%0 Journal Article
%T Introduction of a bleepless intern on-call era.
%A Alsaadi D
%A Tierney A
%A McErlean K
%A Moran L
%A Kavanagh O
%A McMonagle M
%J Surgeon
%V 22
%N 3
%D 2024 Jun 13
%M 38485634
%F 2.632
%R 10.1016/j.surge.2024.02.004
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>The current bleep communication system between nurses and interns on-call in most Irish hospitals has been linked with interruption in patient care, disruption to workflow, inefficiency, increased burden and stress to the on-call health staff. A new electronic system was introduced in a University Hospital to replace and eliminate bleep usage during on-call hours.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>An Intern on-call task electronic template was generated using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. This electronic system enabled users to review and respond to requests placed by nursing healthcare staff. This project initially underwent a trial process in three wards for a period of two weeks in June 2023. Interns and nurses were asked to fill a survey before and after introduction of the system. The project was implemented across all wards in August 2023 and a secondary survey was obtained. In addition, the spreadsheets were analysed retrospectively.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>During the trial, twenty-six interns and twenty nurses were surveyed before and after implementation of the electronic system. Interns satisfaction rate was 73% and stress was reported to be reduced by 65%. Notably, 57% of interns reported a reduction in workload and the number of bleeps was reported to be as <10 by 42%. Nurses reported a decrease in the number of bleeps they needed to send overall by 65% and by 55% for repeated jobs. Workload was reported to be increased by 15% by nurses. However, exactly half of the nurses were unhappy with the new system and stress levels were unchanged.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>This project has shown promising results, efficient and clear communication was noted with an overall positive feedback and satisfaction rate by doctors. However, as evident, from a nursing perspective further work is needed to further progress into a system that can benefit both parties involved.