Evaluating the relation therapeutic applications used in intensive care unit and nursing workload

This is an observational, prospective and descriptive study which aims to determine nursing workload (NW) that consist of therapeutic applications related with diseases'severity and prognosis of patients who stay in intensive care unit (ICU) and general nursing care activities. Sample group of the study consist of 425 observations of the patients who are over 18 and have stayed in Trakya University Health Research and Application Center Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) and Reanimation Intensive Care Unit (RICU) for at least 1 day. Data of the study was collected by using Therapeutic Intervation Scoring System-28 (TISS-28) and Nursing Activity List (NAL)that has been prepared based on literature information and researcher's clinical experience. Data was evaluated by calculating TISS-28 scores in both intensive care units for 30 days, NAL's 4 different TISS-28 score groups'time periods and total NW consist of both. The average TISS-28 score of sample group in SICU was found to be 33.1 while it is 34.7 in RICU. The average TISS-28 score of RICU was higher and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). NW for a patient related with TISS-28 score was calculated to be 351.3 minutes in SICU while it was 368.8 in RICU. Direct/Indirect nursing care applications were calculated to be 105.5 minutes in Class I, 111 minutes in Class II, 127.5 minutes in Class III, 142.5 minutes in Class IV. TISS-28 score and direct/indirect nursing care applications related total NW was found to be 4175.8 minutes in SICU, 2535.7 minutes in RICU. As NW related nursing workforce was planned, nursing shortage was found to be 4.4 in SICU, 2.7 in RICU. According to the results from the study, it was determined that in both ICUs nursing workforce planning was inadequate and nurse/patient ratio needed to be 1:1.