A survey of handoff practices in emergency medicine.
This study aimed to assess practices in emergency department (ED) handoffs as perceived by emergency medicine (EM) residency program directors and other senior-level faculty and to determine if there are deficits in resident handoff training. This cross-sectional survey study was guided by the Kern model for medical curriculum development. A 12-member Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) Transitions in Care task force of EM physicians performed these steps and constructed a survey. The survey was distributed to the CORD listserv. There were 147 responses to the anonymous survey, which were collected using an online tool. At least 41% of the 158 American College of Graduate Medical Education EM residency programs were represented. More than half (56.6%) of responding EM physicians reported that their ED did not use a standardized handoff. There also exists a dearth of formal handoff training and handoff proficiency assessments for EM residents.
Jesse Brown VA Hospital, Chicago, IL University of Illinois-Chicago, IL chad.kessler@va.gov.
Chad
C
Kessler
University of Illinois-Chicago, IL.
Faizan
F
Shakeel
ACMC-Highland General, Oakland, CA University of California, San Francisco, CA.
H Gene
HG
Hern
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS.
Jonathan S
JS
Jones
UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program, Fresno, CA.
Jim
J
Comes
Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, IL.
Christine
C
Kulstad
University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Fiona A
FA
Gallahue
University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, OK.
Boyd David
BD
Burns
Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA.
Barry J
BJ
Knapp
NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY.
Maureen
M
Gang
Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.
Moira
M
Davenport
Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA Tufts University School of Medicine, Springfield, MA.
Ben
B
Osborne
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
Larissa I
LI
Velez
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D062209:Patient Handoff / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
handoff; shift change; sign-out; transfer of care; transitions in care