Training Hospital Nurses to Write Detailed Narratives and Describe Contributing Factors in Incident Reports: The...

In high-risk industries, the primary purpose of incident reporting is to obtain insights into contributing factors. Incident reporting systems in hospitals receive numerous reports from nurses but often lack detailed, actionable information. Enriching the information captured by incident reports would facilitate local efforts to improve patient safety.

The authors developed the Systems Approach For Event Reporting (SAFER) educational program to train nurses to (1) write detailed narratives and (2) describe contributing factors. To achieve these objectives, the research team incorporated the Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) model and the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model. The authors conducted pilot tests with nurses, made iterative refinements, then deployed SAFER on eight nursing units at an academic medical center.

An online learning module provides background information, a detailed curriculum leveraging SBAR and SEIPS models, interactive exercises, real-world examples of enhanced reports, and concluding information on how enhanced reporting benefits both nursing practice and patient safety. Nurses received a badge buddy-a laminated, double-sided reminder card to hang behind identification badges that reinforces key elements of SBAR and SEIPS models. In pilot testing, nurses reported that completing the module took 10 to 20 minutes, the material was clear and easy to understand, and they understood its purpose and objectives. The completion rate for implementation of SAFER online training was 88.7% (809/912 eligible nurses).

SAFER is an innovative program that introduces human factors principles to nurses and trains them to incorporate SBAR and SEIPS into incident reporting. SAFER is acceptable and feasible. Ongoing work includes testing the impact of SAFER on improving the utility of incident reports.