DiversityNursing Blog

Nursing hand-off or shift reports are a critical component of safe patient care in all healthcare settings. Handoff reports must be comprehensive, accurate, and designed to properly communicate essential information from one Nurse to another during shift changes. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of patient handoff reports and how to improve your handoff to reduce patient harm. 

Critical Components of a High-Quality Patient Handoff Report

A high-quality patient handoff report must contain certain key elements to ensure that the incoming Nurse understands the patient and their health condition. Some critical components of a high quality patient handoff report include

• Patient demographic information includes the patient's name, age, current diagnosis, and relevant medical and surgical history.
• The patient's current condition should include vital signs, pain levels, and any changes to these values that could affect or change their care.
• The treatment plan includes current medications, treatments, upcoming tests or procedures, and laboratory work.
• Any recent changes should be included to cover treatments, new orders, or any significant events that have affected the patient's hospitalization.
• Safety concerns include allergies, fall risks, and other safety precautions like seizure or aspiration risks.
• Psychosocial information includes the patient's emotional state or disturbances, family involvement, or any social concerns.
• Pending tasks or follow-ups that need to be completed or have not been initiated.

Benefits of A Strong Patient Handoff Report

Increase Patient Safety

An accurate patient handoff report can reduce the likelihood of medication errors, missed treatments, and other critical mistakes that could risk patient safety. When delivering a patient handoff report, information must be shared clearly and effectively to reduce the risk of errors.

All nursing handoff reports should include critical information such as patient allergies, vital signs, recent test results, patient history, and current health status to ensure that all pertinent information is shared. Another layer of protection is to give patient handoff reports in front of the patient and their family so that the patient can contribute any missing information before an error can be made.

Continuity of Care

Making sure patient handoff reports include detailed information for the incoming Nurse allows for a seamless transition into the care of another healthcare provider. When information is not shared appropriately, critical components of the patient's health status become overlooked, and errors can occur.

To ensure information is transferred correctly, many healthcare settings recommend combining written documentation with verbal communication to ensure all key points are communicated clearly and to reduce patient errors.

Promote Effective Communication

Handoff reports happen frequently in healthcare, not only from shift to shift, but also if a patient is transferred to a different floor, department, or facility. Effective communication is essential to ensure all pertinent patient information is shared correctly.

Standardizing patient handoff can significantly improve communication and reduce patient harm. A standardized patient handoff is a structured method for transferring patient information and responsibility. It can dramatically reduce the risk of missed information and allow Nurses to ask questions and gain clarity on any uncertainties. Standardized Nurse handoff reports like the SBAR model (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) can help ensure all information is properly covered. 

Enhanced Patient Outcomes

Enhancing patient outcomes is one of the greatest benefits of a comprehensive patient handoff report. With complete and up-to-date information, Nurses can properly anticipate any potential issues and proactively intervene to improve patient outcomes and provide better patient care.

A good patient handoff report also allows Nurses to individualize their patient care based on the most current information provided to them so they can better accommodate each patient's needs and preferences.

As you can see, providing a high-quality patient handoff report is vital to providing safe, effective, and comprehensive patient care. An accurate and easily understood report allows for improved communication and can also help increase patient safety and improve patient outcomes.

Across the entire patient experience, Nurses have a hand in almost every aspect of the patient's healthcare journey. Nurses are compassionate, and dedicated, and work tirelessly to meet the needs of their patients. Because Nurses are at the forefront of every patient interaction, there are many things that we wish our patients knew and understood about how we work and handle our everyday tasks.  

Every Patient is a Priority, but You May Have to Wait 

Nursing is a busy and fast-paced profession. Our days are jam-packed with patient care tasks, documentation, and care coordination. More often than not, it can be challenging to find time to eat, drink water, or even use the bathroom during our shifts. We hate having to make our patients wait for things they may want or need, but sometimes we wish our patients understood that we take great consideration in prioritizing our patient's needs. So, if you are asked to wait or have been waiting for something longer than you think you should have, please understand that your Nurse may have a more pressing matter to attend to, and every patient deserves our complete attention. 

Nurses are People Too 

Nurses often sacrifice their personal needs to care for their patients. As mentioned earlier, we often forgo meals and bathroom breaks to ensure we can complete all our tasks and care for your needs. Nursing can often be a thankless job. Nurses understand that you want the best quality care, and we strive to provide that to every one of our patients. Patience, understanding, and respect are all that we ask for in return. 

We Care More Than You Think We Do 

Nurses are multitaskers. At any given time, we can be juggling more tasks than you may even realize. Sometimes Nurses may come off as flustered or in a hurry, but that does not mean we do not value your wants or needs. Nurses stay late and come in on their days off to ensure their patients receive excellent care. We even think about you long after we've met because you have touched our lives. Patients are what make the Nursing profession so rewarding. We do what we do for you. 

We May Not Know Everything

We encourage our patients to ask questions, but that does not mean we have all the answers. Sometimes we may need to find the answer for you by speaking to a Doctor or collaborating with other Nurses. This does not mean we do not know what we are doing. It simply means that every patient has a different healthcare journey, and often situations arise that we may not have experience with. Our top priority is that you receive the best quality care, so if you ask a question and we do not know the answer, please rest assured that we will do everything within our power to get you the information you are looking for. 

We Do Not Judge  

Nurses do not do their jobs to judge our patients. Please always be honest when answering questions or providing your health history. Withholding information because you may be embarrassed or may not think it relevant can significantly impact the care we can provide. We care about you and want to ensure that you are cared for in the best possible way. Nurses are also prepared to take care of all your personal needs. We do not mind doing ‘gross’ or ‘embarrassing’ tasks. You do not have to say sorry for natural bodily functions. We understand and are ok with it, I promise!

The Nursing profession is a delicate blend of knowledge, compassion, and critical thinking. We strive every day to make a positive impact on the lives of our patients. A strong Nurse-patient relationship improves your healthcare experience and helps us provide you with the best quality care.

On an average day, Nurses interact with many patients, their families and friends, and exchange information with numerous healthcare staff. It is critical to be a good communicator because medical errors will occur if providers aren't all on the same page about patients' diagnoses, treatment plans, etc.

Some effective communication skills every Nurse should possess:

VERBAL

Verbal communication is one of the most important skills in Nursing. The goal is to always speak clearly, in a professional tone, and with honesty. Be aware of your patient's level of health literacy and avoid complex medical jargon. Vocally make sure everyone on the medical staff is on the same page about any vital patient information. 

NON-VERBAL

Patient's pick up on body language and nonverbal cues just as much as verbal language. According to Indeed, some examples of nonverbal communication skills include:

• Maintaining eye contact when speaking or listening to someone
• Having a relaxed facial expression
• Smiling
• Nodding
• Keeping arms uncrossed
• Crouching when interacting with a bedridden patient
• Respecting the patient's personal space

CULTURAL AWARENESS 

Nurses care for patients from all different backgrounds and cultures. It is important to be sensitive to the needs of each individual. For example, when working with a deaf patient or someone who speaks a language you aren't fluent in, bring in a translator if necessary. Or if someone has a preferred name or pronoun, you should respect them and refer to them by what they prefer. 

WRITTEN

We understand how incredibly busy you are every minute of your shift. Transitioning patient information to the next caregiver is critical and you must be as clear and concise as possible. This includes creating and updating your patient’s medical record and whiteboard.

Try to jot down notes as soon after meeting with your patient as possible so you don't forget anything and write clearly so others don't get confused. Notebooks and charting books are great tools for every shift. You can write down any concerns or important information about patients and discuss them later on with other team members.

ACTIVE LISTENING

Active listening means you are listening to understand the other person’s experience and empathize with their situation. This requires your ultimate attention and engagement. Some active listening techniques include:

• Nodding your head, but never interrupting. 
• Leaning forward and maintaining eye contact to let the patient know you’re engaged.
• Include minimal verbal encouragement, such as “I understand,” and “go on.”
• Repeating back to them their main point or concern

COMPASSION

Compassionate communication is the ability to exchange your thoughts and ideas with someone, while being empathetic to their suffering and anxiety. Put yourself in their shoes and create a judgment free space for them.

You can demonstrate compassion by using the parroting response which is repeating back what the patient said, but be careful not to overuse this technique because it will inhibit the patient from saying more. It's also important to validate the patient's feelings with a response of understanding or sympathy. 

As you know, Nursing is challenging, but incredibly rewarding as well. Effective communication skills improves your patient’s well-being and puts you and your healthcare team on the same page