Role perception of the staff nurse in the intensive care unit

A group of 201 ICU staff nurses were questioned regarding those activities they perceived as (1) most important, (2) most time-consuming, and (3) most professional. This information was collected to provide a data base for defining the role of the ICU staff nurse and evaluating the implications for nursing administration and staff development. The results indicated that the nurses are doing what they perceive to be important, but not what they perceive to be professional. There were differences in ranking relationships when the basic educational preparation of the nurse was considered as a variable. The results indicate that role perception was more a function of job requirements than a function of educational background. Comparing functional groupings of activities, the nurses ranked direct patient care activities high in time consumption and for importance when compared to nondirect patient care activities, but neither was ranked high for professionalism. This implies a disparity between perception of importance vs. professionalism.