Nurses' views regarding the practice of patient allocation

Abstract

This study aims at examining the nurses' perspectives on patient allocation. The objectives of this study are to explore what patient allocation means to nurses; to investigate whether nurses think that patient allocation is being adequately practised on the ward; to find out what nurses think are the factors that may help or hinder the practice of patient allocation; and to enquire whether nurses prefer an alternative system of care. A descriptive, non experimental small scale design was undertaken, using a self-administered questionnaire. After carrying out a pilot study, the proper study was carried out using the whole target population of 25 nurses, 12 from a surgical ward and 13 from a medical ward. A total of 21 respondents (n=21) completed the questionnaire, resulting in an 84% response rate. Content analysis was used to analyse and categorize the results. The findings revealed that the majority of the nurses know what patient allocation means and prefer it as a system of delivery of care. All respondents agreed or strongly agreed that patient allocation is an effective system of delivery of care, and were able to highlight several advantages of patient allocation such as holistic care, individualized focused care, and the facilitation of the nurse-patient relationship. Several disadvantages were also pointed out, such as not knowing enough about other patients, and staffing problems. The majority of the respondents stated that patient allocation is practised regularly on their wards, and it is largely practised all day. It was found that whilst the nursing officer decides how to allocate patients, the bed number, workload and experience played a part in the decision of allocation. Respondents were also asked to identify factors that help and hinder the practice of patient allocation. It was found that the amount of staff and staff compliance greatly influence the success of patient allocation. The findings were discussed by comparing and contrasting them to previous literature and studies. The strengths and limitations of the study were stated, and recommendations for management, education, practice and further research were made, including the importance of adequate number of skilled nurses, support staff, good delegation, continuity in allocation, and the need for further research.