Nursing handovers : do we really need them?

Aim This study attempts to address the content of nursing handover when compared with formal documentation sources.Background The nursing handover has attracted criticism in the literature in relation to its continuing role in modern nursing. Criticisms include those related to time expenditure, content, accuracy and the derogatory terms in which patients are sometimes being discussed.Methods Twenty-three handovers, covering all shifts, from one general medical ward were audio-taped. Their content was analysed and classified according to where, within a ward\u27s documentation systems, the information conveyed could be located.Findings Results showed that almost 84.6% of information discussed could be located within existing ward documentation structures and 9.5% of information discussed was not relevant to ongoing patient care. Only 5.9% of handover content involved discussions related to ongoing care or ward management issues that could not be recorded in an existing documentation source.Limitations The results of this study are representative of only one ward in one Australian Hospital. Specific documentation sources were also not checked to determine their content.Conclusion Streamlining the nursing handover may improve the quality of the information presented and reduce the amount of time spent in handover.<br /

Chromosomal mapping of genetic loci associated with non-insulin dependent diabetes in the GK rat.

Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats are a well characterized model for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). We have used a combination of physiological and genetic studies to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for the control of glucose homeostasis and insulin secretion in a F2 cohort bred from spontaneously diabetic GK rats. The genetic dissection of NIDDM allowed us to map up to six independently segregating loci predisposing to hyperglycaemia, glucose intolerance or altered insulin secretion, and a seventh locus implicated in body weight. QTLs implicated in glucose tolerance and adiposity map to the same region of rat chromosome 1, and may indicate the influence of a single locus. Our study demonstrates that distinct combinations of genetic loci are responsible for different physiological characteristics associated with the diabetic phenotype in the GK rat, and it constitutes an important step for directing the search for the genetic factors involved in human NIDDM