Optimizing delegation to maximize nurses’ time: Results of a time study in an acute care setting

Nurses are asked to respond to numerous demands that affect their ability to provide efficient and effective patient care. Many activities can be safely delegated to unlicensed assistive personnel. Nurse leaders from an acute care unit identified nurse and unlicensed assistive personnel activities that could be observed over four 24-hour periods in a week. Results from the time study demonstrated that many opportunities exist to optimize delegation practices. While nurses spend time on patient care, time is also spent on activities that can be delegated. These activities can be more appropriately aligned with unlicensed assistive personnel workflows which can help alleviate increased nursing workloads and allow nurses to maximize time spent on patient care.