Nurse-To-Nurse Communication at Shift Change

¶ … Nurse-to-nurse Hand-Off Communication on the Same Unit

The objective of this study is to provide four strategies addressing nurse-to-nurse hand-off communication on the same unit. This study will use the TeamSTEPPS approach provide a clear and thorough description of strategies to address the problem.

Hand-off communication is a problem that is common in nursing departments and the failure to properly pass along information on patients at shift-change results in risks to patient health. This problem is related to nurse-to-nurse communication in the same unit. Friesen, et al. reports that an effective handoff of communication between nurses serves to support "the transition of critical information and continuity of care and treatment." (p.1) The problems associated with handoffs are identified to include specialization of healthcare and the larger number of clinicians that are involved in delivery of health care in today's health care system. The results of ineffective handoffs are reported to include "gaps in patient care and breaches or failures on patient safety, including medication errors, wrong-site surgery and patient deaths." (Friesen, et al., nd, p. 1) Ensuring effective hand-offs occur make requirement of specific and proven methods to effect proper communication exchanges between nurses on the same unit.

I. TeamSTEPPS Approach

Nursing communication is critical for ensuring patient safety and best possible patient care. For this reason the TeamSTEPPS was created for implementing an approach to ensuring effective and timely nurse-to-nurse communication. The TeamSTEPPS approach is comprised by three phases including Phase I or assessing the need, Phase II or planning, training and implementation and Phase III or sustainment. First the TeamSTEPPS intervention must be defined and for the purpose of this study the intervention is related to nurse-to-nurse communication at shift change. Secondly, there must be a plan for determining the intervention's effectiveness and for the purpose of this study, the effectiveness of the plan will be determined by surveying nursing staff on nurse-to-nurse communication at shift change.

II. Implementation Plan

The implementation plan in this intervention will involve nursing staff communicating information at shift change in four different ways: (1) word-of-mouth communication; (2) written communication on the patient's chart; (3) a whiteboard where information will be recorded for sharing between shifts; and (4) a computer-based sharing page on patient information. Use of all of these methods of communication will ensure that the necessary information is shared between nursing staff on different shifts in the same unit. The TeamSTEPPS method requires that leadership commitment to the plan is acquired therefore, leadership will be approached about giving their commitment to this plan.

IV. Communication Plan