Journal of nursing staff development : JNSD最新文献

A competency-based orientation program provides a structured, comprehensive approach to the process of orientation. However, the program is only as good as the implementation. It is important for management, preceptors, and orientees to be knowledgeable of the details of the program and the procedures involved in the implementation process. when problems arise, it is important that all those involved solve the problems in an organized, systematic fashion.

This study investigated quality of decision making in a convenience sample of 26 registered nurses. Instruments used were the Joseph Decision Making Tool, Actual Decision Making instrument, and computer-assisted clinical simulations. Results were correlated with educational preparation, age, experience, practice area, and specialty certification. No differences among basic educational preparation with frequency of actual decision-making practices and willingness to make decisions were found. A positive correlation was found between practice area and frequency of actual decision making (r = 0.639, P < 0.001), and practice area and communication (r = 0.439, P < 0.05).

Basic components of an inservice program that concerns working with lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are presented. Staff nurses will encounter such people in every nursing specialty and will have lesbian, gay, and bisexual coworkers whether they know it or not. Inservice programs that deal with any sexuality issue must include cognitive and affective interventions, because negative or uncomfortable attitudes may have been ingrained since childhood.

When practicing nurses accept responsibility for preceptoring nursing students, they use and develop the teaching skills that are part of their professional practice. However, they need both support in the role and mentoring to develop their skills. Inservice educators and experienced preceptors often provide that support and education. Based on a qualitative study of preceptoring nurses, the author explores preceptor needs for support, the type of support required, and faculty roles in the provision of this support.

Workloads of nursing educators and nursing education departments as a whole have not always been captured accurately in the past, making it difficult to monitor and communicate resource consumption. Recognizing the need to determine an accurate Relative Value Unit in fiscally reliable terms, a Nursing Education Allocation System was developed to verify productivity and resource consumption. Standard values for each workload were established after a 6-month time study and entered into an automated allocation system. Productivity standards were then derived, making it possible to standardize measurement of workload from year to year and have good decision support data when determining staffing models in response to forecasted educational priorities.

"Certification" and "credential" are frequently used terms in nursing. How these terms are used and what they mean to nursing practice is the focus of this article. Definitions, history, and application of these concepts are explored. Recommendations are made that a hospital not assume responsibility for the granting of certification or credentials to nursing staff members. Nurses and nursing administrators are urged to support nationally recognized certification programs.

In an investigation into the retention of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) knowledge over time, the authors found that ACLS scores significantly decreased for a subgroup of a sample of 40 RNs employed in critical care areas in the first year after certification. Several variables that influenced scores were identified. Recommendations for inservice educators include reconstructing the ways in which ACLS courses are taught, conducting mock mega code scenarios every 6 months, constructing mega code scenarios that reflect the reality of practice, and routinely conducting refresher courses based on problems identified in a particular group.

In this descriptive study, the author examined the relation of work stress, hardiness, and burnout among 113 full-time hospital staff nurses. It was hypothesized that among hospital staff nurses: 1) the greater personality hardiness, the less job stress; and 2) the greater personality hardiness, the less burnout. Instruments used were Personal Views Survey, Nursing Stress Scale, and Tedium Burnout Scale. Promoting hardiness through nursing staff development programs may help manage stress and reduce burnout in the healthcare setting.