How to Write an I-PASS Nursing Handoff that De-Identifies First
Handoffs reprint an MRN and fill a normal BP. Strip names first. Write VITAL NOT IN INPUTS instead of a textbook range.
The matching generator is the I-PASS Nursing Handoff that De-Identifies First (Do Not Invent, Not Medical Advice) (I Pass Nursing Handoff De Identify First Do Not Invent Not Medical Advice) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
Strip names DOB and MRN before any I-PASS line
Draft an I-PASS nursing handoff after de-identifying. Do not invent vitals or meds. Not medical advice. Not an SBAR card. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.
Paste these fields before you hit run:
Pasted handoff facts (already messy is ok): [Facts]
Shift I allow: [Shift]
Unit label I allow (or GENERIC UNIT): [Unit]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent (vitals, meds, MRN): [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language: [Lang]
Receiver prompt I allow: [Receiver]
What this is not: [Not]
Identifiers I must strip: [Strip]
That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.
Keep vitals blank if they were blank
Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.
Walk the Generate list in order:
- Banner: not medical advice, not SBAR, not NCLEX, not a chart. Quote Not. De-identify first.
- Strip pass: list every identifier in Facts that matches Strip. Replace with ROLE/UNIT tokens. Do not print the raw identifier again.
- Honesty ledger: Shift, Unit, remaining clinical nouns after strip. Forbidden: invented BP, HR, meds, allergies, MRN.
- I-PASS block: I (severity only if pasted), P (summary from remaining facts), A (actions only if pasted), S (contingency only if pasted), S (receiver: quote Receiver; if UNKNOWN, write RECEIVER MUST SYNTHESIZE ALOUD).
- Blank policy: if a vital is missing, write VITAL NOT IN INPUTS. Do not fill a normal range.
- Refuse list: diagnoses not in Facts, med doses, MRI results not pasted.
- Never: do not output PHI. Do not write SBAR headings as a substitute.
- Compliance pass: quote Banned and Never hits. Confirm no MRN/DOB/name remains. Format as Format.
If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.
Use I-PASS headings not SBAR
Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.
Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:
- I-PASS after de-identify. Not SBAR, not NCLEX, not medical advice.
- Never invent vitals, meds, or identifiers.
- Do not print stripped PHI again.
- No emojis.
When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.
Banner: not medical advice
Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.
Tags on the card (i-pass nursing handoff, de-identify first not advice, no invented vitals or meds) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.
Fill the card, then run
Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.