Faculty of Nursing, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada.
UBC School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
J Nurs Manag. 2021 Sep;29(6):1771-1777. doi: 10.1111/jonm.13317. Epub 2021 Apr 6.
To investigate the impact of a patients' needs assessment (synergy tool) on emergency department nurses' perceptions of quality, safe care delivery and morale.
The synergy tool provides real-time data on types of patients, their arrival, management and discharge. This tool was introduced to two urban emergency departments in response to government priorities to reduce emergency department wait times and improve patient flow.
This survey, a component of participatory action research, measures perceptions of 158 nurses pre-introduction and 91 nurses post-introduction of the synergy tool.
Responses were consistent regarding intent to leave, workload/staffing, spirit at work and quality/safety. One question describing staff as working in 'crisis mode' indicated a significant improvement.
Critical patient care may be missed during periods of overload, placing patients and staff at risk, leading to an increase in intent to leave. The synergy tool provides an objective means in real time for staff to identify their patients' care needs, assisting management with staffing decisions. Ongoing staff and management communication using tools such as the synergy tool may reduce perceptions of working in 'crisis mode'.
This research suggests that when managers employ a collaborative process and use evidence-based tools and approaches to addressing nurses' workload concerns, nurses' perceptions of working in 'crisis mode' diminish.
调查患者需求评估（协同工具）对急诊护士对质量、安全护理提供和士气的看法的影响。
协同工具提供有关患者类型、他们的到达、管理和出院的实时数据。该工具被引入到两个城市的急诊部门，以响应政府优先事项，减少急诊部门的等待时间并改善患者流量。
这项调查是参与式行动研究的一部分，测量了 158 名护士在引入协同工具之前和 91 名护士在引入协同工具之后的看法。
对于离职意向、工作量/人员配置、工作精神和质量/安全，回应是一致的。描述工作人员处于“危机模式”的一个问题表明有显著改善。
在过载期间，可能会错过关键的患者护理，使患者和工作人员处于危险之中，导致离职意向增加。协同工具为工作人员提供了一种实时识别患者护理需求的客观手段，协助管理层做出人员配置决策。使用协同工具等工具进行持续的员工和管理层沟通，可能会减少对处于“危机模式”的看法。
这项研究表明，当管理者采用协作过程并使用基于证据的工具和方法来解决护士的工作量问题时，护士对处于“危机模式”的看法会减少。
