Perceptions of Registered Nurses Toward Two Patient Classification Systems

Abstract

activities that a patient requires. The majority of patient classification systems consist primarily of delegated services or functional tasks. Two other areas of nursing care, independent and interdependent services, are not a part of most workload measurement systems. Two patient classification systems were developed for this study. One was designed using primarily delegated services, and the second designed according to the Clinical Practice Model of Nursing (Wesorick, 1988) and consisted of independent, interdependent, and delegated services. The reseacher studied how registered nurses perceived each instrument: how acceptable was each instrument to them, and how did each reflect their professional practice. A videotaped case study was reviewed by 34 subjects. They then classified the 'patient' using each patient classification instrument, and evaluated each Instrument using a 5-point semantic differential research questionnaire. A difference between instruments was revealed using the Hotelling's 2 T test. The practice model-oriented instrument was perceived as more reflective of professional practice. It was viewed as more complete in identifying a patient's holistic nursing care needs, and more strongly integrated with other nursing records. The instrument based primarily on delegated services was viewed as easier to use.