Standardizing nightly huddles with surgical residents and nurses to improve interdisciplinary communication and teamwork

Clear and effective communication supports interdisciplinary teamwork and prevents adverse patient events. At our academic teaching hospital, poor communication between surgical residents and nurses was identified as a recurring problem, particularly on the inpatient general surgery night float rotation. A standardized nightly huddle with surgical residents and nurses was developed and implemented as a resident-led quality improvement initiative on two acute care units. The huddle was evaluated with pre/post surveys of nurses and residents, as well as analysis of paging volume and rapid response events. Nightly huddles significantly improved nurses’ perception of interdisciplinary teamwork and communication (p