Ward Rounds Case Study

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Ward rounds (WRs) are a complex clinical activity that forms the basis of the daily assessment and management of surgical inpatients. They offer the opportunity for communication between patients and clinical staff with the desired outcome being the formulation of a coordinated management plan that takes into account all relevant clinical information. New changes in the NHS require Consultant – led WRs daily, but there are situations where the Consultant or the Registrar needs to leave or is unable to attend because of different commitments (endoscopy lists, theatres etc.) and junior members of the team are often left in charge of leading the ward round. Senior house officers need to practice this more often and develop the skills to lead a…show more content…
The majority of adverse events are avoidable and are frequently caused by human factors. Human factors can be translated into non-technical skills that complement technical skills to facilitate safe and efficient tasks. Examples of non-technical skills are: effective communication, team working, leadership, decision making, situation awareness, stress management. Analyses of adverse events in surgery have revealed that many underlying causes originate from behavioural or non-technical aspects of performance (e.g. communication failures) rather than a lack of technical expertise. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have issued a joint guideline entitled Ward Rounds in Medicine, which aims to restore ward rounds ‘to a position of central importance in how we collectively care for and communicate with patients’. In their current form, WRs are traditionally learned by experience and emulation, resulting in a lack of standardization in patient assessment. No such guidance has been issued by the Royal College of Surgeons. There is no accepted definition of a surgical ward round. There is no guideline for what it should involve or how it should be

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