Standardized handoff report form in clinical nursing education: An educational tool for patient safety and quality of care.

Effective change-of-shift handoff communication is a core competency in the generalist education of nurses. The use of a standardized handoff tool that fosters higher order thinking and clinical reasoning is fundamental in clinical education and nursing practice (AACN, 2008). A checklist that prompts students to implement evidence-based safety alerts will increase students' confidence and autonomy, prevent errors, promote patient safety, and successfully transform theoretical learning into competent practice. High-quality handoffs and contextualized post-conference debriefing using key items in the handoff form will help increase students' feelings of precision, accuracy, improve their self-image, and enhance their sense of professional belonging.