Carga laboral del personal de enfermería en unidades de cuidados intensivos

Abstract

Introduction: The workload of nursing staff in Intensive Care Units (ICU) has been the subject of several studies, it is conditioned by several factors such as the number, clinical severity, the special needs of critically ill patients, the amount of time dedicated to individual patient care. Work overload an important factor in the occurrence of incidents in ICUs. Objective: Determine the workload of nursing staff in the ICU. Method: The research has a quantitative approach, with a descriptive scope, and a non-experimental-transversal design. It was carried out with a census sample of 30 nursing graduates who work in the different Intensive Care Units of the Ambato Canton (Ecuador), in the period between September 2022- January 2023. For data collection, the 'scale' was used. 'Nursing Score Activities (NAS)', an instrument with validity and reliability, which evaluates the workload in 24 hours. Results: A score was obtained on the NAS scale between 67.7 and 100%, which translates into a 1:1 nurse-patient relationship, which expresses that a patient requires only one nurse. The most frequent activities prevailed with 73.3%, 60%, 63.3% and 46.7%: monitoring and assessment of hourly signs, registration and calculation of fluid balance, clinical data processing and request for tests, administration of medication and mobilization of postural changes and hygiene of the patient. Conclusions: Each graduate is assigned a patient, there is no work overload in the nursing graduates of the Ambato Canton.