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The figure of the junior doctor is defined in different ways depending on age, educational path, and contract terms related to the conditions of the work contract. The issues related to this particular professional figure should be considered one of the greatest tests to which Health Systems have to respond. In this paper, these aspects are discussed together with practical advice that could be tailored to individual working situations in order to adequately address these issues. Cornerstones and common practices of clinical risk management which may be successfully applied in these contexts are also discussed. The application of Risk Management tools can both provide proactive solutions to reduce the risk of litigation, and create an environment based on trust and one in which junior doctors feel encouraged to signal adverse events and to learn from them. This could result in overall growth in the system, also from a cultural perspective, and better healthcare both for staff and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to standardize and rationalize the handover, a critical and essential moment in common health care practices, through the realization of an efficient and standardized checklist, which could be used daily to ensure complete, thorough and effective handover. The principal purpose of the implementation of the handover is to reduce errors due to superficial and insufficient communication. Methods: The "operative group" defined the phases to the realization of the delineated aims: at first, the direct observation and the consequent realization of a handover checklist model and then, the experimental phases (trials). The handover checklist model was used for a month and it was daily and duly completed by the doctors who took part in the trial. To prove the success of the study, three questionnaires were distributed on different occasions. Results: Analyzing the answers to the questionnaires, the importance of the handover has come to light and that for the most part, the doctors consider it an essential and irreplaceable moment in daily health care work. Moreover, it became obvious that the use of the handover checklist guaranteed a considerable improvement in the traditional handover in terms of security, completeness, care continuity and clarity. The handover checklist was completely appreciated by the majority of the participant doctors who agree with the definitive introduction of it in their unit. Conclusions: Our study indicated the consistency of the handover checklist as an instrument to implement the handover and, indirectly, to improve the quality of the care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hospital falls are a frequent sentinel event worldwide, yet prevention remains challenging. There is a need to standardize hospital fall management in healthcare facilities. This study aimed to analyze policies and procedures used by Italian healthcare facilities to reduce hospital falls.The Italian hospitals’ public procedures on patients’ falls issued between November 2011 and June 2022 were retrieved by a web search using the Google search engine and further evaluated according to their compliance with the 2011 Italian Ministerial recommendation for the prevention of patients’ falls.We found 37 official online procedures, of which 45.6% showed full compliance with the 2011 Ministerial recommendation. All the documents explicitly addressed the issue of identifying patient-related fall risk profiles, whereas 28 set appropriate environmental risk factors. More than 80% of the retrieved procedures used the Conley scale. Forty-three percent of the procedures did not provide for national monitoring and reporting of patient falls.Public procedures for preventing patient falls in Italian hospitals are scarcely compliant with the 2011 Ministerial recommendation. Local monitoring, compliance, and reporting of hospital falls are needed to improve patient outcomes and reduce the risk of litigation for staff and organizations. Additionally, standardized tools for evaluating the risk of falls, healthcare professionals’ training, and implementing environmental prevention strategies are needed to contrast this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]