Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28487461›Full record

Observational studyBMJ open2017

The impact of duty cycle workflow on sign-out practices: a qualitative study of an internal medicine residency program in Maryland, USA.

Soo-Hoon Lee, Sanjay V Desai, Phillip H Phan

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Soo-Hoon LeeStrome College of Business, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
Sanjay V DesaiDepartment of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Phillip H PhanCarey Business School, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1366-1604

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesAlthough JCAHO requires a standardised approach to handoffs, and while many standardised protocols have been tested, sign-out practices continue to vary. We believe this is due to the variability in workflow during inpatient duty cycle. We investigate the impact of such workflows on intern sign-out practices.

designWe employed a prospective, grounded theory mixed-method design.

settingThe study was conducted at a residency programme in the mid-Atlantic USA. Two observers randomly evaluated three types of daily sign-outs for 1 week every 3 months from September 2013 to March 2014. The compliance of each observed behaviour to JCAHO's Handoff Communication Checklist was recorded.

participantsThirty one interns conducting 134 patient sign-outs were observed randomly among the 52 in the programme.

resultsIn the 06:00 to 07:00 sign-back, the night-cover focused on providing information on overnight events to the day interns. In the 11:00 to 12:00 sign-out, the night-cover focused on transferring task accountability to a day-cover intern before departure. In the 20:00 to 21:00 sign-out, the day interns focused on transferring responsibility of their patients to a night-cover.

conclusionDifferent sign-out periods had different emphases regarding information exchange, personal responsibility and task accountability. Sign-outs are context-specific, implying that across-the-board standardised sign-out protocols are likely to have limited efficacy and compliance. Standardisation may need to be relative to the specific type and purpose of each sign-out to be supported by interns.

Indexed as

Internal MedicineInternship and ResidencyQualitative ResearchChecklistClinical CompetenceContinuity of Patient CareGrounded TheoryHumansMarylandPatient HandoffProspective StudiesQuality of Health CareWorkflowHealth & SafetyProtocols & GuidelinesQualitative ResearchQuality in health care

Identifiers

PMID28487461
PMCPMC5566623

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.