There is a growing body of evidence that correlates inadequate nurse-to-patient ratios and adverse clinical outcomes. In addition, operational failures and inefficient processes within hospitals oftentimes prevent nursing staff from providing optimal care for patients. This session will describe how teams in the Transforming Care at the Bedside initiative are utilizing strategies from Toyota Production Systems ("lean" principles) to redesign work processes on medical and surgical units to increase the time nurses spend in direct patient care activities.

      After this presentation you will be able to:

• Describe the conceptual framework, design targets, measures and strategies to eliminate waste and create value-added care processes on medical and surgical units.
• Identify high leverage changes to design a more optimal work environment and value-added care processes on medical and surgical units.
• Give examples of how lean principles applied to medical-surgical units can lead to increased time in direct patient care for nursing staff.