Impact of Nurses’ Work Patterns on Nurses and Patients in Critical Care and Toxicology Care Units of Alexandria University Hospitals

Abstract

Background: Nowadays, there are difficulties in recruiting and retaining nursing staff with increasing pressures and demands on nurses working in critical care areas. The role of nursing care in patients' safety and healthcare outcomes has led to increased interest in measuring and reporting nurses’ work patterns and their consequences on nurses and patients. Objectives:  Describe nurses’ work patterns and their impacts on nurses and patient outcomes. Methods: Self-report forms were used to collect data regarding nurses’ time spent on direct and indirect nursing activities, non- nursing care and personal activities as well as care left undone. Questionnaires were used to measure stress, tension, conflict, nurses’ intent to leave, nurses' satisfaction and  patient satisfaction  Results: nurses spent their working time on direct nursing care (36.64 %); indirect nursing care (28.18 %), non-nursing care (30.64 %) and personal activities ( 4.7%). Profile of direct and indirect patient care and personal activities increased in night shifts, while the profile of non-nursing tasks increased in morning shifts.  There was a positive correlation between care left undone and three non-nursing tasks. Besides, there was a positive correlation between left care undone, non-nursing duties and four nursing job outcomes. There also was a negative correlation between care left undone, non-nursing tasks and nurses' and patients' satisfaction.  Conclusion:  the study focused on the importance of direct patient care on improving quality of care and patient safety. Reducing the performance of non-nursing duties by nurses and decreasing care left undone will most likely result in greater nurses’ and patients’  satisfaction, reduced stress, tension, and conflict and decreased numbers of  nurses’ leaving their jobs.

Keywords: work, patterns, nurses, patients, outcomes