Resident handoff training: initial evaluation of a novel method.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Skills Training

Background:

• Standardized patient care transitions are essential in medical residencies.
• Evaluating handoff procedures requires effective training and assessment methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess a novel training and evaluation method for resident patient handoffs.
• To determine the effectiveness of a curriculum combining lectures and standardized patient (SP) interactions.

Main Methods:

• A matched group design randomly assigned interns to trained or control groups.
• The trained group received formal handoff training prior to standardized patient encounters.
• Handoffs were videotaped and scored by blinded raters using a validated scale.

Main Results:

• Trained interns demonstrated significantly better handoff performance (lower scores) than the control group.
• Standardized patient cases resulted in better performance compared to written scenarios.
• The study included 32 interns, with distinct performance differences observed.

Conclusions:

• A protocol for training residents in patient handoffs was successfully developed and implemented.
• Initial results indicate the curriculum is effective in improving handoff skills.
• This approach offers a promising strategy for enhancing resident education in patient care transitions.