Time management skills - a predictor of successful work of a nurse/technician

Vrijeme je dragocjen i nepovratan resurs, zato se prema njemu treba odnositi s jednakom odgovornošću kao i prema svakom drugom resursu. Upravljanje vremenom se može definirati kao disciplina koja podrazumijeva uporabu vremena kao rijetkog resursa, zatim kao metoda koja ima za cilj efikasnu iskorištenost vremena te kao vještina koja je potrebna u menadžerskom radu. U sestrinskom radu termin „upravljanje vremenom“ još uvijek nije dovoljno prisutan i velik broj medicinskih sestara/tehničara nema dovoljno razvijenu tu vještinu. Cilj istraživanja bio je odrediti značaj upravljanja vremenom i prikazati prisutnost pojedinih kradljivaca vremena u svakodnevnom radu medicinskih sestara/tehničara. Kvantitativno istraživanje provedeno je u Općoj bolnici Bjelovar“. Provedeno je na četiri odjela (Odjel za neurologiju, Odjel za psihijatriju, Služba za kiruršku i Služba za internističku djelatnost. Kao metoda prikupljanja podataka korištena je anketa. Standardizirani upitnici podijeljeni su medicinskim sestrama/tehničarima po odjelima u periodu od 2.travnja 2020. do 30.travnja 2020. godine. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 120 medicinskih sestara i tehničara, 100 žena i 20 muškarca u dobi od 21 do 61 godine. Od toga medicinskih sestara/tehničara opće njege 71 sudionik, prvostupnika 41 sudionik, a 8 sudionika imalo završen diplomski studij. Za statističku analizu korišten je statistički program MedCalc Statistical Software version 19.1.7 (MedCalc Software Ltd, Ostend, Belgium; https://www.medcalc.org; 2020) i SPSS (IBM Corp. Released 2013. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Kradljivci vremena su sve aktivnosti koje kontinuirano i sustavno troše vrijeme, a ne dovode do željenih ciljeva. Najučestaliji kradljivci vremena u svakodnevnom radu medicinskih sestara/tehničara su „telefon“, „papirologija“, „posjetitelji“, „bolest odgađanja“ i „sastanci“. Prisutnost kradljivca vremena „sastanci“ razlikuje se s obzirom na razinu obrazovanja i na radno mjesto medicinskih sestara/tehničara. Gledajući razliku u pojavnosti kradljivaca vremena s obzirom na djelatnost odjela, medicinskim sestrama/tehničarima na kirurškim odjelima značajno više vremena oduzimaju njih četiri: „telefon“, „posjetitelji“, „sastanci“ i „bolest odgađanja“. Kradljivce vremena nije moguće u potpunosti eliminirati, ali usvajanjem vještine upravljanja vremenom moguće ih je predvidjeti i umanjiti njihov značaj u svakodnevnom radu medicinskih sestara/tehničara. Vještina upravljanja vremenom itekako je značajna u radu medicinskih sestara/tehničara jer će ta vještina podići njihovu osobnu djelotvornost na višu razinu uz bolji pregled radnih zadataka. Zadane ciljeve moći će realizirati dosljedno i sistemski uz više slobodnog vremena i sa što manje stresa.Time is a valuable and irrecoverable resource. Therefore, it should be treated with the same amount of responsibility as with any other resource. Time management may be defined as a discipline that considers the use of time as a rare resource. Furthermore, it may be defined as a method whose objective is to assure that time is used in an efficient manner, as a skill required in managerial work, as well as a habit that is defined by means of knowledge, desire and skill. In nursing practice the term “time management” is still not present in a sufficient manner and a large number of nurses have not developed this skill to a sufficient extent. The purpose of this research was to determine the importance of time management and to present individual thieves of time in the everyday work of nurses. A quantitative research was conducted at the “General Hospital Bjelovar” at the departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and at the Surgery and Internal Medicine Services. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. Standardised questionnaires were distributed to nurses at the aforementioned departments in the period between 2nd April 2020 and 30th April 2020. This research involved 120 nurses; a total of 100 female and 20 male subjects aged between 21 and 61 years of age. The sample consisted of 71 nurses with completed secondary school education in general nursing care, 41 bachelors of nursing and 8 graduate nurses. Statistical analysis was conducted using the statistical softwares MedCalc Statistical Software version 19.1.7 (MedCalc Software Ltd, Ostend, Belgium; https://www.medcalc.org; 2020) and SPSS (IBM Corp. Released 2013. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). The most common thieves of time in the everyday work of nurses are: “the Phone”, “Paperwork”, “Visitors”, “Procrastination” and “Meetings”. The presence of the thief of time “Meetings” varies with respect to the level of education and the work position of nurses. Regarding the difference in thieves of time with respect to the department activities, as many as four thieves of time deprive nurses working at surgery departments of time: “the Phone”, “Visitors, “Meetings” and “Procrastination”. “Thieves of time” may not be completely eliminated, but by adopting time management skills it is possible to anticipate them and to reduce their significance in the everyday work of nurses. Time management skills are exceptionally important in the work of nurses, because they increase their personal efficiency to a higher level. Time management skills shall allow nurses to have a better overview of the tasks and to complete the given objectives in a consistent and systemic manner, allowing them to have more free time, to be more creative and motivated for work and to experience less stress