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An observational study of activities and multitasking performed by clinicians in two Swedish emergency departments.
- Source :
-
European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine [Eur J Emerg Med] 2012 Aug; Vol. 19 (4), pp. 246-51. - Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Objectives: To explore the type and frequency of activities and multitasking performed by emergency department clinicians.<br />Methods: Eighteen clinicians (licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and medical doctors), six from each occupational group, at two Swedish emergency departments were followed in their clinical work for 2 h each to observe all their activities and multitasking practices. Data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative content analysis.<br />Results: Fifteen categories of activities could be identified based on 1882 observed activities during the 36 h of observation. The most common activity was information exchange, which was most often performed face-to-face. This activity represented 42.1% of the total number of observed activities. Information exchange was also the most common activity to be multitasked. Registered nurses performed most activities and their activities were multitasked more than the other clinicians. The nurses' and doctors' offices were the most common locations for multitasking in the emergency department.<br />Conclusion: This study provides new knowledge regarding the activities conducted by clinicians in the emergency department. The most frequent activity was information exchange, which was the activity most often performed by the clinicians when multitasking occurred. Differences between clinicians were found for activities performed and multitasked, with registered nurses showing the highest frequencies for both.
- Subjects :
- Communicable Diseases
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Male
Qualitative Research
Sweden
Clinical Competence statistics & numerical data
Emergency Service, Hospital statistics & numerical data
Nursing Staff, Hospital statistics & numerical data
Nursing, Practical statistics & numerical data
Physicians statistics & numerical data
Task Performance and Analysis
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1473-5695
- Volume :
- 19
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 21934505
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1097/MEJ.0b013e32834c314a