Shift reporting: a strategic resource for the continuity of nursing care.

Abstract

Shift reporting is an important tool for organizing and planning nursing care. The purpose of this study was to describe how shift reporting is conducted in some wards of a teaching hospital in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and to identify the nurses’ knowledge on how to systematize this activity. Two data collection methods were used in this qualitative study: observation of shift report; and a questionnaire answered by nurses. Data were submitted to thematic content analysis. In all wards, shift report happened during a nurses’ meeting, when information was exchanged, although nurse knew other form of shift reporting. Several positive and negative factors affect shift reporting, and the nursing staff should try to make this activity as easy, systematic, and effective as possible.