Examining Nurse Satisfaction with a Bedside Handover Report Process

Abstract

<p>Nurses’ job satisfaction affects work performance at the point of care in hospitals. The incoming nurses who are able to receive a comprehensive patient report at shift change are more prepared in comparison to incoming nurses who are not able to receive a comprehensive patient report to provide care that is safe. The purpose of this project, guided by the theory of organization change, was to explore whether the use of a bedside handover process impacts nurses’ satisfaction in an adult postoperative orthopedic and spine unit. A postimplementation survey of the bedside handover process was conducted after one month and two months to examine registered nurses’ (RN) (n = 50) satisfaction using a 7-question self-designed instrument with a reliability coefficient of 0.80. The<br />Bedside Handover Report Staff Nurses’ Satisfaction Survey consisted of 5-item Likert scale with scores ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The survey results found that RNs were satisfied with the bedside handover report process. Matchedpair t tests revealed significant differences between the first and second months after the handover report process was implemented. Specifically, “Bedside handover report provides time for the incoming RN to verify patient’s health issues” (p = .05), “I am<br />satisfied with the handover report process conducted at the patient’s bedside” (p = .01), and total score (p = .03) improved from the first to second month. A longitudinal study spanning 6 months to a year is recommended when the project will be implemented in the entire facility. A bedside handover report increases nurse satisfaction because the process<br />allows the nurses to verify and address patient health issues that are essential for positive social change.</p>