Workload in the nursing consultation to the person with diabetes mellitus: preliminary study

Introduction and objectives: Evaluating the activities developed in the consultation and determining the associated workload becomes relevant insofar as it influences safety and the quality of care. The purpose of this study was to identify the assistance and non-assistance activities carried out within the scope of the consultation; determine the execution time of the performed activities and set the average time of the consultation. Methodology: An exploratory descriptive study of quantitative nature was carried out. 16 primary health care nurses of 3 health units participated in the study. The instrument evaluates three dimensions: sociodemographic characterization of the clients, nursing and non-care nursing activity that integrates the previously defined categories and actions and socio-professional characterization of the nurse. The study was carried out between February and May 2018. Data was processed using SPSS25®. Results and discussion: 103 nursing consultations were performed. It was identified that the most accomplished assistance activities belonged to the evaluation and health education categories. The documented non-care activities were the reception of the patient; infection control procedures and documentation of the provided care. The mean time of consultation was 24 minutes, the maximum time was 76,6m and the minimum time was 7, 91 m. Conclusion: Identifying what activities were carried out and determining the associated workload allows us to know what work is being done and its implications in the provided care.