- Care hours per patient day
Care hours are related to patient requirement by dividing the numbers of registered and non-registered staffing hours by the number of patients.
- Context
The features and resources that have an impact on the success or failure of an intervention.
- Cumulation
Increasing understanding, through ongoing inquiry, of programme mechanisms, context and outcomes to increase the transferability of knowledge.
- Dashboard
A technology or tool that visually combines data relevant to nurse staffing to facilitate meaningful understanding on needs and resources.
- Data warehouse approach
The amalgamation of data relevant to nurse staffing from multiple sources within one information system.
- Establishment
The number and skill mix of staff allocated to each shift within a 24-hour period within a clinical area. This is related to the evaluation of patient requirements.
- Headroom
A staffing allowance of typically 22–25% that accounts for annual leave, sickness and other reasons for using staffing hours, such as study leave.
- LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology [© (2017) The LEGO Group, Billund, Denmark]
Within this evidence synthesis this approach was integrated within a soft systems methodology to produce models of the system of nurse workforce planning and deployment.
- Magnet organisation
An organisation characterised by a collaborative approach that seeks to promote professional development and innovation, and which places emphasis on valuing staff.
- Mechanism
How the programme resources impinge on stakeholders’ reasoning, decision-making and responses.
- Mid-range theories
Theories, located between grand theories and the day-to-day working in research, that explain phenomena.
- Outcome
The impact of the influence of context on mechanisms.
- Professional judgement
A process of reflection, integration and analysis of observable data to arrive at a decision.
- Programme theory
The hypothesis of how an intervention may work.
- RAFAELA
RAFAELA® System (Finnish Consulting Group, 20020) is the name given to a nursing intensity and staffing system. The RAFAELA system comprises the OPCq (Oulu Patient Classification Qualisan) instrument for measuring the nursing intensity, registration of the daily nursing resources and the PAONCIL (Professional Assessment of Optimal Nursing Care Intensity Level) method.
- Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards (RAMESES)
Publication standards for realist synthesis.
- Realist synthesis
A theory-driven evidence review that follows a realist approach.
- Self-rostering technology
Technology to help staff to identify when shifts are available and reserve them to work.
- Skill mix
The blend of registered and non-registered nursing staff to patient ratios. Also relates to the individual skills of nursing staff.
- Soft systems methodology
An approach to understanding different perspectives and requirements from a real-world situation.
- Technology
An electronic or web-based resource that communicates, collates or integrates data for staffing decisions.
- Tool
A resource, generally paper based, that collates or integrates data for staffing decisions. Tools may be adapted to electronic or web-based format.
- Triangulated approach
An approach to safe staffing decisions that combines evidence-based staffing tools and technology, professional judgement and comparison of data.
- UNIFY
UNIFY is the name given to a NHS England database for statistical information. A staffing data collection database that facilitates benchmarking and comparison of the staffing data of health-care organisations in England.
- @WeNurses Twitter (Twitter, Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA; www.twitter.com) chat for nurses
An online discussion forum for nurses.
- Workforce planning and deployment tools and technologies
These are used directly or indirectly to determine staffing numbers and skill mix based on patient need. They range from sophisticated technology to paper-based tools.
