The role of physical design and informal communication

Table 13 Frequency of location by person
Location No One Patient Visitor Nurse
Person
Doctor AH Orientor GN
Med Room 48.2% 0.0% 0.0% 21.3% 0.0% 0.8% 23.7% 6.3%
Charge Desk 11.8% 0.0% 2.9% 41.2% 20.6% 2.9% 20.6% 0.0%
Corridor 37.4% 1.7% 3.9% 24.3% 2.2% 13.5% 16.1% 2.2%
Nurses Station 36.4% 0.0% 1.3% 23.2% 3.3% 11.3% 25.2% 2.3%
Patient Room 0.0% 100.0% 15.2% 10.1% 4.6% 14.3% 9.5% 1.8%
Frequency
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Med Room Charge Desk Corridor Nurses
Station
Location
Figure 32 Frequency of location by person
Patient Room
Nurse
Doctor
AH
Orientor
As table 14 and Figure 32 illustrates, 30.8% of all interactions with nurses
occurred at the nurses station 24.7% occurred in the corridor, and 23.8% occurred in
the med room. Interactions with the Orientor followed a similar pattern, with 36%
occurring at the nurses station, 28.4% occurring in the med room, and 17.5%
occurring in the corridor. Observation confirmed that interaction with nursing
assistants (included in the allied health category) often occurred either in the corridor
(27%) or at nurses station (29.6%).
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