A nursing handover is both vulnerable and resilient, given
the constraints imposed on it. The findings of the present
study have illustrated how constraints, apparent during
nursing handovers, shape a goal adaptation process,
whereby declared handover goals are adjusted to become
more attainable in practice. This process might expose
handovers to greater vulnerability due to the abandonment
of several key handover goals. Yet, nurses develop strategies
to cope with these gaps to maintain patient safety and
continuity of care, representing the resilient nature of the
handover, as illustrated in Figure 1. These findings can contribute
to the nursing handover literature in several aspects.