I work on a med surg unit that specializes in the acute care of the elderly. Our management has tried 15 times in the past to roll out bedside reporting on our unit and has met resistance each and every time. They are implementing it again the end of this month. I have volunteered to help find ways to get more nurses involved and to hopefully give bedside report an honest shot. I would appreciate any tips from people who have had bedside reporting implemented on your units.
A couple of things we have thought of:
A script or a list of things that can be discussed in the room.
Having management and super users for a week spend shift change in the hallways to help with the process. offering encouragement and tips.
And lastly figuring a way out to honestly track if bedside report is being completed and the shift that has the highest percentage wins a pizza party or something similar.
I worked in a place where we were supposed to do bedside report. We even had threats of being reported and written up if we were caught not doing bedside report- they had people dressed like visitors wandering around units at shift change at times.
I think you worked at the same place I work now. And we are now told we will be immediately disciplined, no talk, no write up; just discipline.
Bedside report needs to go. away. It is not helpful in any way, shape or form. I can check my own lines. I learned how to introduce myself to others when I was little. Etc. Etc.
I am an adult, educated professional who does not need bedside report to do my job, nor do I need pizza. I can buy it myself, and if I want Kool Aid, I will buy that too.
As someone who has been doing bedside report for years, the other viewpoints and sides of this are eye-opening. I will fully admit that my specialties do lend themselves better to this type of handoff than others though.
The most successful bedside report rollout I have ever seen was on our stepdown unit a few years ago. Their manager had each staff member roll-play a bedside shift report in front of the VP Quality, DON, Director of med-surg, the manager, and the charge nurse. The roll-plays were critiqued. Then the manager sat at the nursing station the next couple weeks, and made sure all the little drones were buzzing up and down the hallway.
Things I like about bedside report - 1. Shift accountability - Empty IV bags? Drips not at the reported rate? Patient knees deep in poop? All caught at bedside shift report. 2. Patient satisfaction scores - patients and family typically score higher when they feel involved in the POC, and see nurses passing that information off to each other. 3. Less gossip - nurses all love gossip, having the patient and family watching report eliminates this and cuts down time on report.
Things I don't do for bedside report - 1. Talk about confidential information that may violate HIPAA. 2. Isolation rooms I don't do report in, just a safety check after I don PPE. 3. Scripting, easiest way to alienate a family is all do some script crap where you sound like you should be asking to super size that appe.
Bah some nurse researchers need to do a study showing bedside shift report doesn't help patient safety so management has nothing to point to. Better yet, show that bedside shift report drops patient satisfaction scores, that is what they really care about.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
My floor was all excited about the pizza party for handwashing compliance when I was just starting. Just saying it works for some.
Maybe your management springs for good pizza and everyone gets their break so they get to eat it hot, together. Most of us have experienced dismal "parties" where you dash into an empty break room between call lights and scarf down a slice of cold pizza that wasn't that much better when it was hot. Or there is no pizza because the housekeeper carted it all off while the nurses were too busy to stop.
Maybe your management springs for good pizza and everyone gets their break so they get to eat it hot, together. Most of us have experienced dismal "parties" where you dash into an empty break room between call lights and scarf down a slice of cold pizza that wasn't that much better when it was hot. Or there is no pizza because the housekeeper carted it all off while the nurses were too busy to stop.
Or you weren't scheduled to work that day, so too bad for you.
FineAgain
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I think you worked at the same place I work now. And we are now told we will be immediately disciplined, no talk, no write up; just discipline.
Bedside report needs to go. away. It is not helpful in any way, shape or form. I can check my own lines. I learned how to introduce myself to others when I was little. Etc. Etc.
I am an adult, educated professional who does not need bedside report to do my job, nor do I need pizza. I can buy it myself, and if I want Kool Aid, I will buy that too.