shift report

shift report

The patient, health care system, is a practice that develops and brings new ideas, deeds, and knowledge that further responsibilities and ensures patients’ and nurses’ needs are satisfied. One of the methods that are evolving includes the shift change or handoff report, which is developing from the traditional nurse shift to a bedside. The difference between these two reports is the moment when the incoming nurse transfers a patient care report to the oncoming nurse at a given time. The process involves different matters, such as the responsibility and accountability of a patient. Traditional nurse shift, which occurs at many patient care stations, can be done in a hallway, written format with information on patient’s status and needs, conference room, face to face, or even through video and audio record. Reports given outside the bedside need a nurse to visualize the situation of the patient, and crucial information and care are usually lost.

In the acute care setting, patients’ needs are crucial for better treatment, and a traditional shift report has been associated with many falls. It is of the essence to increase bedside reports to improve satisfaction among the patient and the nurses’. This problem statement helps in developing a PICOT question on how does bedside shift release increases patient’s and nurses’ satisfaction among adult patients in the acute care setting, compared to reporting at the traditional nurses’ station? One of the problems associated with the conventional nurse shift report is patients not participating in the daily care plan. The traditional shift usually does not allow patients the chance to participate in daily care plans as the various aspects are not assessed or reported. In bedside care, the assessment and an overview of the general conditions and essential elements of their care plans are recorded. The incoming nurse assesses the patient safety environment and different aspects such as wound sites, dressings, and abnormal breathing patterns. According to Jeffs et al. (2013), engaging the patients in the reported plan helps in having access to their health status and procedures while the questions asked during the process also allows the patient to participate, thus reducing their anxiety..

Traditional shift report also does not allow the patient a chance to be aware of staff change. Nurse shift change in the classic style can be conducted in a meeting room, in the hallway, through a videotape or audiotape. This process can lead to the loss of crucial information or lead to errors during information collection. During bedside shift change, the report is conducted, and the patients are made aware of nurse change as the outgoing nurse introduces the oncoming nurse. This process also provides the oncoming nurse with a chance to communicate and be involved with the patient as they are kept informed by the nurse on different care aspects. According to Jeffs et al. (2013), the incoming nurse is made aware of the various aspects of patients’ health, and the patient is made aware while essential data, which is crucial in providing better health care and manage the patient effectively, is provided. Also, this may lead to an improved relationship between a nurse and a patient.

In a traditional shift report, the nurses also may not be up-to-date with the patient information. According to Maxson et al. (2012), patients who are involved in bedside shift reports are more likely to provide input on their progress, which can be crucial for their care. Patients who were involved in the traditional handoff system perceived that the information they provide was for the nurse staff alone, so they did not offer much information on their progress. The bedside report allows the nurse a chance to communicate with the patient on various aspects as he visualizes the patient and his environment. The information provided is up to date, which helps in increasing the overall safety of the patient.

In a traditional handoff report, the nurses can also be unavailable due to various matters. The introduction of a bedside report helps to avoid the different accidents and falls that may be involved in the change when the oncoming nurse has not arrived. According to McAllen et al. (2018), the visual assessment provides the nurse with the chance to assess the environment of the patient and different matters associated with it. During the bedside shift report, nurses also get stuck to the room until the oncoming nurse arrives. This facilitates the evaluation of a patient limiting the chances of a fall occurring.

In conclusion, bedside shift reports have got a positive influence on nurse and patients satisfaction. It allows the nurses the chance to assess the patient’s progress and his surroundings. This is crucial in preventing the various falls and accidents associated with traditional shift change, where the nurse can be unavailable. Second, it also improves the relationship and involvement of the patient as various details, and crucial information is provided. The patients can produce input on their progress, which is essential to their care. The third is that the bedside shift report facilitates the provision of information that is accurate of quality concerning the patient. Among the adults in the acute care setting, bedside shift report will help in improving their care progress and safety measures.

References

Jeffs, L., Scott, A., Simpson, E., Campbell, H., Irwin, T., Lo, J.. & Cardoso, R. (2013). The value of bedside shift reporting enhancing nurse surveillance, accountability, and patient safety. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 28(3), 226-232.

Maxson, P. M., Derby, K. M., Wrobleski, D. M., & Foss, D. M. (2012). Bedside nurse-to-nurse handoff promotes patient safety. Medsurg Nursing, 21(3), 140.

McAllen, E. R., Stephens, K., Swanson-Biearman, B., Kerr, K., & Whiteman, K. (2018). Moving shift report to the bedside: An evidence-based quality improvement project. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(2).