Additional illustrative quotes for each theme
| Theme | Illustrative quotes |
|---|---|
| Improved efficiencies and quality of information sharing | “… when you go to bed huddle, you're actually starting to hear the same language and people are talking about everything in the same way … Everyone's actually starting to embrace it as part of everyday [culture]” (bedside nurse) “The main thing [is it] formalizes it at the organisational level in a tight communication. Don't assume all is ok just because you don't hear about it” (safety officer of the day (SOD)) “[It] establishes structure, culture, communication techniques that have reliable outcomes and also the process in place to analyze why unexpected outcomes happened and try to prevent them from happening in the future” (SOD) |
| Accountability | “Accountability and the ability to escalate. Not only the ability, but the expectation that you will not proceed in the face of uncertainty. If you are … uncomfortable … you are expected to call … and the problem will be resolved” (SOD) “When you go to bed huddle and you see that all these other units are doing it and you're having to state these out loud in front of everyone when you are discussing your unit, it puts the accountability on that individual. Even if they didn't see it as a priority … they have to do it and by doing it then I think people start to understand the importance of it” (charge nurse) “[The huddle] provides some peer-pressure for working on processes at the floor level to learn about how to talk about what's happened in the last 24 hours and predictions for the next 24 (or less) hours” (charge nurse) |
| Empowerment | “Now there's more authority on the MPS side to bring the attendings together and work with them on the plan” (Manager of Patient Services (MPS)) “I'm challenged [now] to take it to the next level and … you know something will be done about that problem” (charge nurse) “At times, the physicians don't agree on what approach to take. So, now the nurse can call in the MPS or the SOD who will call the attendings’ and say: ‘we need to have a conference to discuss the situation and a clear plan on how to proceed” (MPS) |
| Sense of community | “Many units knew what was going on in their own world, but nurses didn't know each other and had tunnel vision about their needs” (Director, MPS) “[Nurses at the huddle] felt they had a much better view of what was going on house-wide which helped them both manage their own unit and feel connected to everyone else rather than like islands out on their own” (MPS) |