TY - JOUR
T1 - Reduced nurse working time and surgical productivity and economics
AU - Dzoljic, Misa
AU - Zimmerman, Marieke
AU - Legemate, Dink
AU - Klazinga, Niek S.
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - dWorking time reduction is an issue in many sectors of the economy of several countries. In the health care sector, this reduction is mostly felt in regions with a shortage of personnel. In The Netherlands, this is the operating theater suite. We designed this study to evaluate the effects of a policy reduction in working time from 38 to 36 h/wk on the performance of the operating theater suite. The study describes the policy process and its context. For retrospective before-and-after analyses of various performance variables, multivariate linear regression techniques were used. A 4% decrease to a 36-h work week was implemented in our hospital during a period of shortage of personnel in the labor market. This resulted in a 2% decrease in the number of surgical operations performed. The expected increased demand for nursing personnel is reflected in larger wages and the introduction of additional benefits. Additionally, the introduction of a 36-h work week and the 4-day working schedule was accompanied by an increase in absenteeism. Taken together, this resulted in an increase in nursing costs per average operation of 20%. This means that a small reduction in working time during a period of labor shortage can cause an important decrease in surgical productivity. In our hospital, this was accompanied by an increase in sick leave, resulting in a substantial increase of nursing costs per operation
AB - dWorking time reduction is an issue in many sectors of the economy of several countries. In the health care sector, this reduction is mostly felt in regions with a shortage of personnel. In The Netherlands, this is the operating theater suite. We designed this study to evaluate the effects of a policy reduction in working time from 38 to 36 h/wk on the performance of the operating theater suite. The study describes the policy process and its context. For retrospective before-and-after analyses of various performance variables, multivariate linear regression techniques were used. A 4% decrease to a 36-h work week was implemented in our hospital during a period of shortage of personnel in the labor market. This resulted in a 2% decrease in the number of surgical operations performed. The expected increased demand for nursing personnel is reflected in larger wages and the introduction of additional benefits. Additionally, the introduction of a 36-h work week and the 4-day working schedule was accompanied by an increase in absenteeism. Taken together, this resulted in an increase in nursing costs per average operation of 20%. This means that a small reduction in working time during a period of labor shortage can cause an important decrease in surgical productivity. In our hospital, this was accompanied by an increase in sick leave, resulting in a substantial increase of nursing costs per operation
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1213/01.ANE.0000082249.58475.4F
DO - https://doi.org/10.1213/01.ANE.0000082249.58475.4F
M3 - Article
C2 - 14500169
SN - 0003-2999
VL - 97
SP - 1127
EP - 1132
JO - Anesthesia and analgesia
JF - Anesthesia and analgesia
IS - 4
ER -