A systematic review of educational resources for teaching patient handover skills to resident physicians and other healthcare professionals

BACKGROUND: As physicians reduce their work hours, transfer of patient care becomes more common; this is a time of heightened risk to patients. Training in patient handover skills may reduce this risk. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding education models available to teach handovers skills to healthcare professionals. METHODS: Two investigators independently reviewed educational publications for inclusion/exclusion. A third reviewer resolved any disagreement. Included papers contained an educational resource for teaching handover skills to any health profession in any patient population. Papers were rated on a previously described 4 point scale for quality. RESULTS: 1746 papers were identified, of which 12 met the inclusion criteria These studies presented information on educational curricula, simulation technologies and didactic sessions. The most common educational method was simulation or role-playing, which is better received by learners than didactic sessions. Teaching handover practices makes residents feel more confident in their handover, and residents receiving adequate handover are more comfortable with their duties. CONCLUSIONS: Although data are limited, effective training models for handover skills have been described in the literature. Residents and other healthcare practitioners should receive training in handover to improve practitioner comfort and patient care.