Spring Education Exchange (SEE): Creating and Sustaining a Night Shift End-of-Life (EOL) Safety Huddle to Improve Communication and Collaboration Among Disciplines

Spring Education Exchange (SEE): Day 1, Session 4

Presented By:

Michelle Schuster MSN, RN, CPHON

Katherine Woodard, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC, CPHON

Session Details: Day 1: May 14, Session 4: 3:00 PM EST (2:00 PM CST/12:00 PM MST/11:00 AM PST)

Overview of Session: This session will cover the Night Shift EOL Safety Huddle quality improvement (QI) intervention implemented to enhance communication, awareness, and collaboration among interprofessional team members caring for end-of-life oncology patients during night shifts. Utilizing a streamlined checklist and nighttime Zoom huddle, the intervention was guided by the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) framework and conducted over eight weeks on a 30-bed inpatient oncology unit. Feedback led to narrowing the patient inclusion criteria and having the night charge nurse lead the meetings. Post-pilot data revealed that over 90% of respondents found the huddle useful, with significant improvements in symptom management plans, critical event contingencies, communication, and team awareness. The intervention’s success underscores its value in providing high-quality EOL care and highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in healthcare QI projects.

Learning Outcomes:

• Develop an End-of-Life Night Shift Safety Huddle within their own oncology units
• Describe the importance of clear interprofessional communication on off-shift hours for managing end-of-life oncology patients

This contains 2 sections:

1. Webinar Recording Link
2. Post-Session Evaluation

Continuing Education Credit 

APHON will provide 0.5 nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hour(s) for the successful completion of this session. Successful completion requires attendance for the entire session and completion of the post-session evaluation. 

Individual Learning Needs Assessment (ILNA) Coding 

This program content has been reviewed by the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) and is acceptable for recertification points. You may claim 0.5 ILNA in one of the following categories:  

• Care of the Pediatric Hem/Onc Patient 

• Pediatric Hem/Onc Nursing Practice 

• OR Professional Performance. 

Please reach out to the Education Team at education@aphon.org with your name, the email associated with your APHON account, and the above ILNA category you would like to have reflected on your certificate. APHON can update your completion certificate to reflect your choice. 

Spring Education Exchange (SEE) Access 

The SEE session recordings and post-session evaluations will be available for all registered participants until June 19th (11:59 pm EST). 

The Association for Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurses is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. This provider is also approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 14513. 

None of the planners for this activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies. 

Questions or concerns? Contact education@aphon.org.

The APHON Spring Education Exchange is sponsored by ONCC.