Data from: Handover training for medical students – a controlled educational trial of a pilot curriculum

Background: Handovers are a critical point of patient care and a
significant source of adverse events. The WHO patient safety curriculum
provides some structure for handover teaching; in Europe, there is no
standardized curriculum for undergraduate handover training. To address
this, the Aachen Interdisciplinary Training Centre for Medical Education,
developed and established a pilot curriculum for handover training in the
context of the EU-funded PATIENT-project Objective: To develop and
implement a handover curriculum for medical students and to assess its
effect on students’ awareness, confidence and knowledge regarding patient
safety and handover in multiple settings. Methods: The pilot handover
training curriculum was designed following Kern´s principles of curriculum
development and was integrated into a curricular course led by departments
for anesthesiology and intensive care (AI) at the University Hospital. A
controlled educational research study was conducted with 4th year medical
students (n=147) who either received the standard existing curriculum (no
teaching of handover, n=78) or the pilot handover training (n=69).
Paper-based questionnaires regarding attitude, confidence and knowledge
towards handover and patient safety were used for pre- and
post-assessment. The pilot curriculum consisted of 3 units (1-2 hours
each) integrated into a 4-week course of AI. Multiple types of handover
(end-of-shift, operating room/post anesthesia recovery unit/ICU,
telephone, discharge) were addressed. Results: Students showed a
significant increase in knowledge (p<0.01) and self-confidence for
the use of standardized handover tools (p<0.01) and accurate
handover performance (p<0.01) among the pilot group.
Discussion/Conclusion: We developed and implemented a pilot curriculum for
undergraduate handover training. Students displayed a significant increase
in knowledge and self-confidence for the use of standardized handover
tools and accurate handover performance. An evaluation of the curriculum
by other faculties is needed. Further studies should evaluate whether the
observed effect of a specific handover strategy is associated with a
patient benefit.