The ins and outs of change of shift handoffs between nurses: a communication challenge.
Carroll JS, Williams M, Gallivan TM. The ins and outs of change of shift handoffs between nurses: a communication challenge. BMJ Qual Saf. 2012;21(7):586-93. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2011-000614.
Despite universal agreement about the importance of safe handoffs and signouts, improving the quality of signouts has been challenging. This mixed-methods study explored the reasons for variability in the quality of nursing shift change signouts and found that nurses' varying expectations played a large role in communication problems at the time of signout.