Shift handover — night nurse to day nurse
Lesson 2 of 4 in Interprofessional Team Communication · 16 minutes
Listen to a real-time shift handover between two nurses on a medical floor. The outgoing nurse uses SBAR and I-PASS ideas. The incoming nurse asks questions and gives a receiver synthesis.
What you'll learn
- Give a clear shift handover with specific values and a trend
- Include a contingency plan (if... then...)
- Give a receiver synthesis to confirm understanding
- Ask questions without being afraid to interrupt
From the transcript
7:00 AM on a medical floor at a Toronto hospital. RN Priya is finishing a night shift. Overnight she called the on-call physician, Dr. Tan, about Mrs. Smith, who showed signs of sepsis. Now she hands over Mrs. Smith and one other patient to Marcus, the day nurse. Marcus takes over at the bedside station.
Priya: Morning, Marcus. Ready for handover? I have two patients for you. I'll start with the sickest, Mrs. Smith in 412B.
Marcus: Morning, Priya. Yes, go ahead.
Priya: Mrs. Smith is 82, post-op day 3 from a right total hip replacement. Illness severity: she's a watcher, close to unstable. Overnight she developed sepsis signs. At 2 AM her blood pressure was 96 over 58, heart rate 112, sat 88…