Optimizing Nurse Workflow Efficiency

By Zahra Zamani, Teri Joy, Jen Worley

This study aimed to investigate the effect of spatial adjacencies on nurses’ walking patterns and the subsequent impact on staff satisfaction with perceived accessibility and adjacency-related issues.

Recognizing the crucial importance of spatial adjacencies in healthcare facilities is essential, as they significantly affect staff morale, fatigue management, operational efficiency, error reduction, and overall patient care excellence, highlighting the need for objective assessments to evaluate the impact of facility layout and space configuration on workflow patterns and staff satisfaction in patient care units.

The findings highlighted a significant frequency of movements between nurse stations, patient rooms, and medication areas. Regression analysis identified several contributing factors to staff satisfaction, including the proximity of supplies, team visibility, ease of access across departments, and the location of equipment rooms. Specifically, satisfaction with the proximity of supplies was positively associated with increased provider satisfaction with workflow, quality of care, and workplace. Additionally, valuable feedback from staff revealed concerns regarding break room placement, medication area functionality, and disparities in the availability of supplies.

Keywords: medical surgical unit design, nurse walking distances, space adjacency, healthcare planning, staff satisfaction, accessibility