How nurses manage time and work in long-term care

Aims of the study. The aim of this study was to better understand the ways in which conditions of work, including staffing, affect how nurses in long- term care (LTC) facilities do their jobs and the quality of care they provi de. Background. The research reported here was performed in the context of publ ic policy debates about the relationship between staffing levels and qualit y in LTC. Methods. In 1995 and 1996, interviews and participant observation were used to examine how 18 licensed nurses employed in two LTC facilities in the mi dwestern United States experience their day-to-day work. Results. Time was an extremely salient work condition for the nurses interv iewed. Under conditions of too little time and many interruptions, nurses c ompensated by developing strategies to keep up or catch up. These strategie s included minimizing the time spent doing required tasks, creating new tim e and redefining work responsibilities. Although these strategies allowed n urses to complete the tasks for which they were accountable, there were adv erse consequences for nurses and residents. Nurses realized that time deman ds often made it impossible to provide care of high quality. They expressed their ideas about quality care as the notion of 'should do' work. In effec t, time pressures forced them to forego the 'should do' work to complete th e 'must do' work. Conclusion. Increased staffing could improve the quality of care in LTC fac ilities.