Amelia Miller

Case notes that used to take me an hour after every shift

Social work case notes are important. They're legal documents. They affect what services people get. They need to be clear, factual, and complete. They're also exhausting to write after a full day of emotionally demanding work. I'd often be writing notes at 7pm having finished at 5pm. Tired, emotional, sometimes still processing what I'd seen that day. Not the best conditions for clear professional documentation. I now use a structured prompt to help me write notes faster and more consistently. I give Claude the key facts — what happened, what was discussed, what was decided, what the next steps are — and it helps me organise these into a clear structured note. I still write the facts myself. I still make the professional judgments. What I'm using AI for is the structure and the language — making sure my notes read clearly and professionally even when I'm running on empty. My notes supervisor commented that my documentation has "really improved this year." I don't think that's wrong — I think clearer structure has made me document things I used to leave out.