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KMID : 0926620200250030014
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Korean Journal of Hospital Management
2020 Volume.25 No. 3 p.14 ~ p.28
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Calculation of Optimum Number of Nurses Based on Nursing Intensity of Intensive Care Units
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Ko Yu-Kyung
Park Bo-Hyun
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Abstract
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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to calculate the total daily nursing workload and the optimum number of nurses per intensive care unit (ICU) based on the nursing intensity and the direct nursing time per inpatient using the patient classification.
Methods: Two ICUs at one general hospital were investigated. To calculate the nursing intensity, patient classification according to the nursing needs was conducted for 10 days in each unit during September 2018. We performed patient classifications for a total of 167 patient-days in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and 86 patient-days in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU). The total number of person-days for nurses who responded to the Nursing Time survey was 151 for MICU and 85 for SICU. In each unit, direct and non-direct nursing hours, nursing intensity score, and direct nursing hours were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, and average calculated using Microsoft Excel. The amount of nursing workload and the optimum number of nurses were calculated according to the formula developed by the authors.
Findings: For the MICU, the average direct nursing time per patient was 5.59 hours for Group 1, 6.98 hours for Group 2, and 9.28 hours for Group 3. For the SICU, the average direct nursing time per patient was 5.43 hours for Group 1, 7.21 hours for Group 2, 9.75 hours for Group 3, and 12.82 hours for Group 4.
Practical Implications: This study confirmed that the appropriate number of nurses was not secured in the nursing unit of this study, and that leisure time such as meal time during nursing work hours was not properly guaranteed. The findings suggest that to create working environments where nurses can serve for extended periods of time without compromising their professional standards, hospitals should secure an appropriate number of nurses.
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KEYWORD
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intensive care units, nursing intensity, nursing time, patient classification
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