A nursing huddle is a brief, focused meeting—usually lasting 5 to 10 minutes held at the start of a shift or during critical moments to enhance communication, coordination, and patient safety among the nursing team.
Purpose of a Nursing Huddle
- Promote team situational awareness and collaboration
- Share critical patient updates and safety concerns
- Review staffing levels, assignments, and workload
- Discuss unit priorities, procedures, or anticipated challenges
Are Huddles in Nursing Always Planned and Scheduled?
Nursing huddles are not always planned or scheduled. Although most healthcare facilities have some type of nursing huddle between nurses leaving their shifts and those starting, nursing huddles may occur at other times, as well. Your nursing unit manager could call for a nursing huddle in the middle of your shift if situations occur that require immediate team collaboration. An unscheduled nursing huddle can happen if there is a major staffing change or significant event/emergency on the unit.
How Long Do Huddles in Nursing Last?
Most huddles in nursing last around 10-15 minutes. However, the time it takes to have a nursing huddle depends on the unit where you work, the number of patients on the unit and their statuses, and any safety issues or other concerns that need to be brought to the attention of oncoming staff.
What Happens During a Huddle
- The oncoming and outgoing charge nurses lead the discussion
- Nurses, CNAs, and other team members stand together to review key points
- Topics may include:
- Infection control alerts or policy updates
- New admissions or discharges
- High-risk patients or fall risks
- Equipment issues or supply shortages
Benefits of Huddles in Nursing
Huddles in nursing allow healthcare teams to plan for potential risks and safety concerns instead of simply reacting.
1: Improved outcomes for patients
Communication between staff is essential if we want to have better patient outcomes. We can leave nothing to chance. Nursing huddles promote positive patient outcomes because they facilitate team collaboration, which means you can work together with your team to identify patient needs and risks and find evidence-based ways of meeting their needs and reducing risks. Huddles are a time for staff to share vital knowledge about a patient and then be able to problem-solve together to find a solution.
2: Nursing huddles create staff awareness.
During a nursing huddle, you will have opportunities to hear and share information with other nursing staff that you may only know with this type of communication. In a nursing huddle, you may share information that has been passed along from patients, their family members or friends, nursing assistants, doctors, and other nurses. In some cases, non-nursing interprofessional team members may join in a nursing huddle.
3: Planning and prioritization for the unit
During a nursing huddle, you will find out your patient assignment for the shift and any patient procedures that may be happening. This will help you plan and prioritize your shift. Sometimes, the simplest tasks require careful collaboration and prioritization. Scheduling who would be using the equipment ahead of time prevented staff from getting confused or frustrated when it came time for us to perform our duties.
4: It helps to reinforce unit and organizational goals.
Another benefit of nursing huddles is that they give you the opportunity to discuss goals and priorities and find ways to reinforce them. For instance, I did some contract work at a nursing home once where there had been a recent increase in the number of patient falls. Nursing management coordinated a huddle where all the nursing staff got together to discuss incidents that happened, what could have been done to prevent the falls, and ideas for ways to reduce the risk of falls and injuries.
5: Fosters Effective Teamwork/Strong Team Building
Nursing huddles are not only a great way to get things organized for your shift or to get important updates about patients or things going on at work. They also create opportunities for team building, which is crucial in nursing. Nursing huddles provide opportunities for you to build relationships with your fellow nurses, support one another, and connect on personal and professional levels. I got to know many of the nurses I worked with during short nursing huddles and have continued friendships with many of them even after leaving the job where we worked together.
What will happen during a Nursing Huddle?
Routine huddles provide structured settings for everyone to hear the same information simultaneously. This helps to avoid the pitfalls of misinformation from quick side conversations throughout the shift.
1: Provide Updates About What is Going on Within the Unit
The first step of a nursing huddle is to provide important updates about the unit. The information that needs to be updated may vary depending on the unit. Knowing the status of each patient helped us to prioritize care for our shift. We also needed to know how many patients were preparing for discharge and the number of available beds so we could prepare for possible new admissions.
2: Safety Briefing
The nursing huddle is also a time to voice any potential safety concerns about patients or any issues directly affecting staff or the unit. Keep in mind that a safety risk does not always mean there is a risk of a fall or injury. Things like having too heavy of a patient load could be a safety concern, as well, and should be discussed. Any real or potential event that places patients or staff safety at risk is important and should be discussed in the nursing huddle.
3: Charge Nurse Gives Assignments to Registered Nurse
Some nursing units have whiteboards or other written forms for keeping up with nursing assignments. However, in the nursing huddle, the charge nurse usually discusses assignments, as well. This is the time during which, if you are concerned about an assignment, you can bring the issue to your charge nurse’s attention. If a change in assignments needs to be made, it usually occurs during the huddle.
4: Goals Are Established for Each Shift
During a nursing huddle, your charge nurse helps the nursing staff create goals for their shift. Goals do not always have to be in-depth or difficult. For instance, Morning Shift Routines and to reach the Goals. Night Shift routines to reach the Goals will be planned ahead and implemented
5: Team Collaboration
One of the most important things we can do as nurses is to learn to collaborate with our team members. When nurses communicate and work together, the whole unit benefits! A nurse huddle is an excellent time for nurses to talk amongst themselves to get a game plan for the day ahead. If you have patients who may require that you have assistance when providing their care, collaborating with your team members in the nursing huddle is a great way to make sure you have all your bases covered.
6: Identifying Learning and Preceptor Opportunities
There is always something to learn in nursing. The charge nurse is responsible for identifying possible learning opportunities and knowing which staff nurses make good preceptors for new nurses, and during the nursing huddle, they can address these. For example, when I was a new nurse on a postpartum unit, the charge nurse would announce procedures that were happening on the unit that shift, like newborn PKU screenings that I could attend. This helped me increase my skillset and prepare for when I would have to do these screenings on my own.
7: Discussing Scheduled Breaks
For a team to run efficiently, there must be a system of order. The charge nurse typically designates specific times for each nurse to have scheduled breaks, including short breaks throughout the shift and a lunch break. While circumstances may arise that cause a needed change in the schedule, having a plan helps keep things in order as much as possible.
One thing I liked about discussing breaks during a nursing huddle was that I knew who was going on a break with me. That way, we could plan to have lunch together or go to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, which gave us a chance to get to know one another better, resulting in stronger team relationships.
8: Announcements
The last step in a nursing huddle is to make announcements. Announcements range from making everyone aware of upcoming meetings or training, reminding nurses who is due for CEU hours, or discussing staff appreciation luncheons. During announcements, the charge nurse may also recognize team members for a job well done or for accomplishing a new goal.
For Effective Huddle for a Nurse Leader
Huddles in nursing may seem informal, but that does not mean they shouldn’t be well-planned.
1: Pick a Time that is Best for Promoting Good Attendance
It’s hard to have a nursing huddle without nurses there, right? Most facilities schedule nursing huddles around the time when one shift ends and the next begins. However, there may be times when you need to schedule your meeting at a different time. Unless there is an emergency that requires a quick meeting, pick the time that is most convenient for the nurses who should be in attendance.
2: Organize your thoughts ahead of time.
Nursing huddles are designed to be quick meetings, so if you are confused or disorganized, then your staff will begin to get frustrated with you. If you want to have a truly effective nursing huddle, it is important for you to be prepared. Take the time to organize your thoughts and make a list of important things that should be discussed. When you show up organized, your meeting will not only go smoother, but you will set an example for your team on the importance of preparation and planning.
3: Create a Safe Space Where Staff Feel They Are Heard
A huddle in nursing is more than just a group of nurses sitting around and listening to a leader chat about things they think are important. Although you will discuss important issues, nursing huddles should be a place where staff feel safe discussing concerns and know that you will take their words to heart. There may be times when staff prefer to talk to you privately, which is fine. However, if you do not create a safe space for them, they may not feel comfortable approaching you at all.
4: Communicate clearly and effectively
Huddles in nursing are a time when important information is shared between nurse leaders and staff. Therefore, it is crucial for leaders to communicate effectively. Keep in mind that you may be speaking to a group of 10 or more nurses as well as Certified Nursing Assistants and unlicensed assistive personnel. You should be prepared to get their attention and keep it. Try to have a positive tone and speak clearly and confidently.
5: Divert attention away from unnecessary discussions or off-topic conversations
When you get a group of nurses together, it is normal to have times when a small group may have a side conversation going on, or someone speaks over you. To have an effective huddle, it is essential for you to divert everyone’s attention away from anything not related to the meeting. Remember, you are the nursing leader responsible for the meeting… So, take charge!
6: Emphasize Quality and Safety
There is always a good time to emphasize quality and safety to your team, and nursing huddles are a great place to take advantage of opportunities to address safety and quality concerns or issues. Get your team involved in conversations about the importance of performing timely assessments, educating patients, preventing errors, and using evidence-based practices.
7: Allow time for questions
A nursing huddle should only be considered complete once you have given your staff the opportunity to ask questions. Even when your audience is attentive, one person may have missed something important. By allowing a few minutes for questions, it makes your staff feel heard and appreciated, which is important if you want to build strong teams who work well together.
Implementation and Best Practice in Nursing Huddles
As previously explored, nursing huddles come with both benefits and challenges. Implement huddles in nursing with these best practice tips:
- Be consistent: Huddles must be a reliable and expected part of the day or shift. They should occur at the same time and in the same location so that staff members always know when and where to show up. Consistency will encourage staff engagement.
- Remain standing: This will help ensure the meeting remains brief and doesn’t get bogged down in lengthy discussions.
- Assign a leader: Although input from everyone is essential, someone should facilitate the meeting, ensuring it remains brief, stays on track, and maintains respectful and supportive communication.
- Make the agenda visible: The meeting agenda should be visible to everyone participating, e.g., on a whiteboard or a digital huddle board.
- Encourage input from everyone: Everyone in the huddle should be invited to share in some way. This can easily be accomplished by giving everyone a turn clockwise.
- Keep the discussion on point: The objective of the huddle is to share information and draw attention to concerns; it is not a problem-solving strategy think tank. After the huddle, issues can be delegated appropriately for resolution.
- Documentation: Take notes or assign someone to document the issues and insights shared in the team huddle. Proper documentation of the huddles will allow for tracking their impact on safety and cohesion and sharing progress with the healthcare team.
- Close with encouragement: End the meeting with gratitude for participation and encouragement for addressing the day’s impending challenges.
REFERENCES
- Pimentel CB, Snow AL, Carnes SL, Shah NR, Loup JR, Vallejo-Luces TM, Madrigal C, Hartmann CW. Huddles and their effectiveness at the frontlines of clinical care: a scoping review. J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Sep;36(9):2772-2783. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8390736/
- Glymph DC, Olenick M, Barbera S, et al. Healthcare Utilizing Deliberate Discussion Linking Events (HUDDLE): A Systematic Review. Aana j. 2015;83(3):183–8.
- Goldenhar LM, Brady PW, Sutcliffe KM, et al. Huddling for high reliability and situation awareness. BMJ Qual Saf. 2013;22(11):899–906. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001467.
- Rowan BL, Anjara S, De Brún A, MacDonald S, Kearns EC, Marnane M, McAuliffe E. The impact of huddles on a multidisciplinary healthcare teams’ work engagement, teamwork and job satisfaction: A systematic review. J Eval Clin Pract. 2022 Jun;28(3):382-393. doi: 10.1111/jep.13648. Epub 2022 Feb 17. PMID: 35174941.
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