Factors Influencing How Intensive Care Unit Nurses Allocate Their Time

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Management
• Clinical Operations

Background:

• Direct patient care is crucial for intensive care unit (ICU) nurses to identify clinical changes.
• Understanding factors influencing nurses' time allocation is essential for optimizing patient care.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated the determinants of time spent by ICU nurses in patient rooms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine factors influencing the time allocation of registered nurses in a medical intensive care unit.
• To identify associations between nurse characteristics, patient acuity, and time spent in the patient room.
• To explore the potential of technology in understanding nurse time management.

Main Methods:

• A prospective time and motion study was conducted with 11 registered nurses in a medical ICU over 12 days.
• Data collected included nurse demographics, direct observation, electronic locator technology, and electronic medical record logs.
• Patient acuity was assessed using the Charlson Co-Morbidity Index and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores.

Main Results:

• Nurses spent an average of 78.04 minutes per patient in the patient room.
• Increased years of ICU nursing experience and higher patient Charlson Co-Morbidity Index scores were significantly associated with more time spent in the patient room.
• Nursing education level and specialty certification did not significantly influence time spent in the patient's room.

Conclusions:

• Nurse experience and patient acuity are key determinants of time spent in the patient room for ICU nurses.
• Current nursing education and certification levels do not appear to impact time allocation in this setting.
• Leveraging technology in time and motion studies can provide valuable insights for optimizing nurse time and patient engagement.