Bedside Shift Report - Improving Communication, Patient Safety and Patient Satisfaction on a Medical-Surgical Unit

The leadership team on this medical-surgical unit identified that despite previous education and identifying bedside shift reports (BSR) as best practice, the medical-surgical team was not frequently performing BSR. According to the internal Press Ganey reports, 41.67% of patients reported "usually" participating in BSR; however, only 28.67% reported "always" participating in BSR. Analysis of this data led to the implementation of a continuous improvement project on this unit with the goal to increase the occurrence of BSR to 75% [...] Based on the literature review, the medical-surgical leadership team created talking points, videos, a standardized report sheet, and a checklist to support the nurses during the implementation of BSR on the medical-surgical unit. These resources were created to support the participant's understanding of the benefits, details, and physicality of performing BSR, helping make the transition in practice easier and smoother. The aim of this essay is to describe how the unit addressed BSR performance in order to promote patient satisfaction and safety while maintaining or improving the current culture of nursing satisfaction and engagement.