Benchmarking productivity in the hospital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Benchmarking productivity in the hospital - Essay Example The study of how best to sustain safety in the workplace should also be undertaken. In our survey, first, we identified a number of key benchmarks. These included the number of nurses attending to a full time physician as well as the number of patients allocated to every nurse. Questions were then developed for these benchmarks and organized categorically. In this staffing, demographics and expenses categories, the easiest questions would be answered first. Participants were informed that they did not have to answer all questions. Respondents, who came from the in and out patient population, were quizzed as to the number of drug administration services and examination practices had been given by nurses between specified visits to the hospital. Given by way of questionnaire, responses were received from 73 patients (20%). Of these, 15 were new mothers, 34 were oncology cases and 24 were admitted patients recovering from communicable diseases. Results showed that established patient visits per nurse were 5. Nurses commonly split their duties between the maternity ward and the pediatric ward. They also performed other administrative duties such as signing in patients as the hospital had not yet located a receptionist. Admitted patients were also asked to indicate the number of chairs and other furniture in their rooms. The number of initial drug administration codes was calculated by the number of full time nurses. It was then multiplied by the number of days during the month in which this study was carried out. Patients per full time nurse per working day, including those who did not have serious injuries, ranged from 3.7 to 8.1. The results of this study indicate that nurses though slightly strained in attempts to cater for the large volume of patients, the majority of whom had minor injuries, were adjusting favorably to the increased requirements of the populace. It does show an indication of