Communication Error In Nursing

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Communication error is one of the top three reported causes of sentinel events each year according to the Joints Commission (Stewart & Hand, 2017). Poor communication can greatly affect patient safety leading to medical errors, adverse events, and sentinel events. Communication is a vital part of nursing as it is utilized daily with patients, as well as the interprofessional and intra-professional team. Patient safety is a top priority for nurses. Therefore, it is crucial messages are conveyed in an accurate, timely, clear, and concise manner and maintained by all members of the healthcare team for enhanced continuity of care (Nadzam, 2009). In this paper, the issue of communication and patient safety, as well as interventions being utilized …show more content…
The bed huddle is used to provide specific patient information, such a fall risks and skin breakdown related to patient care. All members of the healthcare team can huddle at the beginning or end of shift, similar to a short meeting. The huddle would consist of the use of a white board, which is used as the communication guideline for focusing on specific patient information and could be updated throughout the day for changes in patient status. All members of the healthcare team such as physiotherapist, pharmacist, and social workers can utilize the communication board for relevant patient information. “Awareness was the most significant success of this process, bringing forth the importance of patient safety and patient-centred care…huddles allowed staff to dissemate ideas and knowledge from the range of novice to expert” (MedSurg Nursing, 2015). Bed huddles influence change for patient safety because it facilitates knowledge for all members of the healthcare team. It significantly reduces the amount of issues in healthcare settings by ensuring all members are aware and alert of changing patient status. Bed huddles also increases patient satisfaction knowing their goals are focused on and being met by all members of the healthcare …show more content…
Bedside handover is utilized to include patients and their family members in the report in order to implement client-centred care. Bedside handover requires the outgoing staff and oncoming staff during change of shift to be present in the room of the patient for report. The outgoing nurse introduces the oncoming nurse to the patient and ensures the patient consents and knows they are welcome to participate. The staff confirm and ensure all safety and treatment equipment’s such as IV, oxygen, and call bell are in place (Chaboyer, McMurray & Wallis, 2010). The use of bedside handovers can be implemented in Canada with the use of a structured checklist for each nurse, similar to the SBAR used for nurse-physician communication. The checklist will follow a head to toe approach, so each nurse knows areas of concern to focus on. For example, it will be divided into sections such as neurological, cardiovascular, wounds, etc. The participants involved will be the charge nurse, outgoing nurse, and oncoming nurse present at the bedside for report. The outgoing nurse should have the same patient assignments as the oncoming nurse in order to reduce confusion and ensure quality continuity of care. Together, both nurses can exchange report together, so the incoming nurse will have a visual view of the patient and how he/she can prioritise care for their patient