Dataset Information

Content counts, but context makes the difference in developing expertise: a qualitative study of how residents learn end of shift handoffs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Handoff education is both formal and informal and varies widely across medical school and residency training programs. Despite many efforts to improve clinical handoffs, little evidence has shown meaningful improvement. The objective of this study was to identify residents' perspectives and develop a deeper understanding on the necessary training to conduct safe and effective patient handoffs.

Methods

A qualitative study focused on the analysis of cognitive task interviews targeting end-of-shift handoff experiences with 35 residents from three geographically dispersed VA facilities. The interview data were analyzed using an iterative, consensus-based team approach. Researchers discussed and agreed on code definitions and corresponding case examples. Grounded theory was used to analyze the transcripts.

Results

Although some residents report receiving formal training in conducting handoffs (e.g., medical school coursework, resident boot camp/workshops, and handoff debriefing), many residents reported that they were only partially prepared for enacting them as interns. Experiential, practice-based learning (i.e., giving handoffs, covering night shift to match common issues to handoff content) was identified as the most suited and beneficial for delivering effective handoff training. Six skills were described as critical to learning effective handoffs: identifying pertinent information, providing anticipatory guidance, applying acquired clinical knowledge, being concise, incorporating delivery strategies, and appreciating the styles/preferences of handoff recipients.

Conclusions

Residents identified the immersive performance and the experience of covering night shifts as the most important aspects of learning to execute effective handoffs. Formal education alone can miss the critical role of real-time sense-making throughout the process of handing off from one trainee to another. Interventions targeting senior resident mentoring and night shift could positively influence the cognitive and performance capacity for safe, effective handoffs.

SUBMITTER: Rattray NA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6215683 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Content counts, but context makes the difference in developing expertise: a qualitative study of how residents learn end of shift handoffs.

Rattray Nicholas A NA Ebright Patricia P Flanagan Mindy E ME Militello Laura G LG Barach Paul P Franks Zamal Z Rehman Shakaib U SU Gordon Howard S HS Frankel Richard M RM

BMC medical education 20181103 1

<h4>Background</h4>Handoff education is both formal and informal and varies widely across medical school and residency training programs. Despite many efforts to improve clinical handoffs, little evidence has shown meaningful improvement. The objective of this study was to identify residents' perspectives and develop a deeper understanding on the necessary training to conduct safe and effective patient handoffs.<h4>Methods</h4>A qualitative study focused on the analysis of cognitive task intervi ...[more]

PMID: 30390668

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Project description:BackgroundCommunication failure is a common cause of adverse events. An essential element of communication among health care providers is patient handoff. Patient handoff is defined as a practice whereby a health care provider transfers a patient's care information to another health care provider to ensure the patient's safety and continuity of care. To explore this practice, we assessed patient handoffs among general surgery residents in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted with individuals in accredited general surgery residency programs in Saudi Arabia between 2020 and 2021.ResultsParticipants comprised 118 general surgery residents: 66 (57.3%) were female; 67 (72.8%) did not receive any formal training on patient handoff; and 35 (38.8%) reported that they were sometimes interrupted during the patient handoff process. The most common reason for such interruptions was medical personnel paging. Furthermore, 60 (68.1%) general surgery residents stated that these interruptions led to a decreased quality of effective communication, 39 (44.3%) believed it led to decreased quality of patient care, 63 (71.5%) believed it led to the loss of some information related to patient handoff, and 16 (18.1%) believed it led to patient harm. Finally, 31 (34.4%) general surgery residents believed that the existing handoff system at their institutions neither adequately protected the patients' safety nor allowed for continuity of care, and 51 (68%) reported that their institution did not have a standardized protocol for the verbal patient handoff process. There was a higher proportion of patients with minor harm among residents who did not, rarely or sometimes received verbal or written hand off instructions compare to those who did so always or most of the time (67% vs. 49%, respectively).ConclusionThe patient handoff process among general surgery residents in Saudi Arabia is subjective and is not standardized, and if not addressed, may lead to patient harm. Standardizing this process is paramount to improve patient safety.

Project description:BackgroundSupraventricular tachycardia is a group of rhythm disturbances that affect 1 in 300-1200 Australian children annually. The differentiation of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) symptoms and age of onset according to their subtype is not well understood in the pediatric population. Most studies rely on ECG criteria only to characterize the subtype of the SVT, which is not applicable to all subtypes. The purpose of this study was to identify the symptoms and ages of onset of SVT subtypes, and to analyze whether ethnicity or severity correlated with the SVT subtype confirmed in an invasive Electrophysiology (EP) study.MethodsA retrospective analysis and prospective survey evaluated 364 patients who underwent an EP study at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne between 2009 and 2015. Age of onset, symptoms, and ethnicity were collected by phone survey or medical records in addition to EP study diagnostic data, medication status, and follow-up information about their symptom status following EP procedure. Patients were grouped according to their SVT subtype. Data analysis was performed using chi-squared, Fisher's exact, and ANOVA statistical tests to determine associations between SVT substrates.ResultsTwo hundred and thirty-three suitable cases of SVT were identified (131 men, 102 women) aged between 0 and 18 years. Atrioventricular Reentrant Tachycardia (AVRT) (n = 153) was the most common SVT subtype, followed by Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia (AVNRT) (n = 55), Atrial Tachycardia (AT) (n = 17), and other SVT subtypes (n = 8) which included Atrial Fibrillation, Atrial Flutter, and Junctional Tachycardia. There was a male predominance in all subtypes, except for AVNRT. AVNRT patients had palpitations, dyspnoea, dizziness, and anxiety more than any other group, AVRT patients complained of vomiting most and patients with AT had the most fatigue. The mean age of symptom onset varied among groups, being earlier in AVRT, later in AVNRT with a significant difference between AVRT with unidirectional retrograde accessory pathway (URAP) and AVNRT subtypes (P < 0.01).ConclusionSome specific symptoms were strong discriminators between different SVT subtypes. Ethnicity did not have strong correlations with SVT subtype incidence. This study was able to show clinical differences among children with SVT due to AVRT (URAP) compared to AVNRT, allowing the prognosis and intended management of pediatric SVT to be anticipated by less invasive means.

Dataset Information

Content counts, but context makes the difference in developing expertise: a qualitative study of how residents learn end of shift handoffs.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Content counts, but context makes the difference in developing expertise: a qualitative study of how residents learn end of shift handoffs.

Similar Datasets

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