Measuring the Work Relative Value of Common Nursing Items for the General Departments of Tertiary Hospitals: A Descriptive Study

This study aims to evaluate the workload of clinical nurses by measuring the work relative value (work RVU) of common nursing items based on the resource-based relative value scale in China. Various single measurements have been employed to measure the nursing workload, but no comprehensive method has yet to be developed in China. A descriptive study was conducted to construct a common item set for nursing work in general wards on the basis of the 2019 History Information System nursing database from Class A tertiary hospitals to identify the time associated with each service. Data cleaning methods, expert consensus meetings, observational methods, Delphi consensus methods and the analytic hierarchy processes were employed. A common item set for nursing work was established, which contained 2 first-level indexes, 8 secondary-level indexes and 79 third-level indexes. The average working hours of the common items ranged from 1.38 to 23.76 min. The top three nursing items identified were: extra large dressing change, cleaning enema, and nasal feeding catheterization. The common nursing items used in general wards were universal. The work RVU of common items comprehensively evaluates clinical nurses' workload, which can better meet the needs of management. The work RVU of common items will facilitate effective and comprehensive allocation of nursing human resources and performance assessment. We have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines and named the reporting method.