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Examination of current handover practice: Evidence to support changing the ritual
Author(s) -
Kerr Debra,
Lu Sai,
McKinlay Louise,
Fuller Christine
Publication year - 2011
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/j.1440-172x.2011.01947.x
Subject(s) - handover , nursing , style (visual arts) , quality (philosophy) , medicine , nursing practice , computer science , telecommunications , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , history
Kerr D, Lu S, McKinlay L, Fuller C. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2011; 17 : 342–350 Examination of current handover practice: Evidence to support changing the ritual Examining systems of nursing handover provides the opportunity to identify areas in need of improvement and modification. The aim of this study was to describe nursing handover practices for one organization and explore clinical nurses' opinions regarding the quality of the current shift‐to‐shift handover style. One hundred and fifty‐three registered nurses employed in 23 wards in an acute tertiary hospital in Australia completed a survey. The survey collected information about demographic data, current methods and preferences for style of handover and opinions about the quality of nursing handover. This study found that existing handover practice is time‐consuming, lacks patient involvement and essential information, and is varied in style. Only one ward (4.3%) conducted handover at the bedside. The majority (82%) expressed reluctance to change their current handover style. Modification of existing nursing handover is needed but might be challenging in view of the reluctance to change this ritual.