Date of Graduation
Winter 12-16-2022
Document Access
Restricted Project/Capstone - USF access only
Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
College/School
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Program
MSN project
First Advisor
Mahmoud Kaddoura, PhD, CAGS, MSN, APRN, NP-C, CNE
Second Advisor
Scout Hebinck, MSN, RNC-OB
Abstract
Background
Miscommunications in healthcare can cause medical errors and adverse events. Standardizing communication and clarifying expectations has become a priority for several healthcare systems, including Hospital A. The quality improvement (QI) team collaborated with clinical nurse leaders on an evidence-based improvement project to enhance handoff communication in the telemetry department.
Methods
Using a plan-do-study-act methodology, the QI team dispersed a baseline survey assessing unit culture and determined areas of improvement based on the responses. The QI team developed an education program explaining the various clinical communication tools like SBAR, TRACER, and an automatically-generated EHR report that nurses can use to structure their patient handoff and ensure thorough, accurate information.
Results
On the baseline survey, 80 percent of nurses reported that conciseness and clarity make an effective handoff process, and 70 percent of nurses reported disorganization makes for ineffective handoff processes. Average nurse satisfaction was 4.2 on a Five-Point Likert Scale, but nurses reported frustrations with the lack of standardization and expressed a desire for a more organized, structured process. Expected results from the education program intervention are based on a similar study by Koo et al. (2020) that found an increase in handoff data accuracy from 51 to 97 percent following the implementation of SBAR handoffs with an EHR-tool. The frequency of patients with incorrectly listed information decreased from 51 percent to 0 percent. Staff satisfaction showed an increase on the Likert Scale (Koo et al., 2020).
Conclusion
The QI project found that standardized reports using SBAR and other clinical communication tools can help reduce medical errors, improve communication, and increase nurse satisfaction.
Recommended Citation
Reynolds, Jenna E. MSN, RN, "Standardizing Nurse-to-Nurse Handoff in the Telemetry Setting Using Clinical Communication Tools" (2022). Master's Projects and Capstones. 1452.
https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/1452
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