Nursing Handover Research Project - Wintec Research Archive

Abstract
How is nursing handover talked about in the literature?
Aim
The aim of this research project is to explore how nursing handover is talked about within
current, scholarly, peer reviewed, published nursing literature from 2004-2010.
Background
Part of most nurses’ daily reality is nursing handover. In each hospital where I have worked
there seemed to be no clear policy for delivering handover and each nurse chose their own
method, making handover inconsistent. The value placed on handover varied from nurse to
nurse, and area to area.
Method
A constructionist and social constructionist epistemology was used to support this research. A
constructionist viewpoint allows nursing handover reality to gain meaning in a social context.
The analysis focused on the literature’s discursive constructions of nursing handover. The
first three steps of Gee’s (2005) discourse analysis framework; significance, activities and
identities were used to look at the constructs of handover and what is gained by such
construction.
Recommendations for practice
It is important to value nursing handover and its place in contemporary nursing. Handover
serves other functions other than just the communication of information, and important
aspects such as debriefing and reflection need to be respected. There is professional practice
anxiety associated with nursing care and handover allows time for the psycho/social aspects
of nursing to be provided for.
Conclusion
This research project considers perspectives that are different from traditional positivistic
approaches by analysing discourses that construct nursing handover. Recommendations to
positively impact patient outcomes through improved nursing handover, language and format
can be informed by these perspectives.
Keywords: constructionist, discourse analysis, social constructionist, nursing handover
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