Improving Interprofessional Communication Through Structured Rounds

Perceptions on implementation of a new standardized reporting tool to support structured morning rounds: Recommendations for interprofessional teams and healthcare leaders

Structured morning rounds have been used to improve communication, provide learning opportunities, and support patient care in various healthcare settings. The leadership team in an inner-city Inpatient Mental Health Unit identified a gap in the structure of morning rounds; to remedy this, a standardized reporting tool and structured morning rounding process were implemented. This short communication reports on an evaluation of staff...s perceptions on the outcomes of using a standardized reporting tool and structured rounding process to improve efficiency and communication regarding patient care among an interprofessional team. Feedback was provided on logistics, attendance, supporting factors that ensured ease of use for the new structure, and benefits of the program. While this evaluation focuses on the opinions of nurses, it serves as an example for leadership in various healthcare units on the benefits of a structured rounding program, and key factors that contribute to making the process successful. This short communication also provides an example for an efficient communication tool that can be adapted to meet the needs of various groups of healthcare disciplines.

Radiology Reading Room Huddles: Our Initial Experience

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to adapt the safety, methods, equipment, supplies, and associates, termed "S-MESA," communication tool from daily management huddles and implement it in radiology reading rooms to address the complexities of daily communications. We collected data on huddle logistics and perceived value from radiologists at an academic institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We constructed a 16-item survey composed of multiple-choice questions (single answer and multiple answers), statements requiring Likert scale ratings (from 1 [strongly disagree] to 5 [strongly agree]), and items requiring free text responses. The survey was distributed to 244 radiologists. Answers were collected over a 6-week period. RESULTS. The response rate was 41% (101/244). The majority of huddles were performed sometimes (59%) or daily or nearly daily (25%), and most lasted 5 minutes or less (83%), which was perceived as "just right" (87.5%). The components discussed more frequently in the huddle were availability (33.5%) and time goals (27%). Task review (19%) and miscellaneous (14%) were not as common. Huddles were valued for facilitating communication and better organizing the workday. CONCLUSION. Reading room huddles are feasible and perceived as useful. Moving forward, we are planning to integrate reading room huddles with multitier system huddles and include items that are of specific interest to radiology trainees.

Intentional Interprofessional Experiential Education

The experiential component of a doctor of pharmacy curricula is an ideal, yet underutilized vehicle to advance interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives. To date, most experiential-based IPE initiatives occur in a naturally occurring, non-deliberate fashion. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Experiential Education Section formed the Task Force on Intentional Interprofessional Education in Experiential Education in academic year 2015-2016 to explore the issue. This commentary describes the work of the task force, including the following elements: defining intentional interprofessional experiential education as "the explicit effort by preceptors and practice sites to create/foster educational opportunities or activities designed specifically to achieve interprofessional educational competencies;" conducting a systematic literature review to identify examples of intentional interprofessional experiential education in the published literature; surveying faculty with oversight of experiential education programs and preceptors within those programs; and generating recommendations to stakeholders including AACP, pharmacy schools, and experiential education administrators.