Action research for improving safety and efficiency in nursing: The effects of inducing ward-clerks on nurses' behavioral and psychological variables

Abstract

This study examined the effects of inducing ward-clerks on safety and efficiency in nursing, with a focus on two aspects of nurses' behavioral and psychological variables. Two ward-clerks had tentatively been hired at ward "A" of "K" university hospital for approximately eight months. After the hiring, follow-up surveys had been administered to assess changes in work interruptions, stressors, team work, and other problems associated with nursing. The positive changes after their introduction consisted of reduction in work interruptions and other problems associated with nursing, while the negative changes included increased reports of delay in attending to the patients' needs, along with deteriorating perceptions of the team process. The results of this study suggest that it is indispensable for ward-clerks and nurses to spend some time in cooperation with each other, before reduced workload among nurses, and increased safety practices can be induced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)