Psychiatric nurses' satisfaction with a patient classification system for staffing

The nursing literature is replete with patient classification (PC) tools that are reported to be valid and reliable. Most of our knowledge about these tools is derived from studies conducted in general hospitals. Little is known about the few psychiatric PC tools that exist or how satisfied nurses are with them. The purpose of this study was to survey nurses' satisfaction with the validity, reliability, and general use of a PC tool for psychiatric patients. A convenience sample of nurses at one mental health hospital participated in the study. After selecting a PC system, all subjects received an extensive PC inservice. Content validity was confirmed by a panel of experts. The nurses surveyed indicated they were satisfied with the tool as a valid and reliable assessment of patient staffing needs. Furthermore, they were satisfied with its ease and overall adequacy. The alpha coefficient for the survey questionnaire was high, indicating reliability.