Horvey K, Nairn Pederson L, Bath B, St Pierre D. "The right thing for our patients": perspectives of physical therapists transitioning to a 7 day a week service in an urban acute care center in Canada.
Physiother Theory Pract 2023;
39:2377-2390. [PMID:
35587372 DOI:
10.1080/09593985.2022.2078254]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
True seven day a week acute care physical therapy (PT) coverage is rare. Our facility is one of a few in Canada that has increased weekend PT coverage on medicine units to seven days of full PT staffing levels.
OBJECTIVE
This article investigates the perspectives of physical therapists involved in the change with the focus on the emotional experiences of those therapists.
METHODS
Thematic analysis of interview and focus group transcripts with 18 physical therapist and 2 manager participants were aligned with four themes of: 1) optimism, hope and excitement; 2) frustration, guilt, and resentment; 3) fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and vulnerability; and 4) ambivalence, neutrality, and impartiality.
RESULTS
Although there were several perceived benefits to quality of care and work/life balance, participants' comments also reflected: frustration, guilt, and resentment related to the rapid implementation of the change and the impact of altered work schedules.
CONCLUSIONS
Participants emphasized the need to discuss large changes with staff prior to implementation in order to prevent frustration and resentment. Participants also felt that increased acute care PT coverage over seven days is valuable, but other allied health professions also need a proportional increase in staffing to improve hospital flow.
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