How nurses manage time and work in long-term care.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to better understand the ways in which conditions of work, including staffing, affect how nurses in long-term care (LTC) facilities do their jobs and the quality of care they provide.


BACKGROUND
The research reported here was performed in the context of public policy debates about the relationship between staffing levels and quality in LTC.


METHODS
In 1995 and 1996, interviews and participant observation were used to examine how 18 licensed nurses employed in two LTC facilities in the midwestern United States experience their day-to-day work.


RESULTS
Time was an extremely salient work condition for the nurses interviewed. Under conditions of too little time and many interruptions, nurses compensated by developing strategies to keep up or catch up. These strategies included minimizing the time spent doing required tasks, creating new time and redefining work responsibilities. Although these strategies allowed nurses to complete the tasks for which they were accountable, there were adverse consequences for nurses and residents. Nurses realized that time demands often made it impossible to provide care of high quality. They expressed their ideas about quality care as the notion of 'should do' work. In effect, time pressures forced them to forego the 'should do' work to complete the 'must do' work.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased staffing could improve the quality of care in LTC facilities.
School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. bjbowers@facstaff.wisc.edu
B J
BJ
Bowers
C
C
Lauring
N
N
Jacobson
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003405:Creativity; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015146:Midwestern United States; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017748:Time Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013996:Time and Motion Studies; D016526:Workload