Background
This study focused on nurses, nursing managers and chief nursing
officers (CNOs) across the U.S. The purpose of the study was
to identify and quantify the amount of indirect patient care within
a 12-hour shift.
Bottom Line
The majority of nurses surveyed (73-75 percent) spend one quarter
of their 12-hour shift on indirect patient care. Survey
participants cited regulatory requirements, redundant paperwork and
logistical challenges as the primary contributors of time spent
away from the patient's bedside.
The solutions to this problem, offered by participants, include
increasing ancillary staff to handle indirect tasks, implementing
hospital-wide technology to eliminate redundancies, and reducing
the regulatory/defensive culture of healthcare.
Key Findings
? 73 to 75 percent of survey participants say
one quarter of their shift is spent on indirect patient care
activities
? The top five indirect patient care activities
identified by participants included:
o Documenting information in multiple
locations
o Completing logs, checklists and other
unnecessary paperwork/data collecting
o Regulatory documentation
o Entering/reviewing orders
o Walking to equipment/supply areas, utility rooms, etc.
? CNOs rank lack of communication higher in its impact on bedside
nurses, while bedside nurses rate it lower
? CNOs are more concerned with coordination of patient care
? Bedside nurses are more likely to perceive a staff shortage and
feel overworked
? Separating hospital nurse participants from the total number of
nurse participants does not significantly affect the results
Metholodology
Between October 22 and November 30, 2009, Jackson Healthcare
conducted a web-based survey of 2,439 nurses. Results reported in
this press release focused on the 1,663 of those nurse respondents
who work in hospital settings. Jackson had a response rate of
4.45 percent from the 54,764 invitations distributed. The
survey has an error range of +/- 1.29 percent, at the 95 percent
confidence level.BackgroundThis study focused on
nurses, nursing managers and chief nursing officers (CNOs) across
the U.S. The purpose of the study was to identify and
quantify the amount of indirect patient care within a 12-hour
shift.Bottom Line
The majority of nurses surveyed (73-75 percent) spend one
quarter of their 12-hour shift on indirect patient care. Survey
participants cited regulatory requirements, redundant paperwork and
logistical challenges as the primary contributors of time spent
away from the patient's bedside.
The solutions to this problem, offered by participants, include
increasing ancillary staff to handle indirect tasks, implementing
hospital-wide technology to eliminate redundancies, and reducing
the regulatory/defensive culture of healthcare.
Key Findings
- 73 to 75 percent of survey participants say one quarter of
their shift is spent on indirect patient care activities
- The top five indirect patient care activities identified by
participants included:
- Documenting information in multiple locations
- Completing logs, checklists and other unnecessary
paperwork/data collecting
- Regulatory documentation
- Entering/reviewing orders
- Walking to equipment/supply areas, utility rooms, etc.
- CNOs rank lack of communication higher in its impact on bedside
nurses, while bedside nurses rate it lower
- CNOs are more concerned with coordination of patient care
- Bedside nurses are more likely to perceive a staff shortage and
feel overworked
- Separating hospital nurse participants from the total number of
nurse participants does not significantly affect the results
Metholodology
Between October 22 and November 30, 2009, Jackson Healthcare
conducted a web-based survey of 2,439 nurses. Results reported in
this press release focused on the 1,663 of those nurse respondents
who work in hospital settings. Jackson had a response rate of
4.45 percent from the 54,764 invitations distributed. The
survey has an error range of +/- 1.29 percent, at the 95 percent
confidence level.
Download a .pdf copy of the report here.