A data-integrated nurse activity simulation model

This research develops a data-integrated approach for constructing simulation models based on a real data set provided by Baylor Regional Medical Center (Baylor) in Grapevine, Texas. Tree-based models and kernel density estimation were utilized to extract important knowledge from the data for the simulation. Classification and Regression Tree model, a data mining tool for prediction and classification, was used to develop two tree structures: (a) a regression tree, from which the amount of time a nurse spends in a location is predicted based on factors, such as the primary diagnosis of a patient and the type of nurse; and (b) a classification tree, from which transition probabilities for nurse movements are determined. Kernel density estimation is used to estimate the continuous distribution for the amount of time a nurse spends in a location. Merits of using our approach for Baylor's nurse activity simulation are discussed.