Enhancing ICU Nurse Redeployment Practices: A Qualitative Improvement Study of Support Interventions

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Nurse redeployment, moving staff to areas of need, is common during shortages.
• A prior study highlighted negative experiences of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses during redeployment.
• This study addresses practice gaps impacting staff and patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore interventions for enhancing the redeployment experience of ICU nursing staff.
• To identify challenges and improve support systems for nurses working outside their usual clinical areas.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interviews were conducted with nurses after implementing interventions.
• Purposive convenience sampling and semi-structured interviews were employed.
• Inductive analysis guided data interpretation, adhering to COREQ guidelines.

Main Results:

• Major themes included communication barriers, perceived risks, and emotional burden.
• Subthemes revealed a need for clearer communication, defined escalation plans, and balanced workloads.
• Lack of feedback mechanisms hindered consideration of staff views in redeployment planning.

Conclusions:

• Current interventions, including buddy shifts, show limitations in preparing ICU nurses for redeployment.
• A structured orientation process and adequate resourcing are crucial for effective nurse redeployment.
• Further research is recommended to develop and analyze optimized orientation strategies.