Nurses’ perceptions of multitasking in the emergency department: Effective, fun and unproblematic (at least for me) – a qualitative study

Forsberg, Helena Hvitfeldt; Athlin, Åsa Muntlin; Schwarz, Ulrica von Thiele

doi:10.1016/j.ienj.2014.05.002

Cited by 25 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The research project was designed to evaluate the teamwork intervention. Publications within the project have studied nurses' perceptions of multitasking (Forsberg et al, 2015), teamwork's influence on patients' perceptions of quality of care (Muntlin Athlin et al, 2016), the relationship between throughput rates and staff's perceptions of efficiency (von Thiele Schwarz et al, 2016a), implementation of teamwork (Mazzocato et al, 2011) and effects of teamwork on lead times and patient flow (Muntlin Athlin et al, 2013). The findings suggest that the teamwork intervention has led to a small but significant reduction in lead times (Muntlin Athlin et al, 2013) and has found positive relations between teamwork and patient perceptions of quality of care (Muntlin Athlin et al, 2016).…”

Section: Research Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

The work is never ending: uncovering teamwork sustainability using realistic evaluation

Frykman

Schwarz

Athlin

et al. 2017

JHOM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to uncover the mechanisms influencing the sustainability of behavior changes following the implementation of teamwork. Design/methodology/approach Realistic evaluation was combined with a framework (DCOM®) based on applied behavior analysis to study the sustainability of behavior changes two and a half years after the initial implementation of teamwork at an emergency department. The DCOM® framework was used to categorize the mechanisms of behavior change interventions (BCIs) into the four categories of direction, competence, opportunity, and motivation. Non-participant observation and interview data were used. Findings The teamwork behaviors were not sustained. A substantial fallback in managerial activities in combination with a complex context contributed to reduced direction, opportunity, and motivation. Reduced direction made staff members unclear about how and why they should work in teams. Deterioration of opportunity was evident from the lack of problem-solving resources resulting in accumulated barriers to teamwork. Motivation in terms of management support and feedback was reduced. Practical implications The implementation of complex organizational changes in complex healthcare contexts requires continuous adaption and managerial activities well beyond the initial implementation period. Originality/value By integrating the DCOM® framework with realistic evaluation, this study responds to the call for theoretically based research on behavioral mechanisms that can explain how BCIs interact with context and how this interaction influences sustainability.

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Section: Research Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

The work is never ending: uncovering teamwork sustainability using realistic evaluation

Frykman

Schwarz

Athlin

et al. 2017

JHOM

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The implications of excessive cognitive load are especially important in healthcare where demand is high, information often incomplete and time constrained (56)(57)(58). Distractions, interruptions, and external extraneous stimuli disrupt attention and can lead to error (56,57). For reception work, separating tasks may reduce the likelihood of error in complex tasks, for example separating greeting patients and answering the telephone into discrete roles may help to reduce error by minimising the interruptions encountered when undertaking these roles simultaneously.…”

Section: Task Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A quantitative assessment of the parameters of the role of receptionists in modern primary care using the work design framework

Burrows

Gale

Greenfield

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Amidst increased pressures on General Practice across England, the receptionist continues to fulfil key administrative and clinically related tasks. The need for more robust support for these key personnel to ensure they stay focussed and motivated is apparent, however to be effective a more systematic understanding of the parameters of their work is required. Here we present a valuable insight into the tasks they fulfil their relationship with colleagues and their organisation, and their attitudes and behaviour at work collectively defined as their ‘work design’. Methods Our aim was to quantitatively assess the various characteristics of receptionists in primary care in England using the validated Work Design Questionnaire (a 21 point validated questionnaire, divided into four categories: task, knowledge and social characteristics and work context with a series of sub-categories within each). This was available online and in addition 500 postal questionnaire were sent to a random sample of 100 general practices across England. An online cross-sectional survey was employed with receptionists (N=54). Additionally (N=16; RR=3.1%). Results Seventy participants completed the WDQ; 54 completed the survey online 16 completed the postal version (response rate of 3.1%). Receptionists reported high task variety, task significance and, high level of information processing and knowledge demands, confirming the high cognitive load placed on them by performing numerous yet significant tasks. This complex role required an array of skills, to accommodate their various administrative, communicative, problem solving and decision-making duties they have, and there was a reliance on colleagues for support and feedback. Conclusion Research with modern GP receptionists is sparse and little is known formally regarding the parameters of the role. This research explores the work design of GP receptionists and offers clinicians in practice a practical overview of this important and essential role and its implications for the modern GP practice. We suggest a number of ways in to better support the modern receptionist, including separating complex tasks to avoid the errors involved with high cognitive load, providing informal feedback and developing training programmes.

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“…The implications of excessive cognitive load are especially important in healthcare where demand is high, information often incomplete and time constrained (56)(57)(58). Distractions, interruptions, and external extraneous stimuli disrupt attention and can lead to error (56,57). Conversely, interruptions can be bene cial, offering information sharing needed for task completion (59), an alternate perspective, increasing positive affect (60) and when tasks are routine, distractions can speed information processing without concomitant negative effects on accuracy (59,61).…”

Section: Task Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A quantitative assessment of the parameters of the role of receptionists in modern primary care using the work design framework

Burrows

Gale

Greenfield

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Amidst increased pressures on General Practice across England, the receptionist continues to fulfil key administrative and clinically related tasks. The need for more robust support for these key personnel to ensure they stay focussed and motivated is apparent, however, to be effective a more systematic understanding of the parameters of their work is required. Here we present a valuable insight into the tasks they fulfil, their relationship with colleagues and their organisation and their attitudes and behaviour at work collectively defined as their ‘work design’. Methods Our aim was to quantitatively assess the various characteristics of receptionists in primary care in England using the validated Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) a 21 point validated questionnaire, divided into four categories: task, knowledge and social characteristics and work context with a series of sub-categories within each, disseminated online and as a postal questionnaire to 100 practices nationally.Results Seventy participants completed the WDQ, 54 online and 16 using the postal questionnaire with the response rate for the latter being 3.1%. The WDQ suggested receptionists experience high levels of task variety, task significance and of information processing and knowledge demands, confirming the high cognitive load placed on receptionists by performing numerous yet significant tasks. Perhaps in relation to these substantial responsibilities a reliance on colleagues for support and feedback to help negotiate this workload was reported. Conclusion The evidence of our survey suggests that the role of modern GP receptionists requires an array of skills to accommodate various administrative, communicative, problem solving, and decision-making duties. There are ways in which the role might be better supported for example devising ways to separate complex tasks to avoid the errors involved with high cognitive load, providing informal feedback, and perhaps most importantly developing training programmes.

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Nurses’ perceptions of multitasking in the emergency department: Effective, fun and unproblematic (at least for me) – a qualitative study

Cited by 25 publications

References 16 publications

The work is never ending: uncovering teamwork sustainability using realistic evaluation

The work is never ending: uncovering teamwork sustainability using realistic evaluation

A quantitative assessment of the parameters of the role of receptionists in modern primary care using the work design framework

A quantitative assessment of the parameters of the role of receptionists in modern primary care using the work design framework

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