Measuring workload in a newborn center pharmacy.

In order to identify and quantify tasks performed by pharmacists and technicians in the Newborn Center Satellite Pharmacy, a workload assessment using a time ladder log was performed. Two pharmacists and one technician documented their daily activities in 2-minute increments for 1 month. Tasks were divided into three categories: patient days, calendar days, and variable activities. The average time to perform each task was determined. Standard times for each category were recorded onto a monthly workload report, which was used to calculate full-time equivalents (FTEs) required to perform all tasks. The number of FTEs increased seasonally, as did the number of patient days. Therefore, this workload reporting system can be used to identify peak workload time periods and to justify staffing requirements.