Application of Lean Visual and “6S” Management Concept in Clinical Nursing

Abstract

Background: Although the “6S” management was shown to improve the work efficiency and quality of enterprises, the significance of lean “6S” combined with visual management in clinical nursing settings has not yet been reported. Objective: This study aimed to explore the effect of lean “6S” combined with visual management mode on clinical nursing quality. Methods: From June 2019, the “6S” combined with visual management mode was implemented in Tianjin Beichen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. The satisfaction of nurses in the ward, hand-over items and warehouse inventory time, ICU rescue efficiency, and the incidence of nursing adverse events before and after the implementation of the mode were compared. Results: Implementation of the visual and “6S” management mode led to significantly higher satisfaction of nurses in the ward compared to pre-implementation. Further, a significant decrease was observed in hand-over items and warehouse inventory time, ICU rescue efficiency, and the incidence of adverse nursing events (P<0.05). Conclusion: The visual and “6S” management mode in the ward could significantly improve the quality of clinical nursing management and the satisfaction of medical staffs. This study is a single-centre prospective study, so some selection bias is inevitable. Future multicentre, long-term randomized clinical trials are needed to provide more evidence that this method can benefit nursing practice.