The medical ward round: evidence, pitfalls, and tips

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Medical Education
• Patient Care

Background:

• Ward rounds are essential for patient-centered care and clinical teaching.
• Modern healthcare relies on multidisciplinary and multiprofessional teams.
• Effective ward rounds necessitate clear structure, defined roles, and active participation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define the essential components of effective and efficient ward rounds.
• To explore the optimal structure for interprofessional bedside ward rounds.
• To identify factors supporting collaborative patient-centered care during ward rounds.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on ward round organization, communication, and interprofessional collaboration.
• Analysis of best practices for patient involvement and team integration.
• Synthesis of evidence on structured versus unstructured ward round approaches.

Main Results:

• Successful ward rounds require focused, structured, patient-centered communication and balanced interprofessional information exchange.
• Bedside interprofessional ward rounds, with pre-round discussions, optimize collaborative care and team alignment.
• Stringent structure and strong leadership are crucial for ensuring full team involvement and time efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing ward rounds enhances patient-centered care and interprofessional collaboration.
• A structured, patient-involved approach to bedside ward rounds is highly effective.
• Leadership and clear protocols are key to successful and efficient interprofessional ward rounds.