The Importance Of Clinical Handover

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Clinical handover is a form of communication in the clinical setting which allow nurses to plan and prioritize patient care and manage their workload effectively. Clinical handover encompasses the exchange of patient information from one shift to another and it has been known for benefits such as being a platform for exchange of opinions amongst nurses, expression of feelings, teaching and learning. Bedside clinical handover was reported to be a patient-centred initiative that enhanced the standards of healthcare and reduced adverse events in the healthcare setting. The implementation of bedside clinical handover was found to be time-effective, reduced the risks of error and enabled nurses to spend more time with their patients.

Some research includes routine communication interactions between healthcare professionals as part of clinical handover, while other research restricts the term to particular clinical settings. The clinical handover process is also sometimes described by a range of other terms, for example, hand-offs, shift reports, patient transfers. This review also confirms that good handovers do not happen by chance and that they require the support of significant structural and organizational efforts (AMA, 2006). The literature also highlights the importance of leadership, time commitment, human resource commitment and appropriate structures and processes being in place for effective clinical handover to occur (AMA, 2006). Above all this literature review highlights that clinical handovers involve a complex set of dynamic processes (Yee et al, 2006; Turner et al, 2006; Yonge, 2008) that need to be taken into account in any interventions aimed at improving clinical handover (Wong et al,

Inaccurate and omission of information can lead to serious problems, possibly life threating.

1.5 RESEACH QUESTION

The project is set answer the importance of bedside handing over by nurses? Nursing students’ general attitudes about implementing bedside report in the clinical setting in relation to the learning experience? Nurse educators and University of the Gambia nursing students provided their perspectives on the topic to help determine whether or not the practice could be beneficial if incorporated into the student nurse undergraduate learning experience.

1.6 STATEMENT OF RESARCH PROBLEM The end of shift handover nursing report is the time when the off going nurse hands over patient care to the oncoming nurse. During this process critical information about patient’s status and plan of care must be communicated properly. Conducting the shift-to-shift report at the bedside allows patients and families to become involved in their care. It also lets them participate in the sharing of information, which ensures that patient, family and team goals are identified and aligned. Bedside shift-to-shift nursing reports increases patients’ satisfaction, improves the nurse-patient relationship, decreases patient falls, discharge time occurs faster, strengthens teamwork, and leads to better nurse