NURSING AT DAWN - NURSING TASKS IN THE 1ST HOUR OF THE MORNING SHIFT IN A GERMAN HOSPITAL

Nurses' working hours are known to be one reason for high wastage rate s. The early start of work seems to be particularly difficult. The aim of the present study was to examine which nursing tasks were performe d during the time from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. The study was conducted in a general hospital in Germany where such an early start of work is still common practice. An activity analysis was carried out using non-parti cipant observation. One surgical and one medical ward were used for co mparison. The work on the wards was differently organized. The observe d tasks were classified into direct care, indirect care, administrativ e, and other tasks. The distribution of these task categories over one hour and the percentage of time spent on these categories were compar ed. Both wards showed different working patterns and a different form of initiation of direct care (entering patients' rooms). Some possible reasons for these findings are offered and suggestions for further re search are made.