Status survey on nurse staffing at the anesthesia recovery rooms in Zhejiang′s tertiary hospitals

Abstract

Objective To investigate and analyze the current setup, operation, nurse staffing, professional ability of nurses and professional standardized training system of tertiary hospitals in Zhejiang. Methods Cross-sectional study was used to investigate the nursing directors and 105 nurses from 36 tertiary hospitals of Zhejiang. The tools included the general questionnaire of anesthesia recovery rooms in Zhejiang tertiary hospitals, anesthesia specialty nurse job description questionnaire, and anesthesia recovery room nurses clinical specialized ability questionnaire.Data of the study were concluded and analyzed in the end. Results 35 of the 36 hospitals surveyed have in place anesthesia recovery care, accounting for 97%. The ratio of recovery room beds to operating bed was 0.48, and the ratio of nurses to recovery room beds was 0.52. In addition to the entire process involvement in the recovery and care of patients during recovery, the job of nurses covers administration of anesthesiology related items, equipment, drug management, cost management and cost entry, pain management and nursing. Nurse training methods depend on continuing education mainly. Anesthesia recovery room nurses′ clinical skills scored in average 82.96±1.52 points. Conclusions Most of these tertiary hospitals have in place anesthesia recovery rooms, yet with such challenges as shortage of beds, and overload/understaffing of nurses. Nurses are mostly trained in the departments, and a system of standardized training and qualification is to be further improved and established for such nurses. Key words: Tertiary hospital; Anesthesia recovery room; Nursing; Status survey