Time/Motion Studies Pinpoint How Nurses Spend Their Days

Nurses did spend the majority of the day communicating with patients. Incorporated in this timeframe, however, were 10+ tasks including medication disbursement, assessments, and charting.

By nature, most nurses are multitaskers. They have to be. But what does a day in the life of a nurse actually look like? A recent time/motion study looked at the tasks at hand and identified which aspects of the job consumed the most time. Patients came in first. But there was a little more going on in the rooms than bedside chat.

Nurses did spend the majority of the day communicating with patients. Incorporated in this timeframe, however, were 10+ tasks including medication disbursement, assessments, and charting. Nurses were asked to perform real-time documentation at the bedside. But this wasn’t the only distraction. Phone calls, other healthcare professionals, and retrieving products from supply all were identified as time consumers.  A homecare study estimated that nurses spent 7 percent of their time hunting for supplies. Similar studies within large, acute care facilities estimated this number to be closer to 20 percent. Either way, that is a lot of wasted time. But how can the medical device scavenger hunt be remedied? 

Products need to live in the patient’s rooms, available immediately. Without having to engage in the daily hunt, nurses can concentrate on more important tasks. And any time saved in healthcare is worth its weight in gold. But a patient’s room can’t double as a storeroom so strategically choosing products that can safely and discreetly remain bedside is crucial. 

In the fight against pressure injuries, there are many products, procedures and maneuvers necessary to keep patients safe and wounds at bay. And Q2 turns lead the way. Patient turning and repositioning is built into most care plans with an end goal of relieving pressure and restoring regular blood flow to vulnerable areas. While manual patient turns are commonly performed, they can take their toll on the health and wellbeing of the clinician. Devices designed to assist with turns are appreciated. Devices designed to assist with manual patient turns that can ALSO successfully reside in the patient’s room are gamechangers. 

Turning and repositioning systems that can remain unencumbered underneath the patients will ultimately save a little time in product retrieval. Caregivers can return focus to what’s most important, the patient. Click here to discover turning and transferring systems that can safely and securely remain with the patient for easy access at a moment’s notice. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6371290/

https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20190321.822588/full/

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pdfs/Value_of_Time.pdf

Yen PY, Kellye M, Lopetegui M, et al. Nurses’ Time Allocation and Multitasking of Nursing Activities: A Time Motion Study. AMIA Annu Symp Proc. 2018;2018:1137-1146. Published 2018 Dec 5.