Interventions to improve communication between nurses and physicians in the intensive care unit: An integrative literature review

Publication date: Available online 24 November 2017 Source:International Journal of Nursing Sciences Author(s): Ya-Ya Wang, Qiao-Qin Wan, Frances Lin, Wei-Jiao Zhou, Shao-Mei Shang Effective communication among healthcare professionals in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a particular imperative, with accurate and efficient interdisciplinary communication being a critical prerequisite for high-quality care. Nurses and physicians are highly important parts of the healthcare system workforce. Thus, identifying strategies that would improve communication between these two groups can provide evidence for practical improvement in the ICU, which will ultimately improve patient outcomes. This integrative literature review aimed to identify interventions that improve communication between nurses and physicians in ICUs. Three databases (Medline, CINAHL, and Science Direct) were searched between September 2014 and June 2016 using 11 search terms, namely, nurse, doctor, physician, resident, clinician, ICU, intensive care unit, communication, teamwork, collaboration, and relationship. A manual search of the reference lists of found papers was also conducted. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria. These studies reported on the use of communication tools/checklists, team training, multidisciplinary structured work shift evaluation, and electronic situation–background–assessment–recommendation documentation templates to improve communication. Although which intervention str...
Source: International Journal of Nursing Sciences - Category: Nursing Source Type: research