Executive Summary: Developing Communication Competency Through Structured Handoff Education Using Multimodal Educational Strategies

Abstract

Effective handoff communication is essential to patient safety and interprofessional collaboration; however, prelicensure nursing students may have limited opportunities to practice, receive feedback, and demonstrate communication competency before independently interacting with the healthcare team. This quality improvement project evaluated whether a longitudinal, multimodal educational curriculum using the Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (ISBAR) framework improved communication competency and self-efficacy among second-degree accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing students. ISBAR education was scaffolded across classroom, practice laboratory, clinical, and high-fidelity simulation experiences, providing repeated opportunities for instruction, application, feedback, and competency evaluation. Following clinical training, all evaluated students achieved an exceptional rating in nurse-to-nurse handoff; however, nurse-to-provider communication during simulation demonstrated continued opportunities for competency development, with 38% rated developing, 46% marginal, and 15% ineffective. Student self-efficacy increased across all measured factors following implementation. Findings support the integration of longitudinal, scaffolded communication education across multiple learning environments to provide nursing students with progressive opportunities to develop communication competency, build self-efficacy, and prepare for effective communication in clinical practice.