Bedside handoff?

[taimse]

Is anyone doing handoff at bedside on a mental health unit? It is something our DON is promoting. Can anyone direct me to some evidence based practice info on it? Also, any personal experience sharing would be appreciated. Has it worked? What seems to work best?

Thanks for any information.

Taimse

[imapsychrn]

I like bedside reporting for nursing, but I'm not sure it's appropriate for mental health.

[apoppyfield, BSN, RN]

It might work for someone with insight, but for someone in crisis, not. There are even patients in medsurg that would not be appropriate for bedside reporting.

[RNboy]

we started as a part of the national standards and it was good, the only thing is you meed to be careful with what u say.Check the nursing journals.

[taimse]

Can you tell me which nursing journals and dates(volumes)?

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

How do you do a bedside handoff when most of the patients won't be in bed, as is typical on a psych unit?

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

How do you do a bedside handoff when most of the patients won't be in bed, as is typical on a psych unit?

Are they going to go up to patients in the dayroom and give report? And not only that, how will they do it without violating either HIPAA or the patient's desire for privacy?

Just because all the patients hang out together in groups or dayrooms doesn't meant they are OK with everyone else knowing all the details about their diagnoses and treatment.

[flymaxwell05]

Behavioral health settings are quite different from other settings. I have experienced almost every change which has occurred for shift change report off. Unfortunately, on psych performing bedside reporting is nearly impossible. Our patients have an array of problems from psychosis to severe depression. I keep hearing this is a joint commission expectation ~ which I still have yet to find it on their website! We cannot do bedside reporting as other floors do, where all the patients are tucked nicely in their beds, waiting to be part of the *team* And yes, I am seeing this so called bedside reporting being done in day rooms, (what happened to the HIPPA laws???) We are never going to be like the other floors, so we need to stop acting as if we will fall into the conformity of a magnet standard, joint commission, and all the other regulated, *best practice* acts in nursing. Our care for patients in behavioral health has always been extremely individualized. We are not a one size fits all, it just does not work and yet our managers and directors *INSIST* that we follow this practice of bedside reporting, even though we are hardly ever at the bedside. Our patients are hearing other patient's issues, care plans, medications histories, etc, etc ~ this is the most inappropriate approach I have ever witnessed in all my nursing years. We are violating every single law in one shift change, and no one seems to say anything at all about changing this practice! I am finished with being quiet about it. This approach of bedside reporting on a psych unit is so flawed, that I do not know where to begin with trying to switch gears, because everyone in management and otherwise are following a one size fits all approach. If anyone has any idea or practice which they managed to come up with that does NOT VIOLATE the patients, I would love to hear it!