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Marquette University

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2015

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Comparison Of Nurse Staffing Based On Changes In Unit-Level Workload Associated With Patient Churn, Ronda G. Hughes, Kathleen Bobay, Nicholas A. Jolly, Chrysmarie Suby Apr 2015

Comparison Of Nurse Staffing Based On Changes In Unit-Level Workload Associated With Patient Churn, Ronda G. Hughes, Kathleen Bobay, Nicholas A. Jolly, Chrysmarie Suby

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Aim

This analysis compares the staffing implications of three measures of nurse staffing requirements: midnight census, turnover adjustment based on length of stay, and volume of admissions, discharges and transfers.

Background

Midnight census is commonly used to determine registered nurse staffing. Unit-level workload increases with patient churn, the movement of patients in and out of the nursing unit. Failure to account for patient churn in staffing allocation impacts nurse workload and may result in adverse patient outcomes.

Method(s)

Secondary data analysis of unit-level data from 32 hospitals, where nursing units are grouped into three unit-type categories: intensive care, intermediate care, …