Post-Clinical Conference Bedside Reporting: Utilizing Priority Frameworks with Patient Assignments

Competency Domain: Teamwork and Collaboration

Learner Level: Pre-Licensure BSN

Learner Setting: Clinical

Strategy Type: AACN, QSEN competencies

Objectives:

  1. Demonstrates effective bedside reporting to communicate observations or concerns related to hazards and errors to patients, families, and the health care team.
  2. Acknowledges own potential to contribute to effective team functioning.
  3. Acts with integrity, consistency, and respect for differing views.
  4. Follows communication practices that minimizes risks associated with handoffs among nurses.
  5. Prioritizes patient care assignments based on priority frameworks.

Strategy Overview

A post-clinical conference activity can be implemented to promote critical reasoning with prioritizing patient assignments utilizing priority frameworks. The pre-licensure nursing student activity can be utilized at any level of the nursing program with a goal of demonstrating an effective bedside report and prioritizing patient care assignments based on nursing priority frameworks. The QSEN competency of knowledge, skills, and attitudesare Safety, and Teamwork and Collaboration. Students will use their knowledge of nursing and priority setting framework to make appropriate decisions in evaluating which patients the student would assess first, second, third, etc. Students will practice an effective bedside report within a limited time frame.

Students are introduced to or reinforced on concepts of bedside reporting, nursing priority frameworks, and a handoff report during their nursing fundamental theoretical course and clinical. Students should have the concepts reinforced in theory and/or clinical courses.

Students are informed at the beginning of their clinical they will be participating in the assignment. Students are assigned and care for a patient during their clinical day and fill out a handoff report sheet. In post-conference, four to five students are placed in each group, with one of the students in each group being a leader. The student leader is responsible for writing down each report and coordinating the group discussion. The other students will take their assignedgroup to their patient’s room to give a bedside report. The student leader will time the report and give each student a total of five minutes. The students will then go to the next assigned patient room and do another bedside report on the next patient. The students will all return to their post-conference room and discuss the patients within their group. The discussion should be focused on which patient should be seen first, second, third, etc. based on the most current assessments and data collected. The student responses need to be referenced withwhy they selected the order of patients based on the priority frameworks. Once the decisions are made within the groups, each group will present to the whole clinical group.

The assignment should take approximately 45 minutes for ten nursing students on a medical-surgical clinical floor. It may take longer for beginner nursing. Students have stated this exercise allows them to start prioritizing patient care assignments, practicing a bedside report which helps improve patient safety, and how the discussion among the other students stimulates critical reasoning of priority frameworks.

Evaluation

This activity is evaluated through the course clinical evaluation tool. Faculty can give feedback to individual students as well as within the groups throughout the process of the activity.

Attachments

  1. Sample evaluation rubric
  2. Handoff report
  3. Nursing priority framework PowerPoint
  4. Post-Clinical Conference Bedside Reporting Faculty Guide