Assignment | The Nurse Handover

Running head: THE NURSE HANDOVER
THE NURSE HANDOVER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Notes

1THE NURSE HANDOVER
Abstract
Background: Handovers are critical in maintaining a proper communication and transfer of
patient information during shift changes of nursing professionals. According to the NHS, nurse
handovers are defined as the “nursing change of shift report or handover is a communication that
occurs between two shifts of nurses whereby the specific purpose is to communicate information
about patients under the care of nurses” (Wales.nhs.uk 2018). Miscommunication and omissions
of patient information can give rise to serious consequences in the form of medical errors, which
in turn constitutes most of the preventable injuries that occur in various hospital and nursing
homes. There are several studies that try to understand the various factors responsible for
improper handover preparation and also examines various interventions that can help in
preventing such handover preparation.
Aim: The purpose of this dissertation is to determine the various factors responsible for
ineffective handover preparation and how these can be prevented by the implementation of
various interventions. To achieve this aim, a literature review has been carried out to explore the
various studies dealing with this particular topic.
Method: A literature review was carried out using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases
and 5 studies have been selected for this dissertation. Out of the 5, 3 are quantitative, one is a
qualitative and the other is a quasi-experimental study.
Results: The results from the literature review revealed that lack of proper education and
training of the nurses with respect to handover preparation led to miscommunication and
omission of patient information, which in turn gave rise to medical errors. The results also reveal

2THE NURSE HANDOVER
the study of a large number of interventions that have been found to improve the ability of the
nurses to prepare effective handovers.
Conclusion: Thus, the evidences suggest that effective communication during patient handovers
results from proper training, education of the nurses and by standardization of a handover
protocol. Thus, by the establishment of the above interventions can prevent adverse patient
outcomes.

3THE NURSE HANDOVER
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Background and rationale for the study...........................................................................................5
Research question............................................................................................................................7
Mode of literature search.................................................................................................................8
Literature review..............................................................................................................................9
Critic of literature..........................................................................................................................14
Introduction................................................................................................................................14
Critique......................................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................17
Discussion......................................................................................................................................18
Implications on the nursing practice..............................................................................................19
Reference List................................................................................................................................20
Appendix 1.....................................................................................................................................24
Appendix 2.....................................................................................................................................25
Appendix 3.....................................................................................................................................25

4THE NURSE HANDOVER
Introduction
This report forms the basis of the dissertation proposal, which is aimed to determine the
importance of nurse handovers. The dissertation will consist of an abstract, which will have a
brief outline of the background of the study, the aim, methodology, results and conclusion. A
thorough literature review will form a part of the dissertation as it will help to solve the research
question that will be addressed in this work. Finally, a discussion will be provided summarizing
the main findings of the literature review and a conclusion will be generated about the
importance of the topic. The report will also address the implications of the research topic with
respect to safe nursing practices.
A research proposal sets out the background for addressing a particular problem. It
consists of a series of steps that ultimately results in solving of the research question that was
laid out at the initial stages of the dissertation (Modesto 2013). A good quality dissertation
consists of concise, clear and interesting information with respect to the topic. It is meant to be
highly organized, connected in a seamless manner, asks and addresses a question and displays a
deep understanding of the subject (Abdulai and Owusu-Ansah 2014). Nursing research impacts
nursing practices in a tremendous manner as it introduces new findings and information, which
the nurses can utilize to provide safe and effective care to patients (Atkinson 2013). The primary
goal of all nursing professionals is to advocate patient safety and provide effective care to the
patients based on evidence-based practices. Evidence based practices are based on research and
nursing professionals engage themselves in research in order to provide effective care to patients
that are backed by clinical evidence (Black et al. 2015). A handover is an essential part of
nursing practices as it forms the basis on which the nurses provide safe and effective care to

5THE NURSE HANDOVER
patients. A nurse handover consists of the medical history of patients, current medical status of
the patient and the future treatments that need to be given (Ewing 2015; Bruton et al. 2016).
Thus, keeping in mind the importance of nurse handovers, the topic of the dissertation is
nurse handovers.
Background and rationale for the study
Nurse handovers with respect to shift changes is an important concept of nursing care.
Communication is a vital part of nursing care and is highly essential during transfer of patient
information from one healthcare professional to another (Eggins and Slade 2015). The handover
also called the shift change is associated with transferring of patient care and can be defined as a
“report or ritual given when the nursing professional transfers the responsibility for the patients
and what has been done in his or her shift to another that is arriving” (Guevara Lozano, Maries
and Patricia 2015). According to the NHS, poor communication during handovers can give rise
to major preventable harms to the patient (Who.int 2018). Although a good handover depends on
a good communication, the various stages where a communication gap can give rise to errors in
patient care are shift changes, transfer of care between different staff groups, transfer of care
between departments and transfer of care between different care settings (Flemming and Hübner
2013). Such lack of proper communication between healthcare professionals or between different
departments of a healthcare organization result in adverse and unfavourable patient outcomes.
These include poor care of patients, risks of patient safety, poor use of staff resources, patient
death, complaints, litigations, among others (Eggins and Slade 2015).
In order to avoid such adverse events that can give rise to tremendous loss to both
patients as well as the healthcare organization, the NHS recommends the use of two important