Stocking of a Busy Emergency Department

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Emergencies Disease Attributes Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Lehigh Valley Health Network

Allentown, Pennsylvania, 18103, United States

About this study

Objectives:

Determine the amount of time nurses spend outside of a patient room obtaining supplies to care for the patient.
Determine what supplies are obtained when the room is left.
Determine how many times per shift the nurse leaves to obtain the same item.
Determine if utilizing a "supply tower" located in patient rooms decreases the amount of time nurses spend obtaining supplies outside of a patient room to care for patients.
Determine if implementation of a full time stocking technician decreases the amount of time that nurses spend outside a patient's room obtaining stock.
Conduct spot checks on carts to determine if PAR levels are over, under, or exactly as established.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

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.

Exclusion criteria

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.

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

time nurses spend away from patients bedside

Time frame: 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)

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

Supplies searched for

Time frame: 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)

This is the type of supply that the nurse was searching for that was not available at the bedside.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Lehigh Valley Hospital

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2008
Primary completion: 2013
Study completion: 2013
First posted: Apr 27, 2012
Registry last updated: Oct 14, 2016

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed