Nursing time study for the administration of a PRN oral analgesic on an orthopedic postoperative unit

As needed (PRN) oral opioid analgesics are an integral part of many orthopedic postoperative multimodal pain management regimens. However, the unpredictable nature of this dosing method can lead to disruptions in the process of administering the medication, as well as be an interruption to regular nursing activities. This IRB approved quantitative time study tested the hypothesis that a significant amount of nursing time is required in the administration of PRN oral opioid analgesics on a postoperative orthopedic nursing unit. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the time necessary to complete the required steps related to the administration of PRN oral analgesics. Nurses from 28 nursing shifts used a personal digital assistant (PDA) to record the time needed to complete these steps. We determined that 10.9 minutes is the mean time required to administer PRN oral analgesics on this unit. Other time studies have evaluated the medication administration process as a whole. No time studies related to PRN oral analgesic administration have been reported. In phase I of our project, the data were summarized and will be used as a baseline comparison for phase II, in which we will evaluate an oral PCA medication administration system.