Hospital Employees’ Perceptions of Being Swamped

The concept of being swamped was first described by nurses in a study about hospital nurses’ perceptions of human factors that can contribute to errors by nurses. Being swamped occurs when providers have so much to do that they cannot focus well enough to establish priorities and choose the most important task at hand. In previous studies, being swamped was found to be a primary reason for nurses to make errors. The purpose of this nonexperimental, descriptive study was to explore the experience of swamping in the clinical setting in multiple work units and roles. A survey was developed and tested and data were collected during the fall of 2018. The 13-question survey was distributed via email to employees and providers with inpatient privileges in four large community-based hospitals. Survey findings were evaluated using both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods. A total of 814 participants completed the survey. Only 3.8% of participants noted that they are never swamped, while 11.8% noted that they feel swamped on a daily basis. According to participants, an increase in being swamped leads to missed care, errors, turnover, and delays in care. Being swamped may influence patient satisfaction scores impacting reimbursement and nationally reported data and may result in high turnover because staff feel discouraged and leave.