Development of Nursing Handoff Practice Guideline and Standards for Korean Hospital

국내병원 간호사의 인수인계 실무표준, 표준지침 및 표준화된 항목 개발에 대한 연구

Purpose: Addressing current status of nursing handoff provides information as to where to change practice for improvement in patient care. The aim of this study was to develop nursing a handoff practice guideline and standardsfor Korean hospitals. Methods: A questionnaire was used to collect data in a cross-sectional survey with 207 head nurses and 697 nurses working in general hospitals. Results: The practice guideline consisted of 2 items on purpose of handoff, 5 items on policy, 3 on environment, 5 on process, 7 on content, 3 on evaluation, and 1 on the function of education, for a total 26 of items. Standard instruction was developed related to Patients, Assessment, Situation, Safety concerns, Background, Actions, and Recommendations. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the guideline can be applied in real nursing practice to improve the effectiveness of handoff procedures. It can be used to guide nurses to follow the standardized content, which presents patient details clearly. The guideline provides consistency and structure for the information that is handed over.