La comunicación efectiva para mejorar la interacción del personal de enfermería durante el enlace de turno / Effective communication to improve the interaction of nursing staff during shift change

La razón del ser y del saber que es objeto de estudio de la enfermería es el cuidado de las personas. Para garantizar la continuidad en el cuidado de las personas, el personal de enfermería realiza el enlace de turno en los diversos escenarios clínicos, durante el cual es imprescindible una actitud de compromiso, empatía y habilidad de comunicación efectiva para compartir ­transferir­ el estado de las personas que son sujetos de cuidados. Se han desarrollado herramientas que ayudan a reducir errores durante la transferencia de pacientes y el enlace de turno, como el protocolo Escuchar-escribir-leer-confirmar y la técnica SAER (Situación, antecedentes, evaluación y recomendaciones) o SBAR por sus siglas en inglés.

The entire purpose which is the object of study of nursing is the care of individuals. To guarantee continuity on this task, the nursing staff performs the shift change in the various clinical scenarios, during which an attitude of commitment, empathy and effective communication skills is essential to share ­transfer­ the status of the individuals under care. Tools that help reducing errors during patient transfer and shift change have been developed, such as the Listen-Write-Read-Confirm protocol, and the SBAR technique

Does mortality after trauma team activation peak at shift change?

BACKGROUND: Prior institutional data have demonstrated trauma mortality to be highest between 06:00-07:59 at our center, which is also when providers change shifts (07:00-07:30). The objective was definition of patient, provider, and systems variables associated with trauma mortality at shift change among patients arriving as trauma team activations (TTA). METHODS: All TTA patients at our ACS-verified Level I trauma center were included (01/2008-07/2019), excluding those with undocumented arrival time. Study groups were defined by arrival time: shift change (SC) (06:00-07:59) vs. non-shift change (NSC) (all other times). Univariable/multivariable analyses compared key variables. Propensity score analysis compared outcomes after matching. RESULTS: After exclusions, 6020 patients remained: 229 (4%) SC and 5791 (96%) NSC. SC mortality was 25% vs. 16% during NSC (p < 0.001). More SC patients arrived with SBP <90 (19% vs. 11%, p < 0.001) or GCS <9 (35% vs. 24%, p < 0.001). ISS was higher during SC (43[32-50] vs. 34[27-50], p < 0.001). Time to CT scan (36[23-66] vs. 38[23-61] minutes, p = 0.638) and emergent surgery (94[35-141] vs. 63[34-107] minutes, p = 0.071) were comparable. Older age (p < 0.001), SBP <90 (p < 0.001), GCS <9 (p < 0.001), need for emergent operative intervention (p = 0.044), and higher ISS (p < 0.001) were independently associated with mortality. After propensity score matching, mortality was no different between SC and NSC (p = 0.764). CONCLUSIONS: Early morning is a low-volume, high-mortality time for TTAs. Increased mortality at shift change was independently associated with patient/injury factors but not provider/systems factors. Ensuring ample clinical resource allocation during this high acuity time may be prudent to streamline patient care at shift change.

The impact of a structured handover checklist for intraoperative staff shift changes on effective communication, OR team satisfaction, and patient safety: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: Handover without a structured format is prone to the omission of information and could be a potential risk to patient safety. We sought to determine the effect of a structured checklist on the quality of intraoperative change of shift handover between scrubs and circulars. METHODS: We conducted a control intervention study on operating room wards of two teaching hospitals from 20 Feb to 21 Nov 2020. This research was conducted in three stages as follows: assessing the current situation (as a group before the intervention), performing the intervention and evaluating the effect of using a checklist on handover quality after the intervention in two groups: with and without checklist. We examined the quality of handover between scrub and circular personnel in terms of handover duration and quality, omission of information and improvement in OR staff satisfaction. RESULTS: A total of 120 handovers were observed and evaluated. After intervention in the group using the checklist, the percentage of information omission in surgical report was decreased from 19.5 to 12.1% between scrubs (P < 0.00) and from 16.8 to 14.1% between circulars (P < 0.03). Also, in the role of scrub, the mean overall score of handover process quality was significantly higher after the intervention (x̄ = 7 ± 1.5) than before it (x̄ = 6.5 ± 0.9) (p < 0.02). In the role of circulating, despite the positive effect of overall score checklist, no significant difference was observed (p < 0.08). The use of checklist significantly increased the handover duration between scrubs (p < 0.03) and circulars (p < 0.00). The overall mean percentage of handover satisfaction increased from 67.5% before the intervention to 85.5% after the intervention (p < 0.00). CONCLUSION: The implementation of a new structured handover checklist had a positive impact on improving the quality of communication between the surgical team, reducing the information omission rate and increasing the satisfaction.

Differences in obstetrical care and outcomes associated with the proportion of the obstetrician's shift completed.

BACKGROUND: Understanding and improving obstetrical quality and safety is an important goal of professional societies, and many interventions such as checklists, safety bundles, educational interventions, or other culture changes have been implemented to improve the quality of care provided to obstetrical patients. Although many factors contribute to delivery decisions, a reduced workload has addressed how provider issues such as fatigue or behaviors surrounding impending shift changes may influence the delivery mode and outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess whether intrapartum obstetrical interventions and adverse outcomes differ based on the temporal proximity of the delivery to the attending's shift change. STUDY DESIGN: This was a secondary analysis from a multicenter obstetrical cohort in which all patients with cephalic, singleton gestations who attempted vaginal birth were eligible for inclusion. The primary exposure used to quantify the relationship between the proximity of the provider to their shift change and a delivery intervention was the ratio of time from the most recent attending shift change to vaginal delivery or decision for cesarean delivery to the total length of the shift. Ratios were used to represent the proportion of time completed in the shift by normalizing for varying shift lengths. A sensitivity analysis restricted to patients who were delivered by physicians working 12-hour shifts was performed. Outcomes chosen included cesarean delivery, episiotomy, third- or fourth-degree perineal laceration, 5-minute Apgar score of <4, and neonatal intensive care unit admission. Chi-squared tests were used to evaluate outcomes based on the proportion of the attending's shift completed. Adjusted and unadjusted logistic models fitting a cubic spline (when indicated) were used to determine whether the frequency of outcomes throughout the shift occurred in a statistically significant, nonlinear pattern RESULTS: Of the 82,851 patients eligible for inclusion, 47,262 (57%) had ratio data available and constituted the analyzable sample. Deliveries were evenly distributed throughout shifts, with 50.6% taking place in the first half of shifts. There were no statistically significant differences in the frequency of cesarean delivery, episiotomy, third- or fourth-degree perineal lacerations, or 5-minute Apgar scores of <4 based on the proportion of the shift completed. The findings were unchanged when evaluated with a cubic spline in unadjusted and adjusted logistic models. Sensitivity analyses performed on the 22.2% of patients who were delivered by a physician completing a 12-hour shift showed similar findings. There was a small increase in the frequency of neonatal intensive care unit admissions with a greater proportion of the shift completed (adjusted P=.009), but the findings did not persist in the sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSION: Clinically significant differences in obstetrical interventions and outcomes do not seem to exist based on the temporal proximity to the attending physician's shift change. Future work should attempt to directly study unit culture and provider fatigue to further investigate opportunities to improve obstetrical quality of care, and additional studies are needed to corroborate these findings in community settings.

Factores que influyen en la calidad y seguridad de la atención de enfermería durante el enlace de turno / Factors influencing the quality and safety of nursing attention during the change of shift

Introducción: el traspaso de información a través del enlace de turno es el eje para la continuidad del cuidado y el aseguramiento de la calidad de la atención en el bienestar del paciente. No obstante, existen factores que dificultan el enlace de turno que a menudo pasan inadvertidos debido a la rutina creada en torno del cuidado. Objetivo: conocer los factores que influyen en la calidad y seguridad de la atención de enfermería durante el enlace de turno. Metodología: revisión sistematizada con metodología integradora y pregunta clínica PICOT. Descriptores: enlace de turno, calidad y seguridad en español, inglés y portugués; búsqueda en las bases de datos: CUIDEN, LILACS, PubMed y SciELO y en los repositorios Redalyc y BiDi UNAM; lectura, evaluación crítica con CASPe y análisis de contenido según lo describió Berelson. Resultados: 16 artículos cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. Prevalecieron los estudios con nivel de evidencia y grado de recomendación III/C (81.25%), en idioma inglés (50%) y del área de enfermería (92.30%). Modelo de categorías: factores personales, profesionales y organizacionales, herramienta estandarizada para su cumplimiento e instrumentos para evaluar la calidad del proceso. Conclusión: la comunicación es el factor principal que produce el adecuado o inadecuado enlace de turno. A pesar de contar con una herramienta estandarizada, en ocasiones no se utiliza de manera correcta o no se emplea para evaluar el proceso.

Introduction: The transfer of information through nurse duty shift is the axis for continuing care and ensuring quality in favor of patient's well-being. However, there are factors that make it difficult to liaise nurse duty shift that often go unnoticed due to routine created around care. Objective: Identify factors that influence the quality and safety of nursing care during duty shift. Methods: Systematic review with integrative methodology. PICOT clinical question. DeSC and MeSH: change of shift, quality and safety in Spanish, English and Portuguese; in the CUIDEN, LILACS, PubMed and SciELO databases as well as in the Redalyc and BiDi UNAM repositories; reading and evaluation with CASPe and content analysis described by Berelson.Results: 16 articles met the inclusion criteria. Studies with level of evidence and grade of recommendation III/C (81.25%) prevailed, in English (50%) and in the nursing area (92.30%). Category model: personal, professional and organizational factors, standardized tool for compliance and instruments to assess the quality of the process. Conclusion: Communication is the main factor that determines an adequate or inadequate change-of-shift. Despite having a standardized tool, sometimes it is not used correctly or is not used to evaluate the process.

A qualitative study of handovers at shift changeovers in five care homes for older people in England.

BACKGROUND: It is widely acknowledged that inadequate handovers are associated with putting patients at risk in clinical settings; however, handover practices have received little attention in other 24-hr settings such as long-stay residential care facilities. AIM: This study aimed to explore the perceived purpose and organisational processes involved in the handover of information between shifts of staff caring for older residents in five care homes in England. METHODS: The study took an ethnographic approach to fieldwork, undertaken between February and June 2016. It consisted of observations of handovers (n = 12) and interviews with managers, Registered Nurses (RNs) and care assistants (n = 27) working day and night shifts. Interview transcripts and observation notes were analysed within NVivo using a matrix approach. RESULTS: Handovers were highly variable in all five care homes in relation to their timings, locations, content and participants. Managers and RNs highlighted handovers as an opportunity for risk assurance, supervision, team building, staff education and monitoring of residents' clinical status. In comparison, care assistants considered the purpose of handovers to be prepared for the responsibilities of working a shift. The discussion addresses implications of these findings, particularly consideration of how best use can be made of RN skills and knowledge in handovers. CONCLUSION: Research is needed to identify whether care home resident safety can be linked to handover practices and how the presence of RNs in handovers in care homes affects this. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Care home managers, RNs and care workers may find this research useful in practice when considering how best to organise handovers and deploy staff in care homes for older people.

Excluding Contact Electrification in Surface Potential Measurement Using Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy.

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), a characterization method that could image surface potentials of materials at the nanoscale, has extensive applications in characterizing the electric and electronic properties of metal, semiconductor, and insulator materials. However, it requires deep understanding of the physics of the measuring process and being able to rule out factors that may cause artifacts to obtain accurate results. In the most commonly used dual-pass KPFM, the probe works in tapping mode to obtain surface topography information in a first pass before lifting to a certain height to measure the surface potential. In this paper, we have demonstrated that the tapping-mode topography scan pass during the typical dual-pass KPFM measurement may trigger contact electrification between the probe and the sample, which leads to a charged sample surface and thus can introduce a significant error to the surface potential measurement. Contact electrification will happen when the probe enters into the repulsive force regime of a tip-sample interaction, and this can be detected by the phase shift of the probe vibration. In addition, the influences of scanning parameters, sample properties, and the probe's attributes have also been examined, in which lower free cantilever vibration amplitude, larger adhesion between the probe tip and the sample, and lower cantilever spring constant of the probe are less likely to trigger contact electrification. Finally, we have put forward a guideline to rationally decouple contact electrification from the surface potential measurement. They are decreasing the free amplitude, increasing the set-point amplitude, and using probes with a lower spring constant.

[A phenomenological study of the shift change experiences of clinical nurses in Taiwan].

BACKGROUND: The process of changing shifts requires that clinical nurses engage in critical communication and interaction activities. Little research has examined the shift-change phenomenon. How Taiwanese nurses interpret their lived shift-change experiences deserves further exploration. PURPOSE: This study explores the meaning of the shift-change experiences of nurses in Taiwan. METHODS: A hermeneutic phenomenological design was used. Data from interviews, participant observations, and field notes were analyzed. Twenty-six nurses with shift-change experience volunteered in a snowball sampling process. Data were collected using in-depth interviews. Hermeneutical analysis was used to explain the meaning of the nursing shift-change experience. RESULTS: The shift-change experiences of participants revealed their existential meaning and struggles toward self-transformation, adaptation, and self-settlement for survival. The meaning of the shift-change experience of clinical nurses in Taiwan are characterized by three themes: (a) 'A relay for accomplishing collective nursing goals', (b) 'An associated duties to be carried out jointly', and (c) 'An experience transmission as well as power practice'. CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Our study highlights the cultural implications and existential meaning of the clinical shift change experience to nurses in hospitals in Taiwan. These findings provide a better understanding of the nursing shift-change experience in terms of both practical issues and nurses' perceptions. Findings may be used to improve in-service training programs and to suggest solutions to problems encountered during the shift-change period.

A survey of handoff practices in emergency medicine.

This study aimed to assess practices in emergency department (ED) handoffs as perceived by emergency medicine (EM) residency program directors and other senior-level faculty and to determine if there are deficits in resident handoff training. This cross-sectional survey study was guided by the Kern model for medical curriculum development. A 12-member Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) Transitions in Care task force of EM physicians performed these steps and constructed a survey. The survey was distributed to the CORD listserv. There were 147 responses to the anonymous survey, which were collected using an online tool. At least 41% of the 158 American College of Graduate Medical Education EM residency programs were represented. More than half (56.6%) of responding EM physicians reported that their ED did not use a standardized handoff. There also exists a dearth of formal handoff training and handoff proficiency assessments for EM residents.

Considering Factors of and Knowledge About Patients in Handover Assessment.

The healthcare system is moving from one primary physician who assumes responsibility for each patient to a more team-based approach. Thus, assessing team communication is critical. This study characterizes and assesses the quality of hospitalist handover communications at shift change using the literature recommended content and language form elements. Quality handovers should contain the following content: patient identifiers, active issues, and care plans. Quality handovers also should include utterances in the following language forms: explanations, rationales, and directives. Interviews, observation, recording, and conversation analysis of hospitalist handover communications were used. Hospitalist handover utterances were assigned both content and language form codes. The proportion of quality element verbalization across all patient handovers was calculated. In addition, the impact of patient factors (new admission, new problem, acuity level) and handover receiver knowledge on the inclusion of quality elements was examined. The 106 individual patient handovers across 16 handover sessions were recorded. 39% contained all six quality elements. While the majority of handovers contained five out of six quality elements, only 48% included directives. There was also no difference in the inclusion of quality elements based on patient factors or handover receiver knowledge. Hospitalist handovers are lacking in directives. Efforts to improve handovers through enhanced electronic medical record systems and training may need to expand to hospitalists and other attending level physicians.