Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.
Emergency Nursing Research, Emergency Nurses Association, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA.
Nurs Forum. 2022 Nov;57(6):1407-1414. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12834. Epub 2022 Nov 18.
To validate and refine Benjamin and Jacelon's 2021 definition of patient flow management using the experience and knowledge of practicing emergency department nurses.
Patient flow requires complex, real-time decision-making to match patients to limited resources and facilitate their movement through care processes. A literature-based concept analysis of patient flow management was first performed in 2021, but the voice of nurses is largely absent from existing patient flow research.
This study employed an expanded concept analysis methodology, as articulated by Kathleen Cowles.
Focus groups of nine emergency nurses were conducted.
Emergency nurses' conceptualization of patient flow management differs from the definition as it has emerged through patient flow literature. Patient flow management is a nurse-driven process that relies on nursing knowledge and the work of all emergency nurses, including bedside nurses. Emergency nurses perceive the ultimate goal of patient flow management to be the collective safety of patients, and they work to promote patient safety within their own scope of responsibility.
Understanding patient flow management as a nurse-driven process emphasizes the importance of nurse training and capacity to effective patient flow. Future research should explore the role of emergency nurses as active directors, rather than passive components, of patient flow. More work is needed to investigate this complex nursing task.
利用急诊护士的经验和知识，验证和完善本杰明和杰克隆（Benjamin and Jacelon） 2021 年提出的患者流程管理定义。
患者流程需要进行复杂的实时决策，以将患者与有限的资源相匹配，并促进他们在护理过程中的流动。2021 年首次对患者流程管理进行了基于文献的概念分析，但护士的声音在现有的患者流程研究中基本缺失。
本研究采用了由凯瑟琳·考尔斯（Kathleen Cowles）阐述的扩展概念分析方法。
对 9 名急诊护士进行了焦点小组讨论。
急诊护士对患者流程管理的概念化与通过患者流程文献出现的定义不同。患者流程管理是一个由护士驱动的过程，依赖于护理知识和所有急诊护士的工作，包括床边护士。急诊护士认为患者流程管理的最终目标是患者的集体安全，他们致力于在自己的职责范围内促进患者安全。
将患者流程管理理解为一个由护士驱动的过程，强调了护士培训和有效患者流程能力的重要性。未来的研究应探讨急诊护士作为患者流程的积极管理者，而不是被动参与者的作用。需要进一步研究这一复杂的护理任务。
