Mastering Time Management in Nursing: Using the CURE Tool to Prioritise Critical, Urgent, Routine, and Extra Tasks
In nursing, time management is essential to providing quality care to patients.
One valuable tool that can help you prioritise tasks and manage your time effectively is the CURE tool.
CURE stands for Critical, Urgent, Routine, and Extra tasks.
With this framework, you can organise your work and focus on getting the most important tasks done first.
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🚨Critical
Critical tasks are those that are essential to patient care and safety. They require immediate attention and should be your top priority.
Examples of critical nursing tasks may include:
- Administering medications to a patient experiencing a life-threatening reaction
- Responding to a patient who has stopped breathing and performing CPR
- Assessing and managing a patient who is experiencing a rapid decline in health status
- Responding to a patient who has fallen and is showing signs of a head injury
🤔Urgent
Urgent tasks are those that have a deadline or need to be done quickly but are not life-threatening. They require prompt attention and should be completed after critical tasks.
Examples of urgent tasks include preparing a patient for surgery, completing documentation, and responding to a patient’s call light.
Examples of urgent nursing tasks may include:
- Administering medications on time to ensure the patient’s pain is managed effectively
- Assisting a patient who is experiencing shortness of breath
- Responding to a patient who has pressed the call bell to ask for help with using the bathroom
⌚️Routine
Routine tasks are those that are done on a regular basis but do not require immediate attention, such as taking vital signs or performing a bed bath. While these tasks are important, they are not as critical or urgent as other tasks. Routine tasks should be completed after critical and urgent tasks.
Examples of routine nursing tasks may include:
- Performing daily patient assessments to monitor for changes in health status
- Administering medications at scheduled times (excluding medications for pain/diabetes, these would be urgent)
- Assisting patients with activities of daily living such as bathing and dressing
- Documenting patient care in the electronic health record
🥱Extras
Extra tasks are those that are not essential but may be helpful. Examples of extra tasks include restocking supplies, organizing a patient’s room, and completing non-urgent paperwork. These tasks should be completed last if time allows.
Examples of extra nursing tasks may include:
- Attending staff meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations
- Participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency
- Completing administrative tasks such as ordering supplies and completing paperwork
- Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient care and safety
Example of the CURE tool used in the Emergency Department
Applying the CURE tool in a practical scenario:
You are a nurse working in a hospital’s emergency department. You have four patients assigned to you, and each has different needs. One patient is experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath, another patient requires a dressing change for a wound, a third patient needs a medication refill, and the fourth patient needs assistance with using the bathroom.
Using the CURE tool, you would identify the chest pain patient’s care as critical and attend to them immediately. Next, you would treat the patient who requires a dressing change as urgent to prevent an infection. Afterwards, you would attend to the medication refill for the third patient, as it has a deadline. Finally, you would assist the fourth patient in using the bathroom, which is a routine task.
Overall, using the CURE tool can help you prioritise your tasks effectively and manage your time wisely. By doing so, you can provide better patient care, reduce stress, and prevent burnout. Remember, critical tasks are always your top priority, followed by urgent tasks, routine tasks, and extra tasks last.
🤩 Download Your Copy Of CURE
Examples of CURE
Intensive Care
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing cardiac arrest, managing a patient who is experiencing sepsis or septic shock, performing interventions to manage a patient with a rapidly deteriorating condition, and managing a patient with a compromised airway.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s blood pressure or oxygen saturation, responding to alarms or changes in vital signs, and assisting with procedures such as inserting a central line or changing a ventilator setting.
- Routine tasks: Assessing and monitoring patients, administering medications on schedule, performing daily patient care tasks, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in multidisciplinary rounds and care conferences, participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, and attending unit meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations.
Emergency
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing a life-threatening allergic reaction, performing CPR on a patient who has gone into cardiac arrest, managing a patient who has experienced a traumatic injury, and responding to a patient who is experiencing an acute asthma attack.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or anxiety, performing triage assessments to determine the severity of patients’ conditions, and responding to a patient who has sustained a minor injury and requires urgent care.
- Routine tasks: Assessing and monitoring patients, performing wound care and other routine interventions, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
Anaesthesia
- Critical tasks: Monitoring a patient’s vital signs during surgery, responding to a patient who is experiencing a complication related to anaesthesia, and managing a patient who is experiencing an adverse reaction to medications.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or anxiety, responding to changes in a patient’s condition during surgery, and assisting with procedures such as intubation or insertion of a central line.
- Routine tasks: Preparing patients for surgery, assessing and monitoring patients before and after surgery, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
PACU
- Critical tasks: Managing a patient who is experiencing postoperative complications, and responding to a patient who is experiencing respiratory distress or other urgent issues after surgery.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or nausea, monitoring patients for postoperative complications such as bleeding or infection, and responding to changes in a patient’s condition after surgery.
- Routine tasks: Assessing and monitoring patients, providing wound care and other routine interventions, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
Surgical
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing a life-threatening complication during surgery, managing a patient who is experiencing hemorrhage or other urgent issues during surgery, and performing emergency procedures such as chest tube insertion.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or anxiety, preparing patients for surgery, and assisting with procedures such as wound closure or insertion of a urinary catheter.
- Routine tasks: Assessing and monitoring patients, providing wound care and other routine interventions, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
Mental Health
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing suicidal ideation or intent, managing a patient who is experiencing a psychotic episode or severe agitation, and responding to a patient who is experiencing a medical emergency while in a mental health crisis.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s anxiety or agitation, responding to patients who require crisis intervention or de-escalation, and monitoring patients for adverse medication effects or changes in mental status.
- Routine tasks: Conducting patient assessments, administering medications as prescribed, facilitating group therapy or other therapeutic interventions, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
Community
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing a medical emergency, managing a patient who is experiencing a sudden decline in health status, and responding to a patient who has sustained an injury or acute illness while at home.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or other symptoms, responding to patients who require urgent medical attention, and providing education and support to patients and families.
- Routine tasks: Conducting patient assessments, providing wound care and other routine interventions, administering medications as prescribed, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and community health initiatives, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
Medical
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, managing a patient who is experiencing sepsis or other acute medical conditions, and performing emergency procedures such as intubation or chest tube insertion.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or other symptoms, responding to patients who require urgent medical attention, and monitoring patients for adverse medication effects or changes in health status.
- Routine tasks: Conducting patient assessments, administering medications as prescribed, providing wound care and other routine interventions, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
General Practice
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, managing a patient who is experiencing a sudden decline in health status, and performing emergency procedures such as CPR or defibrillation.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or other symptoms, responding to patients who require urgent medical attention, and providing education and support to patients and families.
- Routine tasks: Conducting patient assessments, administering medications as prescribed, providing wound care and other routine interventions, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency.
Aged Care
- Critical tasks: Responding to a patient who is experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, managing a patient who is experiencing a sudden decline in health status, and performing emergency procedures such as CPR or defibrillation.
- Urgent tasks: Administering medications to manage a patient’s pain or other symptoms, responding to patients who require urgent medical attention, and providing education and support to patients and families.
- Routine tasks: Conducting patient assessments, administering medications as prescribed, providing wound care and other routine interventions, and documenting patient care in the electronic health record.
- Extra tasks: Participating in quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes, attending meetings to discuss patient care and unit operations, and participating in continuing education activities to maintain nursing licensure and competency. Additionally, some specific nursing tasks may include assisting patients with activities of daily living such as dressing and bathing, monitoring for changes in cognitive function and mental status, and communicating with family members and other healthcare providers to ensure comprehensive and coordinated care.