Bedside shift handover vs traditional shift handover

The Joint Commission predicts that up to two-thirds of errors that occur in patients are related to miscommunication between caregivers that occurs during patient hand-off (The Joint Commission, 2018). To meet the needs for evidence, research is critical to guide the identification of and critique of evidence for practice. Literature review guides and plays a crucial part in the research process. In ensuring continuity of care, the nursing shift handover forms a critical component of care continuity. Nursing shift hand over is usually received at the nurse's desk where the outgoing teams read patient information to the incoming staff nurses without actual patient contact or visualization of the patients. The exclusion criteria were for articles older than five years, not published in English, articles for which no abstract or full text were available and articles that were not peer-reviewed.

The initial search yielded 193 articles of which 7 articles were included in the research. 169 of the research results from the literature search were excluded from the study due to lack of the relevant research information to address the research question adequately, these articles are articles that were not either conducted within an inpatient setting or their findings and conclusions were not relevant to the study question. Others were published in other languages other than English with no available translations while others were summaries of the researches with no available abstracts or full texts or access was limited. Most of those discarded also failed to meet the recency inclusion criteria as they were published earlier than 2014 making them more than 5 years old. , (2017) & Tobiano et al.

, (2018), supports the assertation regarding patient participation quoting that patients regarded their participation in the handover as their right and having a strong urge to "know what is going on" and that listening to the handover played a crucial role in building their sense of security and confidence in the nurses involved in their care. Vines, Dupler, Van Son & Guido, (2014) supports the findings of building patient satisfaction of care through bedside reporting using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) tool which indicated that lack of effective client-provider communication leads to feelings of exclusion in decisions pertaining to their care. Through bedside report handover, nurse-patient communication is enhanced hence improving the satisfaction in care delivered to the patient (Kullberg et al.

, (2017); Tobiano et al. Discussion of Findings Although Roslan & Lim, (2016), pointed to nurse perceptions of bedside handover that pointed to disregard for patient’s privacy and confidentiality, the existing research findings overwhelmingly indicate that patients were comfortable and derived higher satisfaction from bedside reporting compared to the traditional reporting. The findings from the research articles pointed to the enhanced patient satisfaction of care and enhanced safety in care following bedside hand over. The research articles have established the important role that bedside handover plays in creating a human connection between the nurses and the patients which involves the establishment of an appropriate environment for patient care, development of genuine interest for patient care among the nurses and building of nurse-patient relations which culminate in enhancement of patient’s confidence in the nurses and willingness to participate in their care.

Patient safety is a combination of many factors chief of which is the patient’s motivation to engage in their care process and strong nurse-patient rapport. Traditional handover which cuts off the patient from the nurse communication creates a barrier to this rapport hence curtailing the enhancement of patient's involvement in their care. Conclusion In summary, quality improvement in patient care reigns as a critical aspect of nursing practice. The quality improvement as a constellation of many different interventions and contribution, cannot be achieved through single interventions but must involve establishing evidence to support practice and any changes in practice. Handover at the end of shifts contributes to continuity of patient care and can contribute to the enhancement of care or a significant decline in the quality of care.

An efficient handover approach is hence critical in the inpatient care, to ensure that the handover of patients addresses their needs adequately and that it contributes to the patient’s safety and enhancement of the patient’s satisfaction for the care provided. Bedside handover has been through many previous studies identified as having significant benefits over traditional handover approaches. 1177/1054773816630535 Joint Commission. Retrieved from http://www. jointcommission. org/standards_information/npsgs. aspx Kullberg, A. pone. 0175397 Mullen-Fortino, M. , DiMartino, J. , Entrikin, L. , Mulliner, S. 1177/2010105816678423 Sand-Jecklin, K. , & Sherman, J. A quantitative assessment of patient and nurse outcomes of bedside nursing report implementation. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 23(19-20), 2854-2863. doi: 10. 004 Timonen, L. , & Sihvonen, M. Patient participation in bedside reporting on surgical wards. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 9(4), 542-548.