Patient Safety: Who Guards the Patient?
February 4, 2019
Response by Christa Mock to “Moving Shift Report to the Bedside: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project” by Edward R. McAllen and colleagues (April 9, 2018)
Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to “Moving Shift Report to the Bedside: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project, “ (McAllen, Stephens, Swanson-Biearman, Kerr, & Whiteman, 2018). The article interested me in the effective implementation and outcome of the bedside report. I am surprised that with the benefits that the bedside report offers, through increased patient satisfaction and safety, that implementation of this process has not caught on in all facilities.
In my 15 years of nursing, the normal process for the facilities that I have worked at was to check on your patients right before the next shift came to work, then give report at the nurses’ station. The article has given me the insight into some of the positive outcomes of bedside report. Nurses should strive to satisfy our patients and give them the best care possible. If bedside report gives our patients the feeling of being included in their care and improves their safety, we should be fulfilling the needs of the patient. The article has given me a different outlook on how I can improve my own skills and take care of my patients, using bedside report as my practice of choice. Hopefully, by leading the way by changing my practice, my colleagues will follow my example and improve their own practice and their patients’ quality of care.
In conclusion, giving report at the patient’s bedside may offer the best care for all patients. Although it is easier and more convenient for the nurse to give report at the nurses’ station, it is not in the best interest of the patient. We as nurses should strive for the best quality care of our patients.
Sincerely,
Christa Mock, ADN, RN
Reference
McAllen, E.R., Stephens, K., Swanson-Biearman, B., Kerr, K., & Whiteman, K (2018). Moving shift report to the bedside: An evidence-based quality improvement project. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(2). Available: http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-23-2018/No2-May-2018/Articles-Previous-Topics/Moving-Shift-Report-to-the-Bedside.html
