Perceptions and Behaviors of Nurses and Physicians During Bedside Rounds in Medical-Surgical Units

Background: Communication and collaboration among health care professionals during bedside rounds improve patient outcomes and nurses' and physicians' satisfaction.

Objectives: To determine barriers to nurse-physician communication during bedside rounds and identify opportunities to improve nurse-physician collaboration at an academic medical center.

Methods: A survey with Likert-scale and open-ended questions regarding professional attitudes toward nurse-physician communication was administered to 220 nurses and physicians in medical-surgical units to assess perceptions of participation in bedside rounds. After the survey was given, observational data from 1007 bedside rounds were collected via a standardized data collection tool.

Results: Nurses and physicians perceived different barriers to including nurses in bedside rounds. Nurses most often cited being unaware that bedside rounds were occurring (38 of 46 nurses [83%]); physicians most often cited nurse unavailability (43 of 52 physicians [83%]). Of 1007 observed rounds, 602 (60%) involved in-person contact of nurses and physicians; 418 (69%) of the 602 included a conversation between the nurse and physician about the nurse's concerns. Of 355 rounds with no in-person or telephone contact between nurses and physicians, the medicine team did not contact the nurse in 284 (80%). Conversations about nurses' concerns occurred more often after physician-initiated contacts (73% of 369 contacts) and nurse-initiated contacts (74% of 93 contacts) than after chance encounters (57% of 140 contacts).

Conclusion: Initiating discussions of care between nurses and physicians and discussing nurses' concerns during bedside rounds have multiple benefits.