Generating nurse profiles from computerized labor and delivery documentation.

This paper presents methods for generating nurse profiles using computerized documentation. NuProGen (Nurse Profile Generator), a custom-built knowledge discovery tool, enabled profile generation by calculating the numbers of various complicated patient cases (including high body mass index, bleeding, and multiple gestation) managed by each of 91 Labor and Delivery nurses at a single Intermountain Healthcare facility during the 3-month study period of January through March 2007. The tool identified patterns of documentation recorded by each nurse, as well as nursing care patterns associated with each of the three patient conditions examined in the study. Individual nurse profiles supported identification of expert and novice nurses corresponding to the management of specific conditions. A discussion of the benefits provided by available nurse profile data is also presented.