Temporal reference frameworks and nurses' work organization

Drawing on a qualitative study exploring registered nurses' time management in health care institutions in the United Kingdom, this article reports the findings of the research, as far as they relate to the notion of temporal reference frameworks. The research suggests that temporal reference frameworks function to form background expectancies, which are of major influence in the way in which registered nurses manage their time. Temporal reference frameworks are usually implicit, socially constructed and give meaning to nurses' experiences of time. As such, they act to underpin practical knowledge and to function as time controls. Existing at different levels-individual, team and organizational-the article provides a focus as to how the temporal reference frameworks can match and relate with each other, or clash and as such be a source of conflict and tension.