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[Nursing Activity Score (NAS). Our experience with a nursing load calculation system based on times]
Amparo Bernat Adell1, Ricardo Abizanda Campos, Mario Cubedo Rey
1Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario Asociado General de Castellón, Castellón, Spain. bernat_mar@gva.es
Enfermeria Intensiva
|December 6, 2005
Summary
The Nursing Activities Score (NAS) system effectively measures nursing workload in the ICU, adapting to real-time patient care needs without frequent updates. This tool aids in accurately evaluating nursing staff in intensive care units.
Area of Science:
- Nursing workload assessment in critical care.
- Application of the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
Background:
- Existing nursing load calculation systems (e.g., TISS, NEMS) have faced challenges in adoption due to design and adaptation issues.
- The Nursing Activities Score (NAS), introduced in 2003, aims to address these limitations by quantifying nursing time per patient.
- This study evaluates the application and results of the NAS system in a specific ICU setting.
Discussion:
- Systematic application of NAS to 350 ICU patients over a quarter provided 1880 data registers.
- Analysis revealed a mean NAS of 40.8 on the first day, decreasing slightly to 39.3 by discharge.
- A strong correlation (R2: 0.958) was found between total NAS and total patient stay, indicating system reliability over time.
Key Insights:
- The NAS system demonstrates adaptability to actual nursing work in the ICU, irrespective of patient diagnosis.
- It does not require constant technological updates, simplifying implementation and maintenance.
- The study indicates that, on average, one nurse can manage 2.5 patients per shift in this ICU setting.
Outlook:
- NAS provides a valuable tool for objective nursing staff evaluation in conventional ICUs.
- Its nursing-centric design facilitates better integration into daily clinical practice.
- Further studies could explore NAS implementation across diverse ICU types and its impact on resource allocation.