Neha J Darrah1, Nina R O'Connor2. 1. Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA. 2. Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Electronic address: nina.o'connor@uphs.upenn.edu.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Patient handoffs are an increasingly emphasized skill in medical and nursing education, and handoff education is required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Traditional handoff tools lack content that is unique to hospice and palliative medicine. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to develop a comprehensive curriculum to teach and assess patient handoffs in hospice and palliative medicine fellowships. METHODS: Eight hospice physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses were interviewed to determine core content for a hospital-to-hospice handoff. This content was used to create a verbal handoff template and direct observation assessment tool, which were reviewed by the same hospice providers for content validity. The handoff template was taught to two groups of palliative medicine fellows and one group of internal medicine residents using an interactive didactic and role play, and feedback was obtained to further refine the curriculum. RESULTS: After refinement, the complete handoff curriculum (verbal handoff template, didactic with role play, assessment by faculty using direct observation tool) was successfully integrated into a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship, satisfying Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements related to transitions in care. CONCLUSION: The hospital-to-hospice handoff is a unique opportunity to teach patient safety in a palliative medicine context.
CONTEXT: Patient handoffs are an increasingly emphasized skill in medical and nursing education, and handoff education is required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Traditional handoff tools lack content that is unique to hospice and palliative medicine. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to develop a comprehensive curriculum to teach and assess patient handoffs in hospice and palliative medicine fellowships. METHODS: Eight hospice physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses were interviewed to determine core content for a hospital-to-hospice handoff. This content was used to create a verbal handoff template and direct observation assessment tool, which were reviewed by the same hospice providers for content validity. The handoff template was taught to two groups of palliative medicine fellows and one group of internal medicine residents using an interactive didactic and role play, and feedback was obtained to further refine the curriculum. RESULTS: After refinement, the complete handoff curriculum (verbal handoff template, didactic with role play, assessment by faculty using direct observation tool) was successfully integrated into a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship, satisfying Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements related to transitions in care. CONCLUSION: The hospital-to-hospice handoff is a unique opportunity to teach patient safety in a palliative medicine context.
Authors: Ariel Shalev; Veerawat Phongtankuel; Katherine Lampa; M C Reid; Brian M Eiss; Sonica Bhatia; Ronald D Adelman Journal: Am J Hosp Palliat Care Date: 2017-10-08 Impact factor: 2.500