Bedside reporting

My hospital has been pushing it. My unit in particular does a really good job of doing it and I haven't had any problems with it. I think it's too soon to tell how it has changed any scores.

Hello there,

I have never heard of bedside reporting. I looked it up and it is very interesting! I have no experience with it obviously but I just wanted to say thanks because I learned something new. :)

To those who do have experience in this matter, how do you or the rest of your colleagues deal with new or strongly suspected diagnoses of a sensitive nature?

Also, I imagine you have to ask the visitors to step out of the room to do a bedside report and I am sure many of them take their sweet time in doing so. Does your hospital have a no visitors policy during change of shift support bedside reporting?

We share sensitive info outside the room. I've never encountered a difficult visitor on my unit at report time. We ask the pt and usually it's okay to talk or the visitor will take that time to go get something to eat etc. We've been doing bedside reports for a few years and it is useful to check bed alarms, PCA's, where and what certain drains are, etc with the off going nurse.

I'd call what we do a "modified beside report". As in, we go through history and assessment outside the room, largely because there's a flip-down tray where we can lean and write, otherwise we'd be writing on our hands. Then after all that's said and done, we go in and make introductions, anticipations for the shift, room check things, etc.

However, management doesn't like that, they want us to go through everything in the room. But dont' know specifically what our scores have done since that because we've had bedside report since I started.

It's the dumbest thing ever. But if we don't keep doing idiotic changes like this, I'm sure there's someone hiding in an office as far away from patients as they can, who'd lose their job if they didn't keep coming up with all these ideas for patient "safety" and "satisfaction."

I think bedside reporting was started to have patients be aware of their diagnosis, the care that is planned, and be part of the process towards discharge.

do you find that giving bedside report makes giving report take much longer? pt starts talking, asking questions, talking about their day, tests they had (in detail...this is where they stuck the needle the first time, then they tried here, then they put the gauze here and taped it down), pain they had during the day, how the wife has gone down to the cafeteria and how her grandmother had similar symptoms and docs found xyz, how they pooped and how big it was (all fine and dandy), but at the end of the day, does it take much longer to give report?

Patients due tend to feel more involved in their care and more satisfied as a result. We have been seeing more positive results when patients are more involved. :)

As to whether or not it takes longer that entirely depends. Sometimes our patients are very anxious for one reason or another and have a lot of questions they want answered. As the oncoming shift I usually tell them "Let me look at what the doctor wrote/your orders, or I need to finish getting report as soon as I do I'll come back and let you know what our plan is for tonight." Both of these usually work in letting the patient know that I'm acknowledging their needs but am trying to do something else at the moment, kind of the same way as while you are in the middle of a dressing change, pt is telling you what they'd like to eat or how they want their room re-arranged.

The most beneficial thing I have found from bedside report is to know when I need to hold the off-going shift accountable for their mess. For examples, piles of dirty linens on the floor, overflowing trash, IV beeping because its empty, patient writhing in pain and has not received a dinner tray. As far as I'm concerned this is unacceptable care and that person had better stay and right the situation.

We have been doing it for about 4-6months now. At first it was a pain but I'm starting to half-like it. At the very least, it gives me the chance to lay eyes on all patients before the shift gets rolling because anything can happen.

The scores are up and down just as they were before this was implemented.

Some patients do like and expect it and we do have those who talk during the report....asking when the MD is coming, complaining about breakfast and other things.

I'm curious....are your patients upset that you're disturbing them at 0645 to give report? While they have been woken up for labs and early am vitals, a lot of my patients are still trying to catch a few more minutes of shut eye. Breakfast doesn't come until 8:30 in my facility, and it's the rare doc who makes rounds on our floor before 7:30.