Making the transition to nursing bedside shift reports.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice and Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety and Communication

Background:

• Effective nurse shift handoffs are crucial for communicating critical patient care information.
• Limited longitudinal data exists on the impact of transitioning to bedside shift reports.
• A Midwestern academic health center implemented bedside shift reports on a 20-bed unit.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of implementing bedside nurse shift reports on patient satisfaction.
• To assess the longitudinal outcomes of bedside shift report implementation.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involved a 20-bed inpatient nursing unit transitioning to bedside shift reports.
• Preparatory work included baseline assessments and barrier/facilitator identification.
• Implementation involved training and a process requiring patients to document questions.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in six nurse-specific patient satisfaction scores were observed in the first six months post-implementation.
• Patient satisfaction scores increased by at least 8.7 points, with percentile rankings rising from the 20th to over the 90th.
• Longer-term follow-up indicated subsequent declines in satisfaction and substantial month-to-month variations.

Conclusions:

• Extensive planning, training, and gradual implementation facilitated the transition to bedside shift reports.
• Despite initial resistance, the pilot study's success led to a system-wide adoption decision.
• Ongoing monitoring is suggested due to observed long-term variability in patient satisfaction.