Analyzing what nurses do during work in a hospital setting: a feasibility study using video.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Occupational Health
• Ergonomics

Background:

• High rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in nursing are linked to patient transfers.
• Limited data exists on time allocation for patient handling versus other nursing tasks.
• Previous studies have not utilized video-based approaches for comprehensive task documentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using video to document all job-related nursing tasks during a typical hospital shift.
• To quantify the time spent on various nursing activities, including patient transfers.

Main Methods:

• Ten female nurses from diverse units and shifts in an acute care hospital participated.
• Participants were videotaped for two hours performing routine job tasks.
• Video recordings were analyzed to identify and categorize all performed tasks.

Main Results:

• Patient moving and transfer activities accounted for less than 7% of nurses' time.
• Nurses spent significant time on charting (19.8%), patient care (14.7%), and medicine preparation (13.9%).
• Walking, standing, and sitting comprised one-third of the observed time.

Conclusions:

• Video-based methods are feasible for documenting the diverse and non-repetitive tasks performed by nurses.
• Ergonomic assessments should consider the cumulative effects of all nursing work, not solely patient handling.
• Findings suggest a need to re-evaluate the focus of ergonomic interventions in nursing workplaces.