Psychiatric Inpatient Bedside Handoff: Implementation of a Quality Improvement Project and Nurses' Responses

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Quality Improvement
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing

Background:

• Effective communication during nursing shift changes is crucial in psychiatric inpatient settings.
• Current communication strategies may not adequately involve patients or capture essential care goals.
• Improving patient-centered communication can positively impact patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore strategies for enhancing nurse-patient communication during shift changes.
• To implement and evaluate a patient bedside handoff process.
• To assess nurses' satisfaction with communication effectiveness and time spent.

Main Methods:

• A 6-month quality improvement project was led by three psychiatric nurses.
• A literature review informed the development of a standardized patient bedside handoff protocol.
• Nurse satisfaction surveys were administered pre- and post-implementation.

Main Results:

• Nurses reported increased satisfaction with the time spent during bedside handoffs (from 5.7 to 8.3).
• The project identified perceived barriers to implementing patient bedside handoff.
• The study tracked changes in nurses' perceptions over the project duration.

Conclusions:

• A standardized patient bedside handoff is an effective strategy to improve nurse-patient communication in psychiatric units.
• This approach enhances nurse satisfaction with shift change communication.
• Further research can explore patient outcomes and refine handoff implementation.