Defense Date
7-16-2020
Graduation Date
Summer 8-8-2020
Submission Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program
School
School of Nursing
Faculty Mentor
Catherine Johnson, PhD, FNP, PNP
Committee Member
Denise Lucas, PhD, FNP, CRNP
Committee Member
Mary Kay Loughran, MHA, DNP, RN
Committee Member
Manjulata Evatt, DNP, RN, CMSRN
Committee Member
Frank Kosnosky, DNP, RNC, CRNP, NNP, FNP
Committee Member
Mary Ellen Glasgow, PhD, RN, FAAN
Keywords
workload, workload measurement, clinical trials, clinical research coordinator, clinical research nurse, skill-mix
Abstract
As the demands for the conduct of clinical trials rise, it becomes increasingly important to establish a quantitative means of estimating the appropriate staffing resource to coordinate trial related activities. There has been a limited amount of research conducted to evaluate methods or tools to measure workload in the clinical trial setting. A literature search revealed a gap in the literature about tools used to measure workload and its impact on clinical trial performance and job satisfaction. The aim of this pilot project was to test the Ontario Protocol Assessment Level (OPAL) complexity rating tool in generating quantitative measurements of workload for the purpose of assessing operational efficiencies and identifying opportunities for process improvement changes. The pilot project was conducted in a clinical trials unit consisting of clinical research nurses (CRN), clinical research coordinators (CRC) and research managers who participated in the project implementation. Concepts from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Model for Improvement and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) were used to guide project implementation and Lean principles for the interpretation of data findings. The findings from the data showed that OPAL can be used as a quantitative means to measure workload, and to assess factors affecting operational efficiencies.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Lledo, Lester Rey RN, CRNP, DNP; Johnson, Catherine FNP, PNP, PhD; Chew, Anne PhD; Gilmore, Joan BS; Dengel, Karen BSN; and Anderson, Jane MS, "A Measure to Determine Acceptable Workload for Increasing Operational Efficiencies for the Conduct of Clinical Trials" (2020). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Manuscripts. 1.
https://dsc.duq.edu/dnp/1