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Are we measuring nursing workflow correctly? A literature review

Jane Congdon

Research Assistant, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia

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Judy Craft

Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

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Martin Christensen

E-mail Address: [email protected]

Professor of Nursing, Director of the Centre for Applied Nursing Research, Western Sydney University, Australia

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Published Online:26 Nov 2020https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2020.29.21.1252

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Abstract

When it comes to determining what constitutes nursing workload, there are a number of approaches that represent and characterise the work of nursing across the three traditional shift patterns (morning/day, afternoon/evening and night). These are observational, self-reporting and work-sampling techniques. A review of the quantitative and qualitative literature to examine workload distributions between the three nursing shifts was undertaken. Using data sourced from the CINAHL, Scopus and Medline databases, the findings suggest that there is an inadequacy in establishing nursing productivity that is perhaps representative of the methods used to decipher nursing workload. This may contribute to poor quality care, and the high cost of excess nursing time contributes to the increasingly high costs of care. Linked to this is the nurse's job satisfaction. Quality of care and job satisfaction are important factors for the sustainability of the nursing workforce. There are few high-quality nursing articles that detail the workload distributions across the three nursing shifts and this is a potential area for further research.

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26 November 2020Volume 29Issue 21

ISSN (print): 0966-0461
ISSN (online): 2052-2819

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Accepted 1 September 2019

Published online 26 November 2020

Published in print 26 November 2020

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