The work of adult and pediatric intensive care unit nurses.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Researchers have used various methods to describe and quantify the work of nurses. Many of these studies were focused on nursing in general care settings; therefore, less is known about the unique work nurses perform in intensive care units (ICUs).

Objectives

The aim of this study was to observe adult and pediatric ICU nurses in order to quantify and compare the duration and frequency of nursing tasks across four ICUs as well as within two discrete workflows: nurse handoffs at shift change and patient interdisciplinary rounds.

Methods

A behavioral task analysis of adult and pediatric nurses was used to allow unobtrusive, real-time observation. A total of 147 hours of observation were conducted in an adult medical-surgical, a cardiac, a pediatric, and a neon

SUBMITTER: Douglas S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5890532 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature