Effective Communication In Nursing Research

It is essential as a Registered Nurse and nursing student to ensure that a comprehensive safe and quality of practice is achieved, resulting in goals and outcomes being met positively improving the nursing needs of people. This standard is important to my scope of practice, as being a nursing student it is for me to ensure goals and outcomes are being achieved to ensure the safety and wellness to those I am caring for.

Searches were made through the online library at Grand Canyon University. Results were refined to include on peer reviewed studies with keywords as combinations of: Safety briefing (45 results), patient safety plus nursing plus communication (1769), patient safety and interdisciplinary (45). Of the results obtained, the list was further refined to those studies that discussed the issue of communication in a team environment and risk of errors, or leadership follow up. Studies were not included if they were considered to be out of scope for the issue. Ultimately ten articles were identified as being pertinent to the subject, or had conclusions that could be extrapolated to the issue in question. From these search results four studies have been chosen for this paper to support the relevance of the issue.

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)

healthcare organization accrediting bodies, and to maintain credibility with patients and peers alike, must adhere to the National Patient Safety Goals. As stated by Ulrich and Kear (2014), "Not only are nurses responsible for providing safe patient care, we are also responsible for creating an environment in which others can provide safe patient care, and for being the last line of defense when needed between the patient and potential harm. Having a deep understanding of patient safety and patient safety culture allows nurses to be the leaders we need to be in ensuring that our patients are always

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how safety in the nursing profession affects the nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing research. Safety in the nursing profession means to minimize the risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performances (QSEN, 2014). Patient safety is a very important aspect in the profession of nursing. It is the nurse’s job to keep up to date with their patients and to make sure that protocol is being followed at all times. To maintain this strategy, the nurse must show proper knowledge of a nurse, skills of a nurse, and also a professional attitude.

Communication in shift change plays a major role in the nursing practice and role. Appropriate and effective communication is a tool assisting nurses in providing safe, thorough and quality cares about their patients and ensuring there is continued service delivery. Realizing the critical role of their patients and patients’ families in promoting patient safety, nurses need to engage their patients and family members in the whole communication process of exchanging information and planning the care. Nurses need to give their patients chances to participate in the discussion their health conditions, upcoming procedures, medical information, or treatment options. Bedside reporting give nurses opportunities to visualize the physical and psychological needs of their patients. Change of shift reporting is also a situation where the nurses exchange their clinical knowledge, and patients’ condition changes and allow their patients to express their understandings, concerns, and questions. This paper seeks to analyze bedside report and explain its relevance to the nursing practice.

Effective communication during a patient handoff is critical in ensuring patient-care quality and safety and bedside shift reports have been found to increase patient involvement and satisfaction (Wakefield, Ragan, Brandt, and Tregnago, 2012). Bedside shift report is viewed as an opportunity to reduce errors and ensure improved communication between nurses (Gregory, Tan, Tilrico, Edwardson, and Gamm, 2014). Improved communication between nurses can be beneficial for all involved. In response to the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals, bedside report has been supported as improving patient safety, patient-centered care, and nurse communication as well as reducing medical errors (Gregory, et al., 2014). Ofori-Atta, Biniend, and Chalupka’s (2015) article examines statistics regarding hospital care and shows that according to the Inspector General Office, Health and Human Services

Not everyone is open to change, and some nurses feel that bedside reporting may interfere with patient privacy and patient well-being, which could lead to non-compliance.(Joshi, Currier, & O'Brien, 2011). Nurses might feel unsure about what exactly bedside reporting is, and what it should include in terms of the nursing need-to-know versus the patient need-to-know (Joshi, Currier, & O'Brien, 2011). In situations such as this, the Nurse Bedside Shift Report: Implementation Handbook would be beneficial to any hospital considering the implementation of bedside report. It would be used as a uniform standard of care, and take the guesswork out of what is actually expected of the nursing

The aim of this project is to educate nursing staff regarding the evidence-based practice of bedside shift reporting. A greater awareness of proper handoffs can result in improved patient outcomes and nursing satisfaction within the health care setting.

This code is present so that nurses’ can enhance their capability to promote safe and quality nursing care for patients in need. Thompson et al. (2005) states that recognizing and interpreting a physician’s plan in the workplace, and the ability to identify and implement possible solutions to communication- related issues that places patients’ safety at risk, are methods of promoting patient safety, as stated in the Vaismoradi et al (2011) article. The success of implementing these methods explains why nurses are advanced in delivering quality nursing care in comparison to other clinicians (The Canadian Nursing

Traditionally, nurses debrief other nurses during a shift change in the hospital setting at either the nurses’ station or in a conference room. They may or may not communicate with doctors and other hospital staff using these same techniques. Some hospitals have switched to discussing the patient for shift changes purposes at the patient’s bedside, as part of a refocused patient-centered care model developed to reduce errors and to keep patients better informed in the process. The benefits of utilizing a bedside nurse patient handoff reporting process within the hospital setting greatly outweigh any possible risk or inconvenience when compared with alternative or traditional options.