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Priority setting in clinical nursing practice: literature review
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK. c.hendry@dundee.ac.uk
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|July 24, 2004
Summary
Nurses must prioritize patient care when time is limited. Effective priority setting is crucial for patient outcomes, though it remains a challenging skill for new nurses and requires further study in practice and education.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Practice
- Healthcare Management
- Clinical Decision-Making
Background:
- Nursing demands often exceed available time, necessitating care rationing.
- Priority setting is essential for clinical practice when resources are limited.
- Effective time management in nursing is critical for patient care delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on nursing priority setting.
- To understand how nurses establish care priorities.
- To identify factors influencing nurses' priority-setting decisions.
Main Methods:
- A selective, descriptive review of literature.
- Searched CINAHL, Medline, ASSIA, and PsychLit databases (1982-2002).
- Used terms related to clinical decision-making and priority setting.
Main Results:
- Priority setting is a vital nursing skill; deficits can harm patients.
- Newly qualified nurses find priority setting difficult; education may be insufficient.
- Factors influencing priority setting include nurse expertise, patient condition, resources, and organizational context.
Conclusions:
- Further research on priority setting in diverse clinical settings is needed.
- Findings can inform nursing practice and education.
- Improved priority setting can optimize resource use and patient outcomes.