Capella 4005 Assessment 2

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX4005 Nursing Leadership: Focusing on People, Processes, and Organizations

Prof. Name

Date

Interview Summary

Bridget, a nursing professional employed at Mercy General Hospital (MGH) in Columbus, Ohio, has served in the institution for over six years. Currently, she holds the position of charge nurse within the medical-surgical unit. Her responsibilities involve overseeing patient care, offering support to bedside nurses, ensuring communication among hospital staff, and facilitating appropriate discharge planning.

During the interview, Bridget highlighted a significant challenge—poor communication during shift transitions, particularly between night and day nurses. She noted that this breakdown often leads to missed patient updates, overlooked laboratory results, and medication errors, all of which contribute to delays in patient care delivery. Although the hospital introduced the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) tool to standardize handoffs, it has not been consistently used due to the absence of a monitoring mechanism. Bridget also observed that while interdisciplinary collaboration is emphasized in theory, its practical implementation remains inconsistent. The hospital conducts interdisciplinary rounding; however, she witnessed repeated communication lapses during these exchanges. Effective collaboration, according to Bridget, is heavily reliant on leadership that encourages transparency and holds team members accountable.

The interview followed a semi-structured format with open-ended questions and adaptability for emergent topics. This approach offered the flexibility to gather rich and reliable insights while maintaining focus on essential themes (Altabtabaei & Alhuwail, 2023). In clinical settings, such methods are particularly effective in understanding nuanced experiences of healthcare professionals.

Issue Identification

The primary issue identified at MGH is the lack of effective communication during patient handovers. Addressing this concern requires an evidence-based interdisciplinary model that facilitates accurate and timely transfer of patient information across various healthcare roles—nurses, physicians, case managers, and allied health professionals (Nuernberger et al., 2025). Research shows that structured communication tools like SBAR and I-PASS significantly reduce adverse incidents and bolster patient safety. By involving diverse team members in the planning and execution of standardized handoffs, facilities can ensure shared accountability and enhance the continuity of care.

Key Issue	Description
Ineffective Communication	Missed updates, medication errors, and incomplete lab reviews during handovers
Contributing Factors	Lack of monitoring, inconsistent SBAR use, and poor interdisciplinary follow-through
Proposed Intervention	Evidence-based handoff tools (e.g., SBAR, I-PASS) integrated with team-based accountability

Change Theories That Could Lead to an Interdisciplinary Solution

Lewin’s Change Management Model is highly suitable for resolving the handoff communication issues identified. The model consists of three stages: unfreezing, changing, and refreezing (Harrison et al., 2021). In the unfreezing phase, leaders raise awareness about the risks associated with poor communication, using past incident data during staff meetings. The changing phase involves training multidisciplinary teams—nurses, physicians, and case managers—on structured tools like SBAR or I-PASS through simulations and workshops.

To reinforce this behavioral shift, the refreezing stage integrates these tools into standard practice by including checklists within the electronic health records (EHR) system and conducting regular compliance audits. This structured approach aligns with Lewin’s framework, offering a clear pathway for implementing long-term behavioral change. Research by Harrison et al. (2021) supports Lewin’s model as effective in healthcare settings due to its systematic approach to preparation, implementation, and reinforcement.

Lewin’s Model Phase	Application in Handoff Communication
Unfreezing	Highlight past handoff failures and safety concerns through leadership forums
Changing	Implement SBAR/I-PASS through interdisciplinary training and simulations
Refreezing	Integrate tools into EHR, conduct audits, and develop supportive policies

Leadership Strategies That Could Lead to an Interdisciplinary Solution

A combination of Transformational Leadership and the TeamSTEPPS® model offers a strategic solution for enhancing patient handoff communication. Transformational leaders inspire team members to pursue shared goals such as patient safety through improved communication (Kuriyan et al., 2020). They encourage collaborative handoff practices and recognize staff efforts, reinforcing a culture of accountability.

The TeamSTEPPS® framework introduces structured techniques like briefs, huddles, and debriefs to improve communication within interdisciplinary teams. Leaders may initiate the process with a workshop involving nurses, physicians, and case managers to practice structured communication and handoff checklists. TeamSTEPPS® is particularly effective in closing communication gaps and establishing consistent routines for information transfer.

Leadership Strategy	Implementation Actions
Transformational Leadership	Motivates shared goals and recognizes team contributions
TeamSTEPPS® Model	Introduces briefs, huddles, debriefs, and checklists to standardize communication

Collaboration Approaches for Interdisciplinary Teams

Two main strategies used to promote effective interdisciplinary collaboration are the SBAR model and IPEC Core Competencies. The SBAR tool ensures consistent and clear communication of essential patient data, reducing the likelihood of errors (Nuernberger et al., 2025). It is particularly useful during shift transitions, where scheduled interdisciplinary meetings can facilitate the sharing and confirmation of critical information.

IPEC Core Competencies promote mutual respect and role clarity, which are essential in a multidisciplinary environment. Teams that practice IPEC competencies better understand each member’s role, thereby supporting seamless care transitions and shared accountability (Ansa et al., 2020). At MGH, SBAR is preferred for its structured format, making it an effective solution to the handoff communication problem.

Collaboration Approach	Benefits
SBAR Communication Tool	Ensures consistent, structured handoffs; reduces medical errors
IPEC Core Competencies	Encourages respect, role clarity, and interprofessional accountability
Interdisciplinary Team Meetings	Facilitates real-time data sharing and confirms understanding during handovers

Conclusion

To address the communication gaps in patient handoffs at Mercy General Hospital, the integration of interdisciplinary strategies is essential. By applying Lewin’s Change Model, fostering transformational leadership, and using SBAR and TeamSTEPPS® tools, the facility can standardize handoff procedures, foster teamwork, and improve patient safety. The coordinated use of SBAR and IPEC competencies further strengthens the collaborative process, leading to better outcomes and more reliable transitions of care.

References

Altabtabaei, R., & Alhuwail, D. (2023). Exploring the challenges and opportunities of adopting and using telemedicine for diabetes care and management: Qualitative semistructured interview study among health care providers and patients with diabetes. JMIR Human Factors, 10(1), e46324. https://doi.org/10.2196/46324

Ansa, B. E., Zechariah, S., Gates, A. M., Johnson, S. W., Heboyan, V., & De Leo, G. (2020). Attitudes and behavior towards interprofessional collaboration among healthcare professionals in a large academic medical center. Healthcare, 8(3), 323. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8030323

Harrison, R., Fischer, S., Walpola, R. L., Chauhan, A., Babalola, T., Mears, S., & Le-Dao, H. (2021). Where do models for change management, improvement, and implementation meet? A systematic review of the applications of change management models in healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 13(2), 85–108. https://doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S289176