Application of Systems Engineering Science to the Healthcare Environment

This Doctoral dissertation consists of a research portfolio examining the application of systems engineering techniques to the healthcare environment. The portfolio consists of three final publishable articles submitted to meet the program requirements for the, Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing degree from the University of San Diego, Hahn school of Nursing and Health Sciences. Article one is titled; Use of a bed projection tool to predict ICU bed needs. This article describes the dissertation research study in which a bed projection tool was piloted on an ICU unit to determine the tool\u27s ability to predict inpatient bed requirements. Article 2 is titled; Reducing Disruptive Communication in the Health Care Setting: Use of the Crew Resource Model (CRM). Crew resource is a human factor-engineering model that creates uniform team roles and communication structure. This article advocates the use of this model to assist in dealing with disruptive behaviors by healthcare team professionals. The article advocates the use of the CRM model for meeting the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation requirement for organization\u27s in which a plan is implemented for dealing with disruptive communication in the health care environment (by health care team professionals). Article 3 is titled; Application of systems engineering to the hospital environment; has the time for a Nurse Engineer role arrived? This article describes the evolution of systems engineering as a discipline and its historical application. The article stresses the need for Nurses to acquire an engineering skill set in order to participate in the redesign of clinical health systems, which will ensure efficiency and patient safety