Nursing activity in general intensive care.

1. In this cost-conscious climate there is a need to make explicit and justify the rationale to support direct patient contact by Registered Nurses. The current shortage of qualified nursing staff means that it is essential that experience and expertise be utilized to the benefit of patients and the service as a whole. 2. This study used a descriptive approach to describe, categorize and quantify the activities of nurses working in a six-bed general intensive care unit. 3. Data were collected using a self-reporting diary log sheet that identified the focus of an individual's activity at 5-minute intervals. All Registered Nurses, on all shifts over a 7-day period, completed log sheets. 4. The results demonstrate that nurses working in this general intensive care unit spent 85% of their time in activities associated with providing direct patient care. However, up to 6% of time was spent undertaking non-nursing duties, and analysis of unit activity provided data to support an increase in the establishment and review of the shift patterns of health care assistants. 5. The findings of the study indicate that nurses in charge of shifts spend 24.1% of their time in managerial and administrative activity; this reduces the amount of time spent in direct patient contact.