Safety in the Acute Care Setting: Handoff and Report (Nursing)

00:01 So we just talked about purposeful rounding.

00:04 The next thing we really need to consider in safety is what we call handoff or nursing report.

00:09 Now what is that? So this is where the oncoming nurse and the leaving nurse are gonna talk about the patient event and update them on any pertinent information.

00:20 So we call this in particular, bedside rounding.

00:23 So it's exactly the way it sounds.

00:25 Me and the night shift nurse are gonna go to the patient's bedside, and we're gonna discuss all of the events that happened for the day.

00:32 So there's lots of advantages of this.

00:34 You can imagine if something, I'm looking at something weird in the patient room, and I asked, 'Hey, is this normal? Has this been happening?' then we know that this is not a new change.

00:44 So there's so many facets of why this is a great tool for nursing.

00:48 So first thing we're gonna do is physically go to that patient's bedside.

00:53 We're gonna make sure we include them in the plan of care.

00:56 Nothing worse than talking about a patient from me and the night shift nurse and just ignoring our patient.

01:02 You can imagine how that probably makes them feel.

01:05 So why we also do this is to include them in the plan of care for the day.

01:10 So anybody in the hospitals can be a little nervous and a little anxious about what the upcoming day brings.

01:16 That can be tests, surgeries, whatever is the case.

01:19 But if we're clear about our plans, that will definitely help relieve some anxiety for our patients.

01:26 Let's also talk about any significant events that occurred, so here's a great example.

01:32 So maybe, as a night shift nurse, I need to tell the day shift nurse, 'hey, after I gave her this certain medication, this patient's blood pressure went really low'.

01:41 So why that's important is we're aware of it.

01:44 So if the day shift doctor wants to know, we can inform them as the day shift person.

01:49 The other thing is, I also will know, okay, that medicine doesn't work for that patient.

01:54 And so that helps improve patient safety.

01:58 Let's also look at those lines, any drains any wounds that the patient may have, because, did they change? This is really important for us as a nurse.

02:08 Here's a great example.

02:10 Maybe we have a tiny wound, and maybe it was from surgery.

02:14 But what if I come in on the day shift and that thing split and got way bigger? That's an emergency and we need to call the doctor immediately.

02:22 The only reason why I know that's different is because I did that handoff report with the night shift nurse.

02:29 So don't forget to check the orders to make sure we didn't miss anything important from the health care provider for the patient.

02:36 And lastly, do not forget to make sure we check with the patient, is there anything that we forgot to talk about? This is gonna be really important in helping to review their plan of care and to involve them.

02:48 Here's a great example.

02:50 So let's say your patient went to surgery and the night shift nurse might have given them a certain medication.

02:57 And while we're discussing this, the patient may have said, 'Hey, hold on'.

03:01 Remember that medication made me really nauseated, I really would rather not have that again.

03:06 That's great information for me as the oncoming nurse to know.