Posted 05:25PM EST, June 11, 2008
Study data details how medical surgical nurses spend time
Data from a new study shows how medical surgical nurses spend their time. More than 75 percent of nurses' time was spent in nursing practice, but only patient care activities comprised only 19.3 percent of nursing practice.
New study data shows medical surgical nurses spend the majority of their time on nursing practice activities, but only a fraction of the time spent on nursing practice was patient care activities.
The study, "A 36-Hospital Time and Motion Study: How Do Medical-Surgical Nurses Spend Their Time?" appears in the Summer 2008 edition of The Permanente Journal. Data was gathered from 767 nurses in 36 hospitals across the nation. The data showed that more than 75 percent of nurses time was spent in activities characterized as nursing practice. Patient care activities accounted for just 19.3 percent of the nursing practice.
Another key finding was that time nurses spent with patients was not affected by the architecture of their work units.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the Kaiser Permanente study along with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
The full study is also available at the RWJ website here.
Sources: Kaiser Permanente, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The study, "A 36-Hospital Time and Motion Study: How Do Medical-Surgical Nurses Spend Their Time?" appears in the Summer 2008 edition of The Permanente Journal. Data was gathered from 767 nurses in 36 hospitals across the nation. The data showed that more than 75 percent of nurses time was spent in activities characterized as nursing practice. Patient care activities accounted for just 19.3 percent of the nursing practice.
Another key finding was that time nurses spent with patients was not affected by the architecture of their work units.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the Kaiser Permanente study along with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
The full study is also available at the RWJ website here.
Sources: Kaiser Permanente, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
