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An effective patient handover is a core element of high-quality patient care. Communication during patient handover in the intensive care unit is particularly challenging due to the clinical complexity and rapid changes in patient trajectories, complex interdisciplinary and interprofessional interfaces, linguistic barriers, situational and structural disruptive factors, personnel stress factors as well as the communication and error culture of the teams. In addition to avoiding disruptive factors and creating optimal communication conditions and human resources, the use of standardized and structured handovers with the help of protocols and checklists, as recommended in the literature, plays a decisive role as part of a bundle of measures for effective and safe patient care., Competing Interests: Die Autorinnen/Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: The treatment of acute life-threatening conditions in intensive care and emergency medicine requires in-depth training and education, with initial training playing a key role., Research Question: What is the structure and quality of the initial training of physicians and nurses in intensive care units and emergency departments in Germany?, Methods: With the help of survey software, an online questionnaire comprising 40 questions in German on the aforementioned topic was designed. It was distributed via the website of the German Society for Internal Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DGIIN) and via pertinent social media channels., Results: In total, 103 nurses and 125 physicians participated in the survey. The average work experience of the participating nurses and physicians was 8.5 ± 5.1 and 3.0 ± 3.1 years, respectively. The majority of participants worked primarily in intensive care units (59%) or in emergency departments (22%). On average, the initial training lasted 45 ± 27 and 13 ± 13 days for nurses and physicians, respectively. Only 20% of the initial training comprised seminars or hands-on workshops taught outside of routine clinical care. In all, 47% of the participants stated that they were not able to complete the entire initial training period. Only 49% had been officially certified for usage of the technical equipment in their department. A total of 35% reported feeling confident or somewhat confident in handling predictable tasks after initial training, but only 15% in handling acute emergencies., Discussion: The present study revealed that initial training in intensive care and emergency medicine is frequently incomplete, unstructured, as well as inadequate and bears both safety and liability risks. New concepts are needed to improve the initial training across clinics., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Effective handoffs in the intensive care unit (ICU) are key to patient safety., Purpose: This article aims to raise awareness of the significance of structured and thorough handoffs and highlights possible challenges as well as means for improvement., Materials and Methods: Based on the available literature, the evidence regarding handoffs in ICUs is summarized and suggestions for practical implementation are derived., Results: The quality of handoffs has an impact on patient safety. At the same time, communication in the intensive care setting is particularly challenging due to the complexity of cases, a disruptive work environment, and a multitude of inter- and intraprofessional interactions. Hierarchical team structures, deficiencies in feedback and error-management culture, (technical) language barriers in communication, as well as substantial physical and psychological stress may negatively influence the effectiveness of handoffs. Sets of interventions such as the implementation of checklists, mnemonics, and communication workshops contribute to a more structured and thorough handoff process and have the potential to significantly improve patient safety., Conclusion: Effective handoffs are the cornerstone of high-quality and safe patient care but face particular challenges in ICUs. Interventional measures such as structuring handoff concepts and periodic communication trainings can help to improve handoffs and thus increase patient safety., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)