Bedside Shift Report: A Way to Improve Patient and Family Satisfaction with Nursing Care

Poor communication during the handoff process contributes to approximately 30% of malpractice claims costing up to $1.3 billion annually (Fenner, 2017), which demonstrates the importance of evaluating the quality of information exchange between nurses, patients, and families when associating quality of care to patient satisfaction (Kullberg et al.,2017). The following question guided this Evidence-Based Project (EBP) project. In adult, progressive care unit patients (P), does the implementation of a nursing bedside handoff (I) compared to current handoff practices (C) improve patient/family satisfaction with nursing care (O) over eight weeks (T)? The literature revealed evidence from 10 studies answering the practice problem and supported implementing a Bedside Handoff (BSH) bundle. Themes from the evidence included patient and family participation in care, bedside handoff and impact on patient and family satisfaction, nursing perceptions associated with bedside handoff process, and measuring patient and family satisfaction with nursing care. The BSH bundle included staff education, utilization of a standardized handoff communication tool, safety checks, and use of patient whiteboards. Direct observation occurred to understand staff compliance using the Handoff Observation Feedback Audit Tool. The project demonstrated that bundling evidence-based practices improved specific nursing care aspects that influence the patient and staff experiences and satisfaction survey results.