Improving Bedside Report Within an Inpatient Unit

Background: Bedside reporting is a communication process used during the shift change, where the outgoing nurse hands over the responsibility of patient care to the incoming nurse. This handoff takes place at the patient's bedside, it improves patient safety, communication, and satisfaction, yet compliance remains a challenge. Enhancing bedside reporting practices is crucial for promoting health equity and cultural competence among nursing staff. A quality improvement project was implemented to improve nurse-to-nurse bedside report compliance using education, a standardized report tool, and monitoring. Local Problem: Majority of the nurses in the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) were not conducting shift report at the bedside, nor were they using standardized handoff template prior to the implementation of the quality improvement project. handoff tool as required by the unit policy. Methods: The project involved the distribution of self-administered questionnaires to assess barriers to bedside reporting. Based upon the results, staff education materials were developed including a standardized bedside report tool. A pre- and post-survey were used to track knowledge and usage of the reporting tool and rounding during shift report was used to evaluate compliance. Results: Bedside reporting compliance improved, with 89% of nurses conducting bedside reports inside patient rooms post-intervention compared to 18% pre-intervention, an increase of 394%. Most nurses acknowledged the benefits of bedside reporting, including increased patient satisfaction and reduced medical errors. Conclusion: The quality improvement project successfully increased bedside reporting. The use of a standardized bedside reporting tool is feasible and effective.