Time and Motion Study for Nurses: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Time motion study is concerned primarily with the increasing performance by measuring and then minimizing the time taken to perform various operations without compromising the quality of services. After its first introduction, time study developed in the direction of establishing standard times, while motion study evolved into a technique for improving work methods. The aim of this review is to summarize the available literatures on time and motion study on nurses. Computerized literature searches were performed on the Pub med, Research Gate, Medline, DELNET and CINAHL databases to locate all the articles on time and motion study on nurses. Initial search started with 30 studies. After eliminating unwanted articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, only 6 studies were selected and explained in this review, which depict specific information about activities and time spent by nurses during their working hours in critical care units and other wards. Nurses spend more time with patients than do any other health care providers and thus patient outcomes are affected by nursing care quality. Decreasing the time spent in walking and searching in turn can lead to increase the time spent in monitoring the patient. Changes to the process and technology of documentation, communication, and medication handling, as well as the physical design of units, could benefit nurse’s efficiency and the safe delivery of care.