2020 Volume 7 Pages 13-24
Approximately 80% of hospital-based childbirth in Japan takes place in mixed obstetric wards, which comprise a mix of the obstetrics department and other departments. Although mixed obstetric wards treat patients from multiple departments, previous studies have not clarified the procedures used by nursing staff in the ward, or nursing by night-time nurses. The purpose of this study was to reveal the actual status of night-shift nurses in a mixed obstetrics ward that treats severe patients. This time motion study used smartphones and beacons to measure the place and duration of stay for night-shift nurses working in a mixed obstetric ward. We found that nurses' mean bedside stay time per patient in a general patient room was 31.9 minutes on days when there were severe patients hospitalized in the severe patient room, and 33.6 minutes on days when there were no severe patients. Furthermore, the mean stay time in each place during a nurse's 13-hour shift was 39.2% in the nurse station, 34.4% in the general patient room, and 1.7% in the severe patient room. We believe that these results can be used as data for the placement of nursing staff involved in operating a safe mixed ward.
