• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.153-157
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• 2010

As the recent economic downturn continues to undermine the profits of construction industry in Korea, it has become ever more pressing to improve productivity of the industry. Since construction site management manpower staffing plan has close bearing on the productivity of construction projects, it is essential to estimate and mobilize adequate number of resources as per conditions and characteristics of each construction site. However, there are no reference approaches in practice to provide baseline for site management manpower staffing plan or estimation of manpower requirement. Therefore, this study aims to examine factors affecting productivity that warrants first and foremost consideration in development of site management manpower staffing plan during the initial phase of building construction project by conducting survey on industry stakehoders with hands-on responsibilities in construction sites and analyzing their responses. Conclusions herein will provide basic inputs for subsequent studies on development of site management manpower staffing plan as per project characteristics.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.399-412
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• 1996

Even though Korean medical law stipulates that number of patients attended by a nurse is 2.5 for hospitalization and 30 for ambulatory care, the number of patients cared by a nurse per day is much greater than the standard prescribed by the medical law. Current nursing productivity of nurses is not desirable unless the quality of care considered. Moreover. nursing manpower staffing based on neither current nurses' productivity nor standard of medical law cannot respond properly to dynamic situation of the medical services. As for the nurse scheduling, the critical problem of it in the hospital is determining the day-to-day shift assignments for each nurse for the specified period in a way that satisfies the given requirements of the hospital. Nurse scheduling, however, involves many factors and requirements, manual scheduling requires much time and effort to produce an adequate schedule. Under these backgrounds, the necessity of more efficient management of nursing manpower occupying 1/3 of total hospital workers has been recognized by many nursing administrators. This study was performed to develop a system computerizing nurse staffing and scheduling based on the patient classification. As a preliminary step for the system development, nursing workload in a secondary hospital was measured from Sep. to Oct. 1994. On the grounds of this result, computerization of nurse staffing and scheduling was proceeded with three options. First one is based on the current medical law. Second one is based on the assigned number of nursing staff. And the last is based on the request by patient classification. Computer languages used in this study were MS Visual Basic 3.0 for the staffing and Access 2.0 for the scheduling, respectively. Prospective users may operate this system easily because icons and mouse are used for easier graphic user interface and reducing the need for typing efforts. This system can help nurse administrators manage nursing manpower efficiently and nurses develop quick and easy schedule generation and allow more time for the patient care.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.1-11
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• 2021

Purpose : The aim of this study was to propose appropriate nurse staffing of adult intensive care units considering patients' nursing care needs according to the Workload Management System for Critical Care Nurses (WMSCN). Methods : In a cross-sectional survey conducted in September 2017, 1,786 patients' WMSCN scores, surveys from 2,145 nurses, and administrative data from 118 units in 41 hospitals were analyzed. The means (standard deviations) of the aforementioned scores and nursing hours per patient day were presented. Nurse-to-patient ratios and nurse-to bed ratios for staffing to meet patients' nursing care needs were calculated. Results : The mean WMSCN scores were 109.50±17.17 in tertiary hospitals and 96.38±19.26 in general hospitals. Nursing hours per patient day were 12.47±2.80 in tertiary hospitals and 11.01±2.45 in general hospitals. Nursing hours per patient day correlated with WMSCN scores. Nurse-to-bed ratios required for the provision of ICU nursing care ranged from 1: 0.36 to 1: 0.48. Conclusion : Our findings provide evidence that current ICU nurse staffing is insufficient for meeting patients' nursing care needs. We suggest adjusting the legal standards for adequate nurse staffing considering these needs.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.395-406
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze nurse staffing according to patients' acuity and dependency by measuring nursing hours. Methods: The study sample included patients who visited the adult emergency departments (EDs) of three tertiary referral hospitals and nurses who worked on shifts for 48 hours from October 24 to 26, 2019. Hourly patient census and nurse staffing were analyzed. Patient acuity was measured using the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS), ranging from Level 1 (highest) to Level 5 (lowest). Patient dependency was measured using six items (e.g., clinical attention and communication) and classified into four groups. Nursing activities were observed every 10 minutes and nursing hours per patient and nurse staffing were analyzed according to acuity and dependency. Results: Nurse-to-patient ratio ranged from 1:1.8 to 1:4.2 during the 48 hours of observation. The average work hours of nurses, excluding breaks and meals, was 8.57 hours; 42.5% of which was spent providing direct care. Higher acuity and dependency were associated with higher nursing hours and staffing level. Patients with KTAS Level 1 were provided 74.3 minutes per hour, 5.02 times higher than Level 5 (14.8 minutes). Patients in the highest dependency group were provided 87.4 minutes per hour, 5.75 times higher than the lowest group (15.2 minutes). Newly arrived patients received more nursing hours than continuously stayed patients within the same KTAS Levels. Conclusion: Large variations were found in hourly patient census, acuity, and dependency. Nurse staffing in EDs should be determined based on patient acuity and dependency.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.200-208
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was aimed to examine the gap between predicted cesarean section rate and real cesarean section rate and it's determining factors of 44 tertiary hospitals. Method: This study is a cross-sectional analysis using the data of 25,623 deliveries in 2009 drawn from homepage of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Data were analyzed with t-test, F-test, Scheff$\acute{e}$ test, and logistic regression. Result: There were statistically significant differences in the gap of cesarean section rate (more gap indicates higher quality of delivery) by grade of nurse staffing and delivery cases. Hospitals with nurse staffing grade 1 to 2 had more possibility to be classified into higher grade in quality of delivery (OR 5.67, 95% CI 1.07-30.08). Also hospitals with over 500 delivery cases had more possibility be classified into higher grade in quality of delivery (OR 4.92, 95% CI 1.14-21.23, respectively). Conclusion: The finding suggests that grade of nurse staffing may influence the real cesarean section rate because nurses do a vital role to prevent unnecessary cesarean section. Further study is required to provide evidence that nurse staffing influence on patient outcome and cost-effectiveness in order to obtain adequate number of nursing staffs.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.413-420
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• 2008

Purpose: To examine the relationship between nurse staffing level and nurse perception of nursing performance. Method: The subjects of this study were 724 nurses from 70 medical or surgical wards in 23 hospitals from February to March 2006. A self-reporting questionnaire, which was developed by the researcher through a preceding study, was used. In data analysis, SAS program was utilized for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Tukey test. Results: The mean score of the nursing performance was 53.3. The mean of bed-to nurse ratio was 3.39:1. The study revealed a negative correlation between bed-to nurse ratio and the nurses' perception of nursing performance. There was a significant relationship between above 3.5:1 and below 2.5:1(F=4.59, p=0.010). Conclusion: We found that the higher the nurse staffing, the better the nursing performance. It is recommended that future research measures nurses' performance and nursing organizational performance using objective measurement tools including clinical indicators.

• IE interfaces
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.317-326
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• 2005

Staff scheduling is an important area, both from an academic and industrial point of view. It has become increasingly important as business becomes more service oriented and cost conscious in a global environment. There has been a lot of study to develop new and efficient staff scheduling models and methods. The purpose of this paper is not to develop new theoretical results but to develop a comprehensive user-friendly staffing model that can be applied to the real-world practice. The developed staffing software, OptStaff, provides the optimal configuration of the customer support center including the selection of customer support center locations, the allocation of staffs to each selected location, and schedules of staffs, so as to minimize the total cost while maximizing the customer satisfaction level. OptStaff also has capability to do scenario analysis by varying the levels of parameters and to create a variety of graphs and reports with user-friendly interfaces.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.327-335
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• 2011

Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of medical staffing level as bed-to-medical staff ratio on patient outcomes as length of stay (LOS) among hospitals in Korea. Methods: Two hundred and fifty one hospitals participated in the study between January and March 2008. Data for the study was requested by an electronic data interchange from the Health Insurance Review Agency in 2008. In data analysis, SPSS WIN 15.0 program was utilized for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. Results: The mean score for length of stay was 13.6 days. The mean of operating bed-to-nurse ratio was 7.93:1. The predicting factors for LOS were bed-to-nurse's aide ratio, bed-to doctor's ratio, severely ill patient rate, and hospital type. These factors explained 28.9% of the variance in patient outcomes. Conclusion: This study results indicate that the relationship between medical staffing level and patient outcomes is important in the improvement of the quality of patient care. Thus, improvements in the quality of the nurse practice environment could improve patient outcomes for hospitalized patients.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.38-49
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• 2001

This study was designed to analyze the dietetic practitioner's job in the over 600-ed hospitals in korea and to assess their labor time spent and staffing need indices. The actual time spent and expected labor time spent on dietitians' activities were investigated and the proper dietic staffing needs in the hospitals was also calculated. A job analysis questionnaires were developed and mailed to 20 hospitals. Completed questionnaires were received form 12 hospitals for a response rate of 60%. The followings are summary of the results. 1. The jobs dietitians at the hospitals were classified into the following 7 areas, direct patient care, indirect patient care, therapeutic patient care, education & counseling, meeting & research, delay & movement, and administration & food services. 2. The actual time spent on dietetic practice was 48.6 hours and expected labor time spent was 99.2 hours, Therefore, the proper time required to conduct classified jobs was 2.1 times higher than the time spent. Especially, the time required for performing clinical nutrition services including direct patient care, indirect patient care, therapeutic patient care was significantly higher than the time needed. 3. The average times required for the direct patient care was 1334.6min, for the indirect patient care was 796.3min, for the therapeutic patient care was 1634.5min, for the education & counseling was 265.2min, for the meeting & research was 366.7min, for the delay & movement was 327.3min, and for the administration & food services was 1170min. The staffing need indices was 12.3. As a conclusion, the standardized job descriptions for the dietitian to carry out their job at the hospital should be established. And the clinical dietitians as nutrition professionals have to be recruited to provide systematically hospitalized patients with medical nutrition therapy at each hospital.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.211-222
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• 2017

Purpose: To develop staffing levels for nursing personnel (registered nurses and nursing assistants) to provide inpatients with integrated nursing care that includes, in addition to professional nursing care, personal care previously provided by patients' families or private caregivers. Methods: A time & motion study was conducted to observe nursing care activities and the time spent by nursing personnel, families, and private caregivers in 10 medical-surgical units. The Korean Patient Classification System-1 (KPCS-1) was used for the nurse manager survey conducted to measure staffing levels and patient needs for nursing care. Results: Current nurse to patient ratios from the time-motion study and the survey study were 1:10 and 1:11, respectively. Time spent in direct patient care by nursing personnel and family/private caregivers was 51 and 130 minutes per day, respectively. Direct nursing care hours correlated with KPCS-1 scores. Nursing personnel to patient ratio required to provide integrated inpatient care ranged from 1:3.9 to 1:6.1 in tertiary hospitals and from 1:4.4 to 1:6.0 in general hospitals. The functional nursing care delivery system had been implemented in 38.5% of the nursing units. Conclusion: Findings indicate that appropriate nurse staffing and efficient nursing care delivery systems are required to provide integrated inpatient nursing care.