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Impact of an education session on clinical handover between medical shifts in an emergency department: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Blyth Caroline,
Bost Nerolie,
Shiels Sue
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
emergency medicine australasia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1742-6723
pISSN - 1742-6731
DOI - 10.1111/1742-6723.12717
Subject(s) - handover , medicine , session (web analytics) , intervention (counseling) , emergency department , medical emergency , medical record , emergency medicine , nursing , computer network , world wide web , computer science , radiology
Objective To evaluate the impact of a medical education session on the implementation of a new change of shift medical clinical handover format in an urban hospital ED . Methods This pilot study used a pre‐ and post‐intervention design. The intervention consisted of a 1 h education session to teach a new handover format, SBARM (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation, Medication). Data were collected through observations of doctors performing clinical handover and individual interviews with participants. Results The educational intervention led to an increased focus on checking medication charts, but had minimal effect on changing other aspects of clinical handover at doctors’ change of shift times. Perceived increased time spent on handover using the new system was seen as a major barrier to the implementation of SBARM . The addition of ‘M’ to ‘ SBAR ’ heightened awareness of checking medication and fluid charts. Conclusion Time pressures need to be taken into consideration when introducing changes to current processes. Also, it is recommended that, in addition to ongoing education, senior clinicians are engaged during the planning and execution stages of changes to practice.