All professions and professionals are guided by a strict set of laws, rules, regulations, and ethical policies. It is, however, important to go back further and seek to establish what informs these laws, rules, regulations and ethical policies as well as their efficacy, relevance, and effectiveness. The nursing profession has seen a transition from its traditional nature to a more modern perspective. Rules have been changing in several aspects including nature, approach, procedure, and perspective (Wakefield et al, 2012). Among the approach and procedure changes made relates to the nurse handing over the report . Nurses have the obligation of superintending the care part of the patient and this has to be undertaken on a continuous basis. Being but human, however, nurses will be exhausted and will need rest hence the need for another nurse to take over leading to the critical issue of having over. Handing over can also happen when the patient is transiting from one hospital department to another or even from one hospital to another (Wakefield et al, 2012). The handing over must include a comprehensive exchange of information about the patient to enable the incoming nurse to step into the shoes of the nurse handing over. Traditionally, this was done at the nursing station using charts and other literature. The modern nursing regimen has changed this and adopted the bedside nursing reporting where the reporting is done at the bedside in the presence of the patient (Wakefield et al, 2012). Another focus for modern nursing is patient satisfaction as part of the intended outcome for care. The instant essay evaluates the transition from the traditional report to the modern report and how it acts as a bearing factor on patient satisfaction.
Statement of the Problem
Patient satisfaction is one of the most complicated aspects kindred to modern nursing more so from a perspective of care. It is important to note that patient satisfaction has little to do with clinical outcomes for the patient but rather how the patient and the patient’s loved ones considered the services that were offered by the nursing team (McGinn, 2017). Traditionally, the nurse had an obligation to the health of the patient, to the profession of nursing as well as to the intended clinical outcomes. Under the modern regimen, the principal obligation of the nursing officer when it comes to nursing care is to the patient and from a holistic perspective. Indeed, it is possible for a patient who eventually passes on due to the failure of clinical intervention to have a higher patient satisfaction from the nursing care given than the patient who survives and is completely cured (McGinn, 2017). It is on this basis that the comparison to be made hereinbelow is premised.
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The actual problem, therefore, is identifying the reporting system that brings more satisfaction to the patient. This problem is based on the procedure of handing over within the two systems, the effects of the handing over between the two systems and finally the perception of the patient about them. Therefore, the literature review ought to delve on which of the two systems is procedurally superior. Further, it will look at which among the two processes results in better handing over generally. Finally, it will also look at which of the two systems is perceived as better by the patient.
Literature Review
Procedure
The article by Ofori-Atta, Binienda, and Chalupka (2015) reflects how important the instant subject is not only from the outcome of patient satisfaction perspective but also from a general outcome. According to the article, more than 400,000 patients go to the hospital with treatable issues and end up dying based purely on how they were handled at the hospital. This means that procedure is an important aspect of the care and attention that patients receive at the hospital. From a descriptive perspective, the traditional patient report used to happen at the nursing station while the modern one happens at the bedside. The difference between the two, however, rises beyond the locale where the reporting takes place. For a start, patients are human beings and not merely a statistic. Takig human beings as a statistic may be considered as inhuman or abnormal. However, when all you do is cater for human beings on continuous basis , it is possible for the humanity to be blurred as the patients to gradually be seemed as statistics. This is more so when the activities supposed to be undertaken have been reduced to codes and procedural notes (McGinn, 2017). The consideration of patients as statistics can, however, not happen when the patient is right there. Care is about a connection and when the same is discussed at the bedside with the patient being present and perhaps even participating, the same will have a higher connection an appeal to the humanity of the nurse, hence the procedural superiority of the bedside report.
Further, from a procedural perspective, the handing over process is not just meant to be a passing of files and information from one nurse to another. It is also a moment for two professional to share ideas and even opinions about the patient. Traditionally, the nursing officer was akin to support staff and was merely supposed to follow instructions. The modern nursing officer is fully in charge of the nursing and care aspects and also has a role to play in clinical aspects (McGinn, 2017). The nursing report provides a vital opportunity for two well-trained professionals to re-evaluate the patient’s situation and share ideas on the way forwards. It is at this point where mistakes can be discovered and corrected, new needs realized and a fresh approach deviced. The presence of the patient at the reporting site is critical for the achievement of the expanded nursing obligations. Over and above the charts and records, the nurses can observe the patient together and discover something the records do not reflect (McGinn, 2017). A comment from the patient can also assist the discourse between the nurses. In this regard, therefore, the superiority of the bedside report over the traditional report is emphasized.
The Results Perspective
A better patent handover will result in a better outcome from a perspective of nursing in general and care in particular. Modern nursing and care is holistic in nature and involves a two-way relationship between the patient and the nurse (Tan Jr., 2015). It is not just necessary for the nurse to perform the necessary duties for the patient. There is also the need for a functional and mutually beneficial relationship between the patient and the nursing officer. Relationships are highly influenced by the initial contact with breaking the ice being a crucial step in this. The traditional nursing report in the nursing station means that the nurse will know about the patient but not know the patient. This will require another process where the nursing officer will make an acquaintance with the patient (Tan Jr., 2015). The making of acquaintances can be awkward even in a best-case scenario, let alone when one party to the acquaintance is ailing. The bedside report eliminates all this through providing an opportunity for the nurse handing over to introduce the oncoming nurse to the patient. The fluid introduction increasing the propensity for a mutually beneficial relationship between the nurse and the patient thus enhancing patient satisfaction.
The bedside nursing report is also more comprehensives and accurate than traditional report (Estrella, 2016). Comprehensiveness and accuracy are crucial to the offering of better services and thus better outcomes. At the nursing station, only figures, charts, and statements are available but at the bedside, the nurse is able to compare this figures, charts, and information about what is actually happening thus understand it better. Any situation that may have changed since the report was made can also be promptly realized, noted and if expedient, acted upon. For example, administration of prescribed drugs falls mainly under nursing so is an observation in case of adverse side effects. A bedside report can enable the two nursing officers to discuss noticeable or reported possible side effects on the patient and assist one another to chart the way forward (Estrella, 2016).
The Patients Perspective
The traditional doctor and nurse were quite secretive, apparently in a bid to protect the patient and loved ones from painful truths about the patient’s condition (Sand-Jecklin & Sherman, 2014). Further, all decisions about the patient’s condition were the preserve of professionals who would not go into any tangible details in the presence of the patient. This situation has, however, change with even the consumer world changing as well. It was common for professionals to move aside when discussing sensitive patient issues. A patient would in some cases not even be informed about a terminal condition or a medical complication (Sand-Jecklin & Sherman, 2014). The modern consumer is among the most knowledgeable in history. Not only do modern consumers understand many details about the products they get, but also extremely inquisitive about it. This patient not only wants to know everything about the condition but also what the professional teams intend to do about it. Indeed, it may be considered an act of professional negligence to fail to inform a patient about crucial details kindred to either their condition of treatment regimens (Wahlstedt, 2016).
This philosophy has also been adopted in the medical and nursing professions where patients have a right to be consulted and informed about each and every situation kindred to them as well as the procedures about to be undertaken. Further, to the same modern practice dictates that even the processes and procedures that a professional may deem necessary and expedient can only be done with the consent of the patient or loved ones whenever practicable (Wahlstedt, 2016). Based on the above, the best place to carry out a conversation about a patient is in the presence of the patient. Further, nothing that ought to be said about the patient can not be said in their presence within the modern information age. Finally, in the case any decision is to be made about the patient, the modern patient wants to be involved (Wahlstedt, 2016). The totality of the above points to a higher propensity for patient satisfaction when the handing over report is undertaken in the presence of the patient.
Summary Findings
The traditional nursing handover which is gradually being replaced with the modern bedside nursing report is a means through which two nursing officers hand over the care of a patient. A nursing officer will, normally keep a careful record of each and every activity and detail kindred to a patient. These details are quite comprehensive more so in the modern times when patient records are undertaken using computer technology. However, the nursing rules and regulations still provide for an actual physical handing over between the oncoming nurse and the nurse handing over. The necessity for the actual handing over seems testimony that the records are not enough based on the holistic approach to nursing. Based on the following aspect as had been arrived at the statement of the problem, it is clear that nursing report is not simply the handing over of nursing records. Indeed, this can easily be done through email.
Further, the main focus for the instant essay is kindred to outcomes in general and particularly those kindred to patient satisfaction. The concept of patient satisfaction in this scenario , as seen in the literature review goes beyond whether or not the nursing officers believe they did the right thing. This is because the patient satisfaction perspective of nursing outcomes also considers whether the patient and loved ones consider that the right thing was done. The best way for a patient to consider that the right thing was done is to have as much access to information as possible. When one nurse leaves and another one appears, a patient may be left wondering if all the right information was passed on. For example, does this nurse know that I had declined that treatment or if that medicine is reactive? When the report is done in the patient’s presence, all three will be on the right page. Further, the reporting will provide a chance for the familiar nurse to introduce the oncoming a nurse which in turn smoothens the transitions for the patient. This conversation will also bring up details that may not have been available in the report. This new details can happen when the nurses observe the patient or when the patient interjects and adds details during the report. More details will result in a better performance and therefore better results. In all fairness, it might seem that the bedside handing over will take slightly longer than the traditional nursing room handing over. However, as the procedure segment of the literature review had revealed, the bedside report will save valuable time that would have been consumed later in the critical follow up following the traditional nursing report. Therefore, the nursing officers, as well as the patients, stand to have a more satisfying outcome from a bedside nursing report than a traditional one.
References
Estrella, F. R. (2016). Nurse shift handoff report at the patient's bedside: Improving nurse-to-nurse communication. The University of San Francisco. USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center
McGinn, C. (2017). Nurses perceptions' of bedside reporting on an Intensive Care Unit following implementation. Rhode Island College. Digital Commons @ RIC
Ofori-Atta, J., Binienda, M., & Chalupka, S. (2015). Bedside shift report: Implications for patient safety and quality of care. Nursing, 2016 , 45 (8), 1-4
Sand ‐ Jecklin, K., & Sherman, J. (2014). A quantitative assessment of patient and nurse outcomes of bedside nursing report implementation. Journal of Clinical Nursing , 23 (19-20), 2854-2863
Tan Jr., A. K. (2015). Emphasizing caring components in nurse-patient-nurse bedside reporting. International Journal , 8 (1), 188-193
Wahlstedt, E., & Ekman, B. (2016). Patient choice, internet-based information sources, and perceptions of health care: Evidence from Sweden using survey data from 2010 and 2013. BMC health services research , 16 (1)
Wakefield, D. S., Ragan, R., Brandt, J., & Tregnago, M. (2012). Making the transition to nursing bedside shift reports. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety , 38 (6), 243-AP1 s
