Sykepleiernes erfaringer med bruk av sjekklister i spesialisthelsetjenesten, en kvalitativ studie

The purpose of checklists in the health care service is to ensure quality and improve patient safety. The purpose of this study was to illuminate and discuss how nurses in the specialist health service use checklists in everyday work. Qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted of eight nurses working in three departments. Content analysis guided the analysis of data. Two main categories were identified: ‘Checklists, a tool for organizing everyday work’and ‘Random implementation and use of checklists in the departments’.The nurses made professional assessments and adjustments in the patient situation on how and what to use of the points in the checklists, as well as when it was appropriate to use the checklists. They spent a lot of time on documentation related to checklists, which was at the expense of patient contact. Working conditions and at what level in the organization the checklists were prepared, had an impact on how the professionals used the checklists. Keywords: checklists, nurses, patient safety, qualitative study, special health service