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.

Time Management: Top 10 Strategies and Tips

Hey Friends, welcome back to today’s blog post where I talk about time management.

Time management is a core skill of any nurse at any level, from students, to assistants to experienced registered nurses. Nurses work shift work, on different wards and deal with different loads of stress. Juggling the workload and managing the stress is required by any nurse during their shift.

To master the stressful and busy environments, a nurse needs to promptly organise information, prioritise and learn to roll with the inevitable interruptions, to ensure care continues safely and appropriately.

Facilitating and providing safe and appropriate care can be made easier with the below time management tips. In this blog post I first discuss the main areas to focus on to improve your time management. Secondly, I outline my top 10 tips to supercharge your time management.

Time management in nursing looks at how we can safely and efficiently provide care through the prioritisation of tasks. These tasks are impacted by our time, our colleagues, other healthcare teams, the amount of patients we are attempting to provide care for and so on. I have broken down the areas that have worked for me and other students I have mentored. Let’s have a look…

Tasks and Priorities

At handover, vital information will be relayed about specific patients such as urgent lab work, strict timing of medications or increased frequency to vital sign monitoring, all of which will require you to prioritise their execution.

On the commencement of a new shift, following handover you will have a set of tasks to be completed. These tasks will vary between different patients and require completion by certain times. Therefore they will require a priority to ensure they are completed in a timely and appropriate manner.

This may seem obvious or common sense, however when you are caring for 4-8 patients, it can become challenging to deliver care to all without prioritisation and organisation.

The following strategies and tools will assist with prioritising your task during your shift.

Time Management Strategies and Tools

For years, one of the standards for managing your time is to work to a schedule. Many nurses achieve this by using a worksheet, notepad and/or pen. Nurses utilise this method by writing down important and vital information about their patient from handover and during their shift. This would then be used again throughout the shift. A notepad or basic worksheet is good, however, it is much easier to use a template.

The template for your time management sheet often begins with a simple one provided by work or your training institution. A good time management sheet has spaces for handover notes, patient details and demographics, lab work, new orders, medication times and specific other care information for that patient. Having a tool to manage your time throughout a shift is key to a smooth shift.

I have created a shift planner for you all – CLICK HERE – Shift Planner

10 Strategies & Tips to Supercharge your Time Management

1. Arrive early

That extra 5-10 minutes will give you the chance to settle in and get the vibe for the shift ahead. With this time you are able to get changed (if you need to), place your lunch in the fridge, check out your allocations and begin planning your day, all prior to handover.

2. Use a shift planner

Write things down so you can remember, organise and prioritise your work. As I mentioned above, using a shift planner is ideal to capture your shift ahead, plan and monitor the execution of your cares and to use when writing progress notes. Check out my Shift Planner – Here.

3. Prioritise

Use your own method. It is great to utilise a system which works with your shift planner. whether you tick or allocate tasks to certain times or asterisk or highlight those activities that must be completed during the shift or at specific times, ie. a wound dressing, IV antibiotics etc.

Ask yourself:

  • What am I going to do first and why?
  • Which is more important to do and why?
  • What will happen if this task is not done now or during this shift?
  • What is most important to the patient?

4. Limit distractions and factor in the interruptions

As a nurse, it’s important to avoid being distracted as this could affect your concentration and focus. Distractions cause a decrease in productivity which may cause extra stress with the workload to complete. Clinical situations occurring with other patients who you are not caring for, others staff asking for assistance, mobile phones, doctors visiting wards, all provide distractions.

You have to figure out strategies to stop these impeding your ability to do your job:

  • Do whatever it takes to put yourself “in the zone”
  • Prioritise your tasks
  • Use short breaks as outlets (if possible)

In between the distractions, you will encounter interruptions. Being adaptable and flexible while on shift is a key skill to regulate stress and the workflow. Sudden deteriorations, codes, admissions, post operative patients, doctors making rounds, relatives visiting, staff sick leave all require continuous flexibility and sometimes replanning.

5. Be organised

Having a clean, tidy and organised work area facilitates the progression of work. Have a system for your work progression and stick to it. This will facilitate flow as well as enable you to develop skills along the way.

6. Be efficient and get things right

Don’t take shortcuts and don’t guess. Be thorough with your patient care.

If you need to take an extra couple of minutes to double-check patient notes, or something you are unsure of, do it.

The consequences of an adverse event may be more than extra time.

Likewise when writing notes or handing over be concise and detailed but avoid babbling and waffling on or gossiping. Knowing what to include and what can be left out takes practice.

7. Learn how to delegate to get more done

If you’re working in pairs or a team with healthcare workers or students, allocate tasks appropriate to skill level that will allow you to complete what you need to whilst also supervising.

Make sure you delegate the right task to the right person. Be aware of others scope of practice including students. Are they student RN’s, if so, what year of study are they? They usually carry a scope of practice document with them. Check it out.

Keep communication channels open, for example clinical observations are performed so that any irregularities are reported back to you.

8. Learn to say ‘no’ and set the boundaries

This is a key skill to learn and use. You will have many competing tasks during your shift and basically one of them will be of priority and get done and the others will not. Learning when to say no ties in with prioritising your tasks.

9. Take a breath or two and a break!

Taking a few minutes out to reassess where you are at and to prioritise what needs to be done next is the best thing you can do. You cannot think clearly when in the middle of the situation. Step into the treatment or medication room and collect your thoughts and focus on what needs to be done next and for the rest of the shift.

No matter how busy the shift is, go to the toilet and take your meal breaks. You need fuel to recharge and complete your shift effectively and safely.

10. Be easy on yourself

No one likes handing over work they could have done. There will always be work left unfinished in nursing – and whether you’ve prioritised as best you can often be subjective. The emotional support you provided to a patient may have been more important than the daily wound dressing you didn’t get to. Tasks are important but remember your patient’s needs and being an advocate for yourself as well as your patients sometimes is priority.

Time management takes practice. Reflect on what worked well and what didn’t at the end of your shift and why. Sometimes things are beyond your control, however you might identify areas for improvement.

If you missed the opportunity above, Here is my Shift Planner which will help you all with developing your time management skills caring for patients on the ward.

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