Bedside shift reports: what does the evidence say?

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Nurse shift reports are critical for patient safety and reducing medical errors in the United States.
• Effective nurse-to-nurse communication is essential during patient handovers.
• Current evidence supporting bedside shift reports is not widely recognized or adopted by nurses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the importance of bedside shift reports in improving patient care.
• To emphasize the benefits of incorporating patients into the nurse shift report process.
• To address the gap in the adoption of bedside reporting practices among nurses.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on nurse shift reports and bedside reporting models.
• Analysis of the impact of patient involvement in bedside shift reports.
• Assessment of barriers to the adoption of bedside shift reports in clinical practice.

Main Results:

• Bedside shift reports are recognized as a key opportunity to reduce errors and improve communication.
• Models including patients in bedside reports enhance patient engagement, caregiver support, and education.
• Despite evidence, nurses often do not recognize or adopt bedside report practices.

Conclusions:

• Bedside shift reports are a vital component of patient safety and effective healthcare communication.
• Patient-centered bedside reporting models offer significant benefits for engagement and education.
• Further strategies are needed to promote the widespread adoption of evidence-based bedside shift reporting.