Comparison of nurse workload approaches

For hospitals in the United States, the number of patients who lie in beds at midnight is considered to be the standard indicator of nursing workload; relatively little attention is given to the total number of patients cared for in a 24-hour day. Staffing decisions are related to cost of care. Such decisions are made on a per-shift basis, calculating hours per patient day (HPPD) based upon midnight census provides little decision-making support about variable staffing needs over a 24-hour period. The discrepancy between nurse managers' staffing based on real-time patient needs and financial analysts looking only at units of service captured at midnight clearly speaks to the need for a new metric of measurement.

To describe the variations in nursing workload across two medical units using a comparison of intra-day census recommendations for staffing and those projected based on the midnight census alone.

Data were retrieved from a primary data set that included: (1) the number of patients lying in beds at four different times during a 24-hour period: 06.00, 14.00, 22.00 hours and at midnight; (2) projected nursing hours needed based on the numbers of patients lying in beds at different times during the 24-hour period; and (3) the number of projected nursing hours needed for the numbers of patients lying in bed and those who were admitted and discharged in an 8-hour period of time.

Statistically significant increases in 06.00 hour patient counts were found with statistically lower patient counts at both 14.00 and 22.00 hours compared with the midnight census alone. Nursing hour projections per day did not show any significance when projected based on intra day vs. midnight census alone. Statistically significant increases in nursing hour projections were seen on all three shifts when admissions and discharges and the nursing workload associated with those procedures were calculated.

Findings suggest that the midnight census alone may well not be the most precise measure to predict nursing workload or to cost out nursing care. To accurately capture the realities of a 24-hour nursing workload, the nursing work associated with patient admissions and discharges has to be a part of the equation.

The tradition of using the midnight census to budget 24 hours of nursing services in the hospital setting does not capture the totality of nursing workload. A model that costs out direct nursing care in the hospital and ultimately bills separately for that care is needed to reflect the realities of hospital nursing workload.