Managing information, interaction and team building in nurse shift-change handovers: a case study

Ylänne, V., Aldridge-Waddon, M., Spilioti, T. and Bartlett, T. (2021) Managing information, interaction and team building in nurse shift-change handovers: a case study. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 16(1), pp. 51-75. (doi: 10.1558/jalpp.19140)

Abstract

Whilst there is a wealth of literature on medical handovers, discourse analytic work based on recorded interactional data on these pivotal speech events in health care is less prevalent. This case study of a shift-change nursing handover at a UK hospital Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) takes a microanalytical perspective on nurses’ talk and interaction, which enables us to examine its structural and functional complexity at utterance level. Our methodological approach comprises observations, one semi-structured interview with senior nursing staff (and many informal conversations with various staff), and in total twelve audio-recordings of interactions during, and around, the twice-daily shift-change handovers. By adopting ‘a multiple goals in discourse’ perspective and the framework of activity analysis, we demonstrate the nurses’ interactional management of multiple discourse and activity roles and pursuance of goals that transcend the medically and institutionally crucial transmission of information. This shows the nurses’ orientation to the handover task as not only a structured institutionally regulated event, but also one that tolerates more spontaneous activities that can potentially contribute to team cohesion and staff well-being.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bartlett, Professor Tom
• Authors: Ylänne, V., Aldridge-Waddon, M., Spilioti, T., and Bartlett, T.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Journal Name: Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice
• Publisher: Equinox Publishing
• ISSN: 2040-3658
• ISSN (Online): 2040-3666
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Equinox Publishing
• First Published: First published in Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 16(1):51–75
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher