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Updated: Aug 12, 2026
10:38
Observational Study Protocol for Repeated Clinical Examination and Critical Care Ultrasonography Within the Simple Intensive Care Studies
Published on: January 16, 2019
Measuring nursing workload in intensive care: an observational study using closed circuit video cameras
1School of Health Sciences - Nursing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. r.adomat@bham.ac.uk
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|May 20, 2003
Summary
Current nurse:patient ratios in intensive care units may be inaccurate. A study found nurses spent less time with critically ill patients, suggesting a need for revised workload assessments and staffing models.
Area of Science:
- Critical Care Nursing
- Healthcare Management
- Nursing Workforce Studies
Background:
- Increasing demand for intensive care in the UK is exacerbated by a shortage of beds.
- Current nurse:patient ratios rely on scoring systems that may misallocate resources.
- Critically ill, ventilated patients may require less nursing time than less dependent, self-ventilating patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of the Nursing Workload Patient Category scoring system.
- To determine if current nurse:patient ratio calculations reflect actual nurse workload.
- To assess nurse activity in intensive care units using direct observation.
Main Methods:
- Video recording of nurse activity over 48 shifts in two intensive care units.
- Correlation of observed nursing activities with patient dependency categories.
- Observational study design to capture real-time nurse workload.
Main Results:
- A significant portion of observed nursing activities involved low-skill tasks.
- Nurses dedicated less time to patients categorized as intensive care compared to high dependency.
- Discrepancies were noted in both intensive care units studied.
Conclusions:
- Existing nurse:patient ratio classifications may be inappropriate for intensive care settings.
- Revising nursing levels and skill mix could optimize intensive care provision.
- Alternative, flexible workload assessment systems and nurse:patient ratios are recommended.
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01:20Assessment of Ventilation I: Respiratory Rate
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A Ventilation assessment is critical for monitoring a patient's health status. Respiration, one of the most accessible vital signs, provides insights into the function of numerous body systems and can indicate serious health issues, such as brainstem injuries from head trauma.
Critical Guidelines for Assessing Ventilation:
A Ventilation assessment is critical for monitoring a patient's health status. Respiration, one of the most accessible vital signs, provides insights into the function of numerous body systems and can indicate serious health issues, such as brainstem injuries from head trauma.
Critical Guidelines for Assessing Ventilation:
01:29Nursing Assessment
The two sources for collecting information are primary and secondary. After gathering information, interpretation and validation help to complete the data. The purpose of assessment is to establish data with the initial information, to interpret data about the patient's perceived needs and health problems, and to respond to these problems identified.
The nurse collects all aspects of the patient's health in the initial assessment, establishing priorities for ongoing focused assessments and...
The nurse collects all aspects of the patient's health in the initial assessment, establishing priorities for ongoing focused assessments and...