title: The benefits of standardized nursing languages in complex adaptive systems such as hospitals.
abstract: Paperwork is a major source of frustration for hospital nurses and takes valuable time away from patient care. Studies indicate that nurses spend an estimated 13% to 28% of total shift time documenting. The growth in documentation requirements for nurses can, in part, be attributed to an exponential rise in health system complexity. Authors explore the documentation of nursing care plans from a complex adaptive system perspective and then analyze the utility of adopting a standardized nursing language. An actual case history of a nursing unit's attempt to reduce complexity, improve completion time, and increase staff satisfaction in care planning by adopting a standardized nursing language is provided to emphasize a practical application.
authors.affiliation: Mercy Hospital, Iowa City, Iowa, USA. tom.clancy@mercyic.org
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.forename: Connie White
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Delaney
authors.forename: Bernice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: Jody K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Gunn
mesh_terms: D003325:Coronary Care Units; D003657:Decision Making; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D009737:Nursing Records / Q000592:standards; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000592:standards; D012015:Reference Standards; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013686:Telemetry; D014481:United States; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled