Bedside Shift Report: Strategies To Encroach Patient Satisfaction

In every profession there are changes that propel how tasks are done; nursing is no stranger to this. One of the biggest changes that have come into nursing’s daily events is how report hand-offs are being done. Gone are the days of taped report that each off going nurse must tape about each patient and the oncoming nurse must listen to. Nurses are now being encouraged to move their report to the bedside, in front of the patient (Trossman, 2007). It is very important to know how this can affect the patient and even the nurse’s schedule. With every change, there are positives and negatives that can finalize the decision to keep or forego

Nurses prefer working in an environment where they feel appreciated in both their actions and decisions. In the event that they are ignored, they tend to experience subjection and they are likely to resist. At one time, our healthcare facility sought to implement the bedside shift reporting (BSR). This process would have required that nurses be informed and trained on the use of the documentation. However, this did not happen, on the start of the month each nurse received a formal letter form the chief nursing officer informing us that we would be reporting to a newly hired nurse educator who would evaluate our performance in implementing the BSR. This was met with anger and most of the nurses seemed to have decided that they would not accomplish

Bedside reporting has the primary function of sharing patient information between nurses, as they change shifts. The nurse ending their shift would report all the changes that have occurred in the state of the patient and all measures which have been taken for the respective patient. This information would be transmitted to the nurse commencing her shift, who would then write and further transmit all patient information occurring during their shift, to the nurse coming to replace them.

The hand over process of communication between nurses to nurses is done with the intention of transferring essential information for safe, and patient centered care. Traditionally, this shift report has been done away from the patient’s bedside, at the nurse’s station, or other place like staff’s room. In addition, the shift report used to be delivered through audio recording of the patient’s information. These reporting mechanisms did not include face-to-face reporting of the patient information, nor involvement of patient. Therefore, information regarding the patient’s care was not shared with the patient, leaving them out of his/her own care plan. Recent studies and development of Patient Centered Care Philosophy have challenged this belief of giving a report away from the patient. Tan (2015) said, “Shift report must not only be restricted in nurse to nurse communication, but it must involve patients as the recipients of care” (p. 1). Incorporating the patient into the end of shift report is essential for providing patient centered care and patient satisfaction. Nurses at the St Jude Medical center in the acute in-patient rehabilitation unit are not exceptional. Most of the end of the shift report between nurses are still done away from the patient. Aim of this paper is to make a change in the work place, which is the process of giving end of shift report at the bedside incorporating patient and families in the acute in-patient rehabilitation unit at St Jude Medical

Effective communication is crucial aspect of nursing yet too often is placed low on the priority list, especially at shift change. Information related to the care of patients is frequently disseminated at a crowded, noisy nurse station with several nurses rushing to leave and others attempting to get the information necessary to plan care and limit the constant distractions. It is this interaction that allows for information vital patient safety information to be communicated including the acuity of patients.

Traditionally, nursing shift-to-shift reports were organized methods of communication between only the oncoming and leaving nurse, designated to a location such as the central nursing station or nook of a hallway. Shift reports can be considered the foundation of how the day is going to plan out because it introduces the patient, diagnoses, complications, medications, consults, upcoming test and the entire plan of care. These reports are full of complicated and vital information and while set in certain locations that are vulnerable to interruptions, such as the nursing station, medical errors and miscommunication are more likely to be made. The Joint Commission’s 2009 and 2010 National Patient Safety Goals (Joint Commission, 2015) included two patient safety standards, first to encourage patients to be involved in their health care plan and second, to implement a standardized communication process for handoff reports between providers. Soon after in 2013, The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under the United States Department of Health and Human Services introduced a set of strategies to improve patient engagement along with safety and quality in patient care. Within these strategies the new method of nurse bedside shift report was developed, which suggests nurses to conduct shift-to-shift reports at bedside in the room of each patient, rather than out of the room. The benefits of this new method were

Bedside reporting involves giving information or a report to the oncoming nurse in the presence of a patient. This method gives the patient an opportunity to ask questions and get clarification regarding his or her care. Bedside reporting increases patient satisfaction, quality of healthcare and nurse-to-nurse responsibility. Hospitals need to design a better handoff process that can easily reduce patient risks and increase patients’ involvement in their care. Emergency rooms shift reports usually take place at the nursing station of every patient care area. The departing nurse gives information verbally to the oncoming shift. Therefore,

Bedside shift reporting, is it necessary? Baker (2010) states that is has its benefits, from patient safety, increased patient involvement and staff teamwork, ownership and accountability.” (Baker, 2010) To promote stronger engagement, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality developed the Guide to Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Quality and Safety for bedside reporting. (AHRQ, 2013)

The patient has the right to every aspect of their care and this includes being involved in the change-of-shift bedside report. The purpose of this study is to identify the benefits of bedside report and its impact on patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of care. The participants of this study were randomly selected and of varying ages. The methodology utilized in this study is a qualitative and quantitative research. The results of the study will determine the benefits of incorporating bedside report into nursing care.

Bedside report has also become a critical component to maintain patient safety. In the past nurses would give hand off report at the nurse’s station, leaving their patients alone. This time frame has proven to be when the majority of sentinel events occurred, such as falls (Ofori-Atta, J., 2014). Bedside report keeps patients involved in their care and reduces the risk of errors in communication between nurses and maintains patient

Change of shift in the nursing profession is unique (Caruso, 2007). Information is transferred between nurses verbally and through written communication. In many facilities shift report from one shift to another involved sitting down and getting all your orders from a caredex and then talking with the previous nurse face to face going over pertinent information regarding their patients. This type of report usually happens in a report room or sometimes in the hallways or other common

Evidence also supports that bedside shift reporting is financially beneficial for staff nurses and nursing management. The average report time is significantly decreased from an average of 45 minutes to 29 minutes (Gregory, et al., 2014). This reduces overtime and saves hospitals money. Nurses’ satisfaction is improved because they get to end their shift on time. They get to proceed with shift report more quickly, with fewer distractions and in real time (when compared with writing or recording report). Increase in nursing satisfaction reduces turn over and, once again, saves hospitals money (Gregory, et al., 2014).

First, baseline data were collected on nurse perceptions about the shift report process and patient perceptions about nursing care were. The authors adopted the ‘Patient Views on Nursing Care’ patient survey tool (Larrabee et al. 1995) to perform the survey. Then same data were collected and analyzed three months and 13 months after the new approach was implemented. The data analysis approach included analysis of variance(ANOVA) to compare data collected during the baseline survey and data collected after the new approach was implemented.

Scottsdale Healthcare is an organization of magnet status and is continuously striving to find ways in which to improve patient satisfaction and quality of care. As of October 2011, Scottsdale Healthcare implemented bedside report in order increase patient satisfaction providing the patient and family knowledge in regards to their condition and plan of care in order to set goals for the patients recovery and gives them the ability to ask questions. Prior to bedside report taking effect, management gathered all employees from the unit going over what is to be expected and how bedside report was not only taking effect on our unit alone, but hospital wide. Nursing leaders knew that they had a situation at hand due to the fact that nursing staff was so comfortable in giving report at the nurses station and did not want to wake the patient or deal with a family member, but they remained positive and encouraged staff that this would dramatically change our satisfaction scores. In maintaining patient satisfaction scores, the hospital would qualify for reimbursement from Medicare. The nurse

Nursing work in well-lighted, smooth, and fast-paced working conditions in the hospital. They have a variety of shifts to helps their patients to make sure their safety. Nurses’ shifts are normally from morning to nights and have two to three days off. According to health affairs, nurses work a long period with less pause and often have a short time for recuperation between shifts. Nurses schedule shifts may be between eight, twelve, or even sixteen hours long and do not often follow the standard order of a day, evening, and night shifts (Ann E. Rogers, …). For example, nurses are scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM and finish at 8:00 PM; Nevertheless, there’s an unexpected task occur, and nurses compel to work overtime or be on-call. According to