Bedside Reporting

Bedside reporting ties the patients care in one big bow. 

Transcript

Choehns: 0:01

Hello everyone and welcome back to Nursing Together, the podcast where we grow stronger as a team, support each other as professionals, and keep our hearts rooted in the reason why we are doing this work our patients. I am Michelle Hoen Tanner, c and e, and your host. Today we are gonna be talking about a practice that lies at the heart of great nursing care bedside reporting. This episode. For all of us, whether you are a new nurse, still getting comfortable with shift reports, or a seasoned clinician looking for ways to deepen team trust and patient connection. So let's go ahead and dive in. Bedside reporting is more than a handoff. It's a handover of trust. It is the moment where we bring together ongoing and incoming. Nurses with patients at the center of the conversation. It's not about communicating the data, it's about building safety, continuity, and confidence. Studies have shown that bedside reporting does improve patient safety by reducing errors, increasing patient satisfaction by the patient feeling. They are being heard and involved and strengthening. Nursing accountability and teamwork. When conducting reports at the bedside. We're allowing our patients to witness the passing of care and that is powerful. A good bedside report respects not only the patient but the next nurse. Think of it this way, you're not ending your shift, you're setting the tone for someone else's shift. So how do we do this? How do we manage up the next team? First, be thorough, but efficient, cover all the key systems, prioritize needs, recent changes, and anything still pending. Be honest. If there were changes during the shift, share them consistently and constructively where we have to lift each other up and not pass on frustration. Be respectful. That means being timely, mindful of the incoming nurses' workflow and emotional bandwidth. We're here to support each other. We're here to support our patients better. Let's walk through a really quick example.

Grace: 2:48

“Hi Mrs. Jackson, this is Jamie, your day shift nurse. I’m Kelsey, the night nurse, and we’re going to do your bedside report now so Jamie can take over your care. Is that okay?”“Mrs. Jackson is a 72-year-old admitted for CHF exacerbation. She’s on 2L O2 via nasal cannula, sats are stable at 95%. She received Lasix IV at 0800 with good urine output. She’s on a low-sodium diet and telemetry. Her potassium was 3.4 this morning they’re rechecking labs at 1600. She’s alert and oriented, ambulating with assistance. No pain at this time.”“Main focus tonight will be monitoring fluid status, rechecking her labs, and continuing mobility support.”“Do you have any questions or concerns before we finish?”

Choehns: 3:33

Have you understood simple, clear, inclusive? Caring. Our patients expect to be included and they deserve to be included. When we do bedside reporting, the patient will one, expect to hear accurate information about their care. They want to see teamwork between nurses. It reassures them that we are providing safe. Supportive and accurate care. It shows them that we are passing on the information from one person to another. They expect privacy and dignity, so we need to be showing them that by asking if anyone in the room needs to leave or step aside before beginning our bedside reporting. What they don't expect and shouldn't have to experience is confusion, silence, or feeling like they're invisible. We can change that shift by shift simply by bringing our care to the bedside together. With that being said, bedside reporting isn't just best practice, it's a culture one rooted in transparency, teamwork, and trust. When we do it well, we build strong teams, We create more informed patients, and a safer environment for healing bedside reporting isn't just a best practice, it's a cultural change. One rooted in transparency, teamwork, and trust. When we do it well, we build strong teams, more informed patients. In a safer environment for healing. So next time you pass the torch to your teammate, remember what you are handing off is more than just information. It's a relationship, it's a plan, and it's a hope. Thank you so much for joining me today on nursing together. Until next time, lead with compassion. Practice and purpose and lift each other up one shift at a time.