IDENTIFICATION OF NONNURSING ACTIVITIES OF MEDICAL-SURGICAL STAFF NURSES: AN OBSERVATIONAL FIELD STUDY.
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 312
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe nurses' rationale for designating an activity as nursing or "nonnursing"; (2) to identify rationale which could be generally adopted for designating an activity as "nonnursing"; (3) to identify and describe extant "nonnursing" activities, to define which identified "nonnursing" activities represent cross-skill and down-skill subsidiation, and to examine the practicality and administrative feasibility of reassignment of identified "nonnursing" activities to other hospital personnel in selected hospitals as initial steps in developing a taxonomy of nonnursing tasks/activities; (4) to examine the pros and cons of nursing staff assumptions of responsibility for "nonnursing" activities; and (5) to describe nursing staffs' rationale for whether "nonnursing" activities can actually be extracted from nursing activity, in terms of practicality, for performance by another person and to define those activities.

The nursing staffs of ten medical-surgical units (two units from each hospital) in five JCAH approved voluntary hospitals in Northeastern United States were observed, while performing their daily activities, for a period of one week each. Extant nursing practices were observed with the identification, by the researcher, of those which fell into the study criteria of "nonnursing" activities. The R.N. participants were then questioned regarding their agreement with the research classification of these identified activities to nonnursing, down-skill, or cross-skill subsidization; their rationales for such classifications; and whether it would be practical, time-wise, for these activities to be performed by other than nursing staff.

Fifty-four R.N.'s participated in the study. Researcher observation revealed a total of eight-five "nonnursing" activities from the five participating hospitals; sixty-three down-skill subsidization and twenty-two cross-skill subsidization. Participant responses showed substantial agreement with all of the cross-skill and all but one of the down-skill subsidization "nonnursing" activities. Eighty-four nonnursing activities were included in the study's final taxonomy.

Immense variations were found in both the quantity and quality of the ancillary and professional or health related support services in the participating hospitals. These services, the down and cross-skill nonnursing activities, and the rationales and assumptions of responsibility for nonnursing activities of the participating R.N.'s are described and discussed.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: B, page: 2135.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1988.

School code: 0055.