| The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine what independent and dependent care activities were being provided to patients at various percent service level. A further purpose was to determine what the changes were in independent and dependent nursing care activities at various ranges of service level. A Nursing Productivity framework according to Jelinek and Dennis (1976) served as the conceptual framework for this study. An observational work measurement sampling technique was utilized to collect data over sixteen day and afternoon shifts. The sample consisted of 70 caregivers and 256 patients and sampling took place on three Medical nursing units. A one way analysis of variance ($rho <$.01) indicated that dependent care, that is, care driven by physician's orders, does not change significantly at varying service levels. There is a significant difference in independent care, that is, care driven by nursing interventions, at varying service levels. Findings of this study have diverse implications for administrative and professional nursing practice. |
