11: How to have a better handover (medical handovers)

TIME TO HANDOVER! Oh. No.   This is a MAJOR part of being a doctor that doesn't get enough attention. It needs to be done well to create good outcomes - for our patients and for ourselves as doctors and teammates.    As the doctor coming on, you have a short period of time to extract all of this important information from your colleague. Information that isn't always documented or possible to find elsewhere. You're receiving a lot of important information at once. You're also often handed a lot of uncertainty.    As the doctor giving the handover, you're synthesising and summarising to save your colleague's precious brain space. And you're not only communicating what you do know but, importantly, what you don't know.    … That's a lot.   And it's the perfect storm for these mindsets of perfectionism, imposter syndrome and people-pleasing to come along and make your life harder.    In this episode, we want to talk about the BAD EXPERIENCES we have in handover. And, of course, how to make a bad handover better for you.