Nurse utilization of patient monitoring systems at an Emergency Department bedside ward – A survey analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Patient monitoring in Emergency Departments (ED) is a difficult task due to the unpredictability in workload, patient severity, and derivation of correct treatment plans. In this setting, nurses present the first line of observation and play an important role in gathering and interpreting the state and trajectory of patients. Alongside clinical intuition and experience, monitoring of vital signs is one of the most important tools for keeping track of patients. In this study, we present a subset of results from a survey conducted at an ED with the objective of assessing the importance of several aspects of patient monitoring, focusing on the perceived importance of two monitoring modalities. Methodology: The objective of the survey was to establish how important nurses deemed a predefined set of variables relating to three aspects of patient monitoring; 1) monitoring in general as a tool, 2) the utility of bed-side monitoring, and 3) the utility of monitoring dashboards in shared office spaces. The survey consisted of three parts; first a set of quantitative questions concerning age, gender, work place, department experience, and total clinical experience. Secondly, eleven multiple choice questions relating directly to the survey objectives, and lastly four interval scaled questions to serve as measurements of validity and a single open-ended field for additional comments.