[Nursing workload in Day Surgery]

The "workload" is defined as the whole of the activities completed by a group of professionals in a period of time. The different conceptualization of nursing workload has determined different methods and tools of evaluation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the nursing workload in a Day Surgery Unit with a quantitative (time in activities) and qualitative approach (perceived complexity). We want analyze also every correlation with the time in the activities. The study design is observational. We have analyzed 147 patients admitted to the Day Surgery Unit of a University Hospital in Italy. The nurses have dedicated the average of 164,8 minutes in care. The nursing care time is correlated to anesthesiological risk class and to the general surgery procedure. The patients in specialistic surgery are considered more complexes from the nurses then the general surgery patients. Another indicator associated to the high perceived complexity is the "comorbidity management". This study will help to manage nursing resources and the admission of the patients.