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Bedside nursing handover: Patients' opinions
Author(s) -
Lu Sai,
Kerr Debra,
McKinlay Louise
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of nursing practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1440-172X
pISSN - 1322-7114
DOI - 10.1111/ijn.12158
Subject(s) - jargon , handover , confidentiality , context (archaeology) , nursing , medicine , process (computing) , psychology , medical education , computer science , computer security , computer network , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , biology , operating system
Within the context of contemporary nursing practice, bedside handover has been advocated as a potentially more suitable mode for achieving patient‐centred care. Given that patients can play an important role in the process, better understanding of patients' perspectives of bedside handover could be a critical determinate for successful implementation of the practice. Using a phenomenological approach, this study attempted to explore patients' perceptions of bedside nursing handover. Four key themes emerged from the patient interviews: ‘a more effective and personalised approach’, ‘being empowered and contributing to error minimization’, ‘privacy, confidentiality and sensitive topics’, and ‘training need and avoidance of using technical jargon’. Patients welcome bedside handover as they can be empowered through participation in the process. Nevertheless, attention is needed to ensure that adequate training is provided to nurses and to minimize the use of technical jargon so that handover is delivered with a professional and consistent approach.