Nurses' Versus Physicians' Perceptions of the Bedside Handover Practice in the Intensive Care Unit

• Published in: Critical care nursing quarterly Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 29 - 40
• Main Authors: Mahran Ghada Shalaby Khalaf, Mostafa, Ali, Mohamed Mahdy, Sayed Magdy, Hussien Mahmoud Ahmed Mohamed, AbdelWahab Omar Sherif Ahmed, Ahmed AbdelWahab, Mohamed Sherif, Abdelhafez, Amal Ismael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frederick Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Communication; Continuity of care; Critical care; Nurses; Patient safety; Physicians
• DOI: 10.1097/CNQ.0000000000000489
• EISSN: 1550-5111
• ISSN: 0887-9303

This article reports a prospective, comparative study using a semistructured interview technique, to compare the perceptions of nursing professionals and physicians about the bedside handover practice, in intensive care units (ICUs). Clinical handovers are practiced every day, in many ways, in all institutional health care settings. Despite increasing demand for structured processes to guide clinical handovers, the perception may differ between nurses and physicians, particularly in the ICU. The results of the current study showed that the quality of the information provided during handovers was perceived by both the nurses and physicians as satisfactory and relevant to the patient's care. The findings of this study could have impacts on the daily medical practices in the ICU. The results of this study could be utilized to design programs that will improve nurses' and physicians' understanding and practices of the handover process as well as the information needed to be communicated.