Problem
Anjali works as a nurse in the pediatric oncology unit. She has just finished working a 12-hour shift. She is tired because it has been a busy and stressful day. Two of the children she was caring for needed intense interventions, and she had a family meeting for a client with a recent diagnosis of terminal cancer. On top of it all, Anjali is worried that she will be late to relieve her mother-in-law, who is caring for her daughter while she is at work. She must now communicate with Dacy, the incoming nurse, to hand off her patients at the change of shift. The unit is noisy, and the secretary has just paged Anjali. Dacy is ready for report but is socializing with the unit secretary.
• What are the potential interferences with Anjali's ability to communicate?
• If the handoff of her patients is ineffective, what are some of the potential results?
• Are there any strategies that Anjali or Dacy can use to help improve the quality of the handoff process?