Handover Backgrounder
What is Handover Education
Effective and accurate patient handover is an essential component to maintaining patient safety. Transfer of patient care occurs frequently in medical settings, often in less than optimal circumstances, and is a time of heightened risk to patients. Training in patient handover skills may reduce this risk. Handover education refers to the training residents receive on tactics and skills for transferring patients’ care between care providers, including how to incorporate verbal interaction, and written communication to achieve safe and accurate transfer of patient care. Current Situation
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A recent CAIR survey revealed most residents do not receive formal training in patient handover skills; over half (57%) of residents say they develop these skills through informal observation. 
Half of the respondents had either witnessed (33%) or been directly involved (16%) in an adverse event that they felt could have been prevented through better handover. Resident Doctors of Canada & Handover
Recognizing the complexity of handover, Resident Doctors of Canada (RDoC) supports a formal handover curriculum as part of the accreditation standard for medical education, reflecting the core competencies of the CanMEDS framework. This recommendation is strengthened by the observation that trainees’ handover skills improve as they gain seniority, implying handover is a learned skill. As recognition of the risks associated with handovers grows, it is essential that residency programs develop a formal handover curriculum that provides high‐quality training to ensure patient safety and optimal care across all settings. Interactive programs that employ evidence‐based tools were seen by residents as most successful. Direct supervision and feedback on handover skills were also viewed as key components of a handover curriculum. A variety of educational methods, including formal didactic sessions and observation with feedback from more senior physicians, have been shown to improve handover skills. While standardized tools may improve consistency and accuracy of handover, the clinical environment and time barriers to efficient handover must also be addressed. Each residency program should tailor handover curriculum and tools to meet the unique needs of its clinical settings. Resident Doctors of Canada l Handover 412‐151 rue Slater Street, Ottawa ON K1P 5H3 l Tel./Tél.: 613‐234‐6448 l Fax/Télec.: 613‐234‐5292 [email protected] l www.residentdoctors.ca