According to Armony et al. (2013), step down units or progressive care units are adjunctions between the surgical wards and the intensive care units. In these units, the ratio of nurses to patients tend to be higher since the patients require intensive care and full-time attention. Working in such a condition is critical and may result in a high level of stress. However, working in intermediate care units require a high level of concentration to minimize human errors in patients.
Since the inception of a step-down unit in hospitals (SDU), a lot of demand has been witnessed from patients who need intensive care but keen on cutting the higher costs of the intensive care units (ICU). As a result, a lot of hospitals that have already set up SDUs are facing uncertainties on how to manage these units. A study by Armony et al. (2013) recommended that the optimal number of nurses should be deployed to address the steady flow of patients into these units. According to the study, nurses play an integral role in these units by ensuring well being of patients.
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Another survey by Hala et al. (2012), found out that nurses working at both public and private hospitals suffer from depression and stress. Hence, numerous errors in patients in critical conditions have been reported. The study, therefore, recommends that nurses who are working in SDUs should be properly trained on how to manage stress at the workplace. In addition, it urges hospital managers to pay attention to nurses concerns and design a work schedule that is convenient to reduce stress.
References
Sayed, H., & Ibrahim, M. M. (2012). Stressors among nursing staff working in intensive care unit in governmental & non-governmental hospitals at Makkah Al-Moukarramah, KSA. Journal of American Science, 8(6), 25-31.
Armony, M., Chan, C. W., & Zhu, B. (2013). Critical care in hospitals: When to introduce a step-down unit. Product Oper Manag.
