Clinical Practice Guideline End of Shift Handover Toolkit

The DNP project is a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) to guide nurses in performing end-of-shift reports at a Medical Center in the West Indies. The gap in practice identified is that nurses perform end-of-shift reporting without using a standardized document. This affects patient safety because the absence of a structured handover process disrupts the continuity of patient care and the transmission of vital patient data. The nurse administrator and general manager reported that many adverse events at the facility were related to miscommunication of information among nurses. The purpose of the project was to develop a CPG that nurses will use to communicate effectively during the end-of-shift handover of patient care. I developed the CPG using evidence-based information to guide the nurses in communicating effectively during the end-of-shift handover. Three experts reviewed the CPG using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II tool. They agreed that the CPG had content validity. The handover toolkit (See Appendix C) developed from the CPG was shortened by replacing some of the original items that required written comments with a check box as recommended by the experts. The CPG is an end-of-shift document that will guide nurses in communicating the vital details of the patient's handover so that the taking-over nurse will have all the vital data necessary for proper continuity of care. It can potentially enhance nurses' clinical reasoning, critical thinking skills, and culturally competent care. I recommend that the facility include the CPG in the orientation process for new nurses. The positive social implication of the CPG is that nurses will engage in an evidence-based handover process to improve patient safety and enhance the profession.