The latest podcast on EM-RAP Educator's Edition features our very own Dr. Stella Yiu (who is part of our blogging team!) and Dr. David Carr. The topic is on Patient Handover -- the transition of one physician to the next.
Take a listen to the 36-minute podcast. Some tips:
- Patient handover is a critical part of EM resident training. It takes practice. Signout rounds is a known high-risk time for errors.
- Be aware of the sign-out statement "... and there's nothing for you to do." You should still go check out the patient to corroborate.
- Consider calling a consultant before leaving your shift, if you would have called them regardless of the result of a pending study (eg. CT head, D-dimer). You know the patient much better than the oncoming new provider.
- Create a clear decision tree.
- Don't be afraid to restart your history and physical when something doesn't make sense or the clinical course changes. Don't rely solely on the previous provider's story.
- When signing out, try to anticipate "forks in the road" and highlight the high-risk patients.