The finding comes from a May 26 report from McKinsey and Co. and the American Nurses Association Enterprise.
The report focuses on new survey data based on responses from more than 300 nurses. For the survey, nurses were asked how they spend their time during shifts and how they would ideally distribute their time if given the chance.
Nurses report spending 54 percent of their shift, or about seven hours of a 12-hour shift, providing direct patient care and creating personal connections with patients. The survey shows nurses would like to spend more time on these activities. However, documentation makes up 15 percent of a nurse’s shift, with head-to-toe assessments, admissions intakes and vitals charting taking up the majority of documenting time (70 percent).
Based on nurses’ feedback, “leveraging delegation and tech enablement could reduce and redistribute activities that nurses report being predominantly responsible for,” McKinsey said.
The global management consulting firm added: “Subsequent reduction in time savings could improve nursing workload and their ability to manage more complex patients. When we translate the net amount of time freed up to the projected amount of nursing time needed, we estimate the potential to close the workforce gap by up to 300,000 nurses.”
According to McKinsey, estimates still suggest the country may see a shortage of anywhere from 200,000 to 450,000 nurses by 2025.
To read the full report, click here.
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