Patient Member, Maternity/NICU Nurse Handover Reports Including Patients

Have you received care at a maternity unit or had your child cared for at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)? Would you be interested in participating in Providence Health Care’s project preparing nurses to include patients, new parents and family members in the discussion at nurse to nurse handover?

Join us in making a small change in practice that can have a big impact in how patients are involved in transfer of nursing care information.

Open to: Patient partners in Lower Mainland & Fraser Valley

Lead Organization or Department

Providence Health Care - Professional Practice

Aim

Involving patients in nurse to nurse handover has been introduced in some clinical units at Providence Health Care (PHC) and our next area to spread this great patient- and family- centred practice is on our St Paul's Hospital maternity unit and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The project will result in formally including/inviting patients to participate in the transfer of information on occasions such as at change of nurses’ shifts and from recovery room to in maternity unit, becoming a standard of nursing practice. The purpose of engaging patient partners in this work is to further identify the needs, challenges and desires of patients based on their own lived experiences. As a member of the project team, the patient partner will provide examples of how being a partner in the transfer of information did or could have improved the experience of care. Patient partners will be given the opportunity to be part of 'how to' sessions with nurses on the unit.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of involve on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will involve patients in planning and design phases to ensure ideas or concerns are considered and reflected in alternatives and recommendations.

Eligibility

• an interest and experience in project planning, development and delivery
• experience receiving care (or parent of an infant receiving care) at a maternity unit or NICU
• be comfortable sharing your story

If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and volunteer agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact the engagement leader directly.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 2
• 1 hour meetings will be held every 2-4 weeks beginning in late March. As the project progresses, meetings will be scheduled as needed.
• Meetings will typically be held at St Paul's Hospital in downtown Vancouver
• Preference is for patient partners to join meetings in person, but possibility to connect via teleconference

Reimbursement

Expenses related to travel (i.e. transit, parking up to $18/day, approved mileage up to 60 km each way) will be reimbursed by PHC.

Background

Inviting/including patients in nurse to nurse handover project in maternity and NICU presents an opportunity to improve and optimize the experience of care for each patient on the unit by offering the opportunity for patients to participate to the level they wish in transfer of information at certain times in care such as at change of shift or return from operating room recovery area. Evidence has shown that inviting patients to participate in hand over of information increases patient safety; improves health literacy for patients; increases overall satisfaction with care received and improves the experience of care. Participants can expect to work with a group of nurses, educators, managers and improvement coaches directly on this work with some input from other health professionals (social worker, physician, legal expert) with regular updates via email (including project documents and training materials).

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Karen Estrin
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Lower Mainland & Sunshine Coast
604.668.8245
kestrin@bcpsqc.ca