrinks to nothing, replaced by the never-ending to-do list.

My co-workers, like countless others, run home only to continue working, sacrificing family time, exercise, and rest. This overwork isn't just tiring; it leads to medical errors, guilt, and a deep sense of professional failure.

The Turning Point: A Resident’s Breakthrough

Now, as a preceptor for NP residents, I’m dedicated to helping new grads avoid the burnout I experienced. I know the struggle is real, and the right practical tactics can be game-changers.

I recently had a resident ask, "How do you get through a visit with a patient who has a dozen complex medical problems that all need to be addressed?"

My first answer was, "Pre-charting helps," referring to a basic checklist I'd provided. Her expression was pure resignation, the look of an intelligent, capable person who had already tried the "obvious" solution and felt like a failure. It was the look of dozens of people I’ve helped who had struggled with a skills gap, not a lack of commitment.

I knew she was making the classic mistake: seeing pre-charting as a passive, mental review, not an active, tangible part of the charting workflow.

The 7-Minute Transformation

I assigned her a complex patient with congenital birth defects and multiple rare disorders, a chart that would normally take a nervous new provider the full hour just to gather the history.

I walked her through the active pre-charting process, which you can master in Module 3 of the Chart Smart Master Class:

Start the Note & Orders: Immediately load your SOAP note template, HPI questionnaires, and start adding in known visit diagnoses, labs, and refills based on the chart review. Leave the orders in a pending status.
Review Recent History: Check the last 1-2 visit notes for loose ends. Did a consult report come back? Are abnormal lab results that need to be addressed? Write these matters into the note draft immediately.
Synthesize the Problem List: Systematically review the problem list and medication list, tying every item to a current or future action. (Example: Does a patient with bariatric surgery have a recent B12 level? Add the diagnosis “history of bariatric surgery,” attach it to the lab order for B12 level, and begin writing your HPI for that diagnosis.)
Draft Your HPI "Questionnaire": Instead of a blank slate, draft your HPI in the note as a list of questions you must ask. The cognitive heavy lifting is done now, in the quiet, focused time before the visit.

The Result: This active pre-charting took just 7 focused minutes. The note was already halfway done, and she had a rock-solid, comprehensive action plan before stepping into the room.

The Shocking Outcome

She returned from the visit after just 22 minutes (cutting the typical resident time in half) with a beaming face.

"I can't believe how easy that was! I covered everything, completely, and I didn't spend a whole hour in there," she exclaimed.

Why was it so effective? Pre-charting is your secret weapon against chaos. It moves the complex cognitive work out of the high-stress patient room and into the quiet time before the visit. You walk in knowing the patient, which builds instant trust, and you walk out with a nearly complete note. This saved her nearly 30 minutes on that one encounter alone!

Your Path to Reclaimed Time

This powerful tactic, Active Pre-Charting, is just one module in Chart Smart Mastery.

If you're tired of making less per hour than a staff nurse because you're working 50–60 hours for a 40-hour paycheck, it's time to choose a better way. This transformation is learnable, and it’s achievable.

Module 3 of Chart Smart Mastery gives you the full blueprint for this high-speed, high-quality pre-charting strategy. But that's just the start: