Centralized to hybrid nurse station: Communication and teamwork among nursing staff

Abstract

The initiative to redesign nurses' stations is driven by the goals to improve work processes and ensure a safe environment. Both centralized and decentralized stations have posed challenges in meeting the needs of patients and nurses. A hybrid design model connecting the decentralized stations with centralized meeting spaces may address the needs of patients; however, since nurses continue to work in their independent spaces, communication and teamwork among nurses may be impeded. Until recently little attention has been paid to nurses’ lived experience at the hybrid station. This qualitative phenomenological study examined nurses’ experiences with communication and teamwork at the hybrid station and their reports of the advantages and disadvantages of the hybrid station. Twenty interviews were completed with nursing staff members who were undergoing a transition, over the course of two years, from the centralized design to the hybrid station design. Although nursing staff reported experiencing the challenge of isolation, they consistently identified the following advantages: patient-centered interactions at the hybrid station, and learning to work as a team. Overall, participants reported that the advantages of the hybrid station outweighed the disadvantages. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce the nurses’ feelings of isolation and to support teamwork.