Critical care nurses’ workload estimates for managing patients during induced hypothermia

DaiWai M. Olson, Amy P. Kelly, Nicole C. Washam, Suzanne M. Thoyre

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to provide an initial foundation for exploring how induced hypothermia impacts nursing workload in an intensive care unit setting. Methods: This descriptive study used a questionnaire to obtain input from critical care nurses. Results: The results represent 107 returned surveys from 120 surveys distributed to seven different critical care units. Nurses estimate a mean time of 9.27 min (95% CI = 5.63–12.92 min) per shift for each intervention. Nurses indicate that they typically consider employing over 10 interventions to reduce temperature or induce hypothermia (95% CI = 9.67–10.81). Conclusions: Nurses are open to using a variety of different interventions to manage temperature in critically ill patients. The time required to complete any one intervention varies significantly, but the combination of interventions most certainly has a significant impact on the workload for bedside nurses.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)305-309
Number of pages5
JournalNursing in critical care
Volume13
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2008

Keywords

  • Critical care
  • Induced hypothermia
  • Nursing interventions
  • Workload

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Critical Care

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