Aim: This integrative review aimed to identify nursing students' experiences of handoff practices and the effects of handoff education in the curriculum on nursing student learning outcomes.
Background: Appropriate handoff communication skills are essential for nursing students to maintain patient safety and prevent adverse events.
Method: A systematic literature search was conducted with keywords related to nursing, student, and handoff in April 2020. Articles should focus on nursing students' handoff education published in English in 2015-2020. Eight articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review.
Results: Nursing students reported discrepancies in handoff experiences; diverse factors influenced their handoff experiences, such as knowledge, anxiety, confidence, and type of student supervision. Various handoff educations were implemented across studies. Some handoff educations significantly improved nursing students' attitudes toward other disciplinary providers, satisfaction, confidence, quality, and clarity in handoff communication; some did not substantially affect their selected outcomes.
Conclusion: This review identified that there are still limited handoff experiences among nursing students and many factors affecting opportunities for their handoff experience. Some handoff education (e.g., structured handoff formats, role-play, simulated scenarios) effectively improved students' communication clarity, confidence levels, and handoff education satisfaction. More handoff education is needed for nursing students to learn safe and quality handoff practices.
Keywords: Nursing education; Nursing handoff; Nursing student; Patient handoff; Shift reports.
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