Bedside Communication

Communication plays a critical role in the healthcare industry. It is a critical part of a nurse, as you will be providing viable information to the different peoples. As a nurse one reason that communication is critical is during handoff. A handoff is “A standardized handoff communication tool is recognized as a Joint Commission patient safety goal to reduce communication errors and improve patient safety” (Taylor, 2015). In recent years, healthcare facility has changed the handoff from a report outside the room to a bedside shift report. The bedside report has been established to reduce medical errors, and improve patient safety, while incorporating the patient in the care while the report is given at the bedside.. Engaging the patient in

To make the bedside report work, we need to determine the reason the bedside report is being ineffective in the first place. One reason change needs to be done for the bedside report to be effective is, nurses are not following the way the report should be done. Many nurses encounter the “I need to get to see my patient” and rush the off going nurse to give the report, missing critical information the nurse is giving. On the other hand, there are also nurse that take too long to give a report. Also, nurse at times give information that is not necessary, making the report longer that what it needs to be done. During this time, the patient is unattended and while the nurse gets ready many issues can arrive and with critical patient time is valuable to their care. Another encounter issue is that report starts before going into the patient room. By giving the report in the bedside, it helps the nurse see the environment, analyze the patient, and gives time for the patient to speak for his own health. Both Incoming and of going nurse visualize the patient together, establish the goal for the shift keeping in mind the previous shift goal, and invite the patients in their

For one nurse, would reduce the time a report takes, and still give the critical information that is needed. Nurse satisfaction would also improve, as well at the patient satisfaction. By switching the report to the bedside, the nurse “receives a much more accurate handoff without distractions, assess the patient and the immediate are in real time, and avoid delays in receiving report and asking questions.” Evans ().
For the bedside to be effective both incoming and outgoing nurses need to be involved in this report. The charge nurse would be a critical component too, as she would be evaluating the effectiveness of the changes. Finally, another critical component to be involved in this change is the patient. With the patient output the bedside shift report can be done correctly and a difference in patient satisfaction would be