Implementing an Online Instrument to Measure Nurse Practitioner Workload: A Feasibility Study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Practice
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Nurse practitioners (NPs) are crucial for primary care access.
• Accurate NP workload measurement is complex and vital for effective healthcare planning.
• Existing methods for assessing NP workload may not fully capture patient volume and related factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of implementing an online NP workload measurement index (NP-WI).
• To assess the usability and time commitment associated with the NP-WI tool.
• To evaluate the NP-WI's capacity to capture relevant workload data.

Main Methods:

• A feasibility study was conducted across three health regions in Québec, Canada.
• Data were collected from January to July 2024 using the online NP-WI, an acceptability questionnaire, team meetings, field notes, and interviews.
• Descriptive statistics and content analysis were employed for data analysis, with integration using joint displays.

Main Results:

• Nurse practitioners found the NP-WI easy to use, with high acceptability ratings.
• Daily data entry for the NP-WI required 5 to 7 minutes.
• A 4-week data collection period was deemed sufficient by NPs to represent their workload accurately.
• The NP-WI successfully captured patient, provider, and organizational characteristics, along with the number of patients seen.

Conclusions:

• Implementation of the NP-WI was found to be feasible in community-based primary care settings.
• The NP-WI can enhance healthcare workforce planning by providing more accurate NP workload estimations.
• This tool has the potential to promote greater equity in resource allocation and the distribution of NP workload.