American journal of surgery
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Transfer of a patient's care between providers is a significant potential for medical errors. Given the potential for patient safety breeches we sought to investigate residents' perceptions of handoffs at our institution. ⋯ In a survey of surgical residents they view themselves as very effective at delivering handoffs, but judge nearly half of handoffs they receive as ineffective. Multiple handoff tools exist but residents rarely use them. In an era of increasing transitions of care, efforts targeting improvement of handoff effectiveness will require education beyond checklists and mnemonics.