How does nonproductive time contribute to the budget and discuss the importance of this type of time?
Non-productive Time in Nursing
Nurses take a significant part of healthcare budget. Providing care in a cost effective manner is imperative towards achieving patient care needs (Neeraj & Sarkar, 2017). Non-productive time in nursing refers to time allocated to indirect care activities, which contributes to a significant portion of the nurse activity with additional costs to healthcare facility. Although time spent on non-productive activities may appear insignificant, it plays an important role in enhancing facility performance and improving patient care.
Non-productive time may affect the achievement of nursing objectives during budgetary allocation. Whereas direct nursing or productive care focuses on mainstream clinical activities such as collecting specimen, providing personal hygiene, and performing procedures among other activities, indirect or nonproductive time is spent on other activities, including billing, communicating over the phone, preparing for procedures, documenting, and reporting (Neeraj & Sarkar, 2017). However, the time spent in certain indirect activities such as social chats and phone calls may enhance psychological stability and protect burnout for nurses.
Lundgren and Segesten (2001) illustrate that how nurses use their time has been a subject of criticism. According to the authors, nurses occasionally spend too much time either with patients or at their desks, affecting the flow of work and general performance of facilities. In addition, registered nurses (RNs) spend more time supervising the activities of primary care nurses, which affect their involvement in actual care, leading to time wastage. Lundgren and Segesten (2001) state that patients complain about fragmented care when nurses attempt to deliver care to more patients. As facilities continue to manage resources through budgeting, it is significant to ensure that patients, who are principal beneficiaries, receive more time with the nurse to improve healthcare outcomes.
References
Lundgren, S., & Segesten, K. (2001). Nurses’ use of time in a medical–surgical ward with all‐RN staffing. Journal of Nursing Management, 9(1), 13-20.
Neeraj, B. S., & Sarkar, S. (2017). An Observational Study on Activity Analysis of Nursing Personnel Working in Pediatric In-patient Unit of a Selected Hospital in Delhi. International Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 4(3), 35-41. doi:10.24321/2455.9318.201730
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
