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Factors to be considered in Time Management

Factors to be considered in Time Management

by Carmela Louise Mercado -
Number of replies: 1

Effective time management is essential in nursing to guarantee the efficient and quality delivery of patient care. The following factors should be taken into account when managing time for us nurses:

  1. Prioritizing Patients:
  • Nurses must accurately assess the urgency of patient needs and prioritize care accordingly. This involves focusing on patients with immediate or life-threatening issues versus those with non-emergent concerns.
Developing Critical Thinking:
  • Time management includes cultivating robust critical thinking skills to make rapid and sound decisions. Critical thinking is crucial for patient prioritization, enabling the creation of a clear plan based on the patient's condition and overall care plan.
Ensuring Effective Communication:
  • Healthcare professionals should communicate objectives, plans, and actions efficiently to streamline tasks, responsibilities, and prevent inefficiencies in patient care processes. Clear and concise communication during shift changes is vital to avoid unnecessary delays.
Delegating Tasks:
  • Recognizing the importance of teamwork in patient care, nurse managers should appropriately delegate tasks to healthcare team members such as nursing assistants. Delegated tasks should align with the skill level of the assigned individual.
Embracing Flexibility:
  • Nursing involves adapting to ever-changing circumstances. Nurses should be flexible in responding to changes in the work environment, with contingency plans ready for unexpected events or emergencies. While policies serve as guides, nurses must exhibit versatility in addressing evolving events and situations.

Considering these factors empowers nurses to optimize their time management skills, ensuring the delivery of high-quality patient care in the demanding and fast-paced healthcare environment.

In reply to Carmela Louise Mercado

Re: Factors to be considered in Time Management

by Noemi Manondo -
Hello Ma'am Cali. Thank you for your discussion on Time Management. This is an important skills that I believe all nurses should develop especially with the less ideal nurse-patio ratio, competing priorities, and unique condition of each patient. I remember when I was a newbie in the nursing practice, I was completely blown away by the care needs of each patient. It took me a week to finally adjust to the situation of the area, understand my roles and responsiblities, and create tactics to complete each task in more organized manner. I believe that translating responsibilities into smaller tasks and dealing with more important ones first (agree with your prioritization) allows me to be effective in what I do. The sense of fulfillment creates a drive that fuels initiatives on how to do task efficiently each time. Understanding what task to delegate and the capability of my team mates allows me to share the responsiblity with them without compromising the quality of care.