Table 2.
Workload management method (fictitious example)
| Ward XYZ | June 4 | June 5 | June 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care time for direct patient care (hours) | 46 | 39 | 46 |
| Time for indirect patient care and additional tasks (hours) | 48 | 40 | 48 |
| Outcome C: total required care time (hours) | 94 | 79 | 94 |
| Nurse qualifications | Proficiency | Allocated care time (hours) | Allocated care time (hours) | Allocated care time (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered nurse ≥1 year experience | 100% | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| Registered nurse <1 year experience | 85% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Student nurse senior | 70% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Student nurse junior | 45% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Outcome 3: total allocated care time (hours) | 95 | 71 | 90 | |
| Outcome D: expected per cent overstaffing or understaffing (workload indication) | 1% | −11% | −4% | |
| Outcome 4: average perceived workload (scale of 1 to 5) | 3,1 | 4,2 | 3,2 | |
For full explanation of C, D, 3 and 4, see main text.