Stocking of a Busy Emergency Department

NCT01586832 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2-20080104
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 565
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Stocking of essential supplies in an emergency department (ED) is crucial in order to efficiently and effectively take care of patients. When equipment and supplies are not available to patient care providers, an imbalance in the delivery of care is created. The amount of time nurses spend away from the bedside obtaining supplies has only been superficially studied; however, one study proposed that the majority of nurses spend 5 to 20 percent or more of their time during a shift. This results in 30 minutes to two-and-a-half hours of a twelve hour shift being lost to retrieving supplies that are not available. Cabinets and drawers have recently been eliminated in the rooms and stock is kept in "supply towers" that contain all the necessary supplies to adequately take care of patients with the exception of medications, or stationary supplies. Towers are restocked every morning by a stocking technician by taking the towers to the stock room, resupplying them based on previously established PAR levels, and utilizing a standard chart that describes exactly what supply, and how many to stock within a specified area of the cart. During their shift, the stocking technician must also respond to pages concerning low stock levels. Hypothesis: Nurses spend a significant amount of time away from the patient bedside during their shift looking for supplies.

Conditions

Emergencies

Keywords

Hospital Supplies; Stocking of Supplies

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• time nurses spend away from patients bedside

  The average time nurses spend away from the bedside searching for supplies for patient care during an ED stay (an expected average of 2.5 hours)

  Outcome will be assessed for one year as the average time nurses spend away from the bedside searching for supplies for patient care during an ED stay (an expected average of 2.5 hours)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Supplies searched for

  Outcome will be assessed for one year as the type of supply that the nurses are searching for that was not available at the bedside searching for supplies for patient care during an ED stay (an expected average of 2.5 hours)

Study Arms (1)

ED Nurses

Nurses in the emergency department (ED) providing patient care using supplies found in the "stocking towers"

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants will include the nurses in the emergency department who will be observed during their shift.

You may qualify if:

• Nurse is an employee of LVHHN, and is working at the CC site.
• Nurse is working a full shift (7a-7p, 7p-7a, 7a-3p, 3p-11p, 11p-7a).
• The nurse being observed is working in Pod 1, Pod 2, Pod 3, or Pod 4 at the CC site.
• The supply needed is related to a procedural task for patient care.

You may not qualify if:

• The nurse is working at LVH-M or LVH-17.
• The nurse being observed is working in the express care area or trauma bay.
• The supply being obtained is a supply that is not maintained in the cart (Appendix 2).
• The nurse is scheduled for a shift less than 8 hours.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lehigh Valley Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Lehigh Valley Health Network

Allentown, Pennsylvania, 18103, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Emergencies

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Disease Attributes; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• David Richardson, MD

  Lehigh Valley Health Network

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Director of Emergency Medicine Research

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 19, 2011
• First Posted: April 27, 2012
• Study Start: January 1, 2008
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2013
• Study Completion: December 1, 2013
• Last Updated: October 14, 2016

Record last verified: 2016-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)