NursingConnections最新文献

A pilot study in which faculty from nursing and English departments at two universities in different states shared a common evaluation tool and collaborated through e-mail to evaluate the evidence of critical thinking in writing portfolios of baccalaureate and masters' nursing students. Loxley's (1997) four processes--assessment, building, managing the process, and evaluating--are used as a framework for describing collaboration among the disciplines in the two universities. Social exchange theory was used to explain the collaboration between participants. All six professors learned a great deal from studying and scoring the writings, but they learned most from each other through their e-mail dialogue.

This article reports the findings of a 3-year study that assessed the job satisfaction of nursing personnel in a rural nursing center that uses a differentiated practice model. Job satisfaction was measured using the Brayfield Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, the McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Survey, and the Job Descriptive Index. A high level of job satisfaction was found across all 3 years. Factors associated with job satisfaction are also described. The findings of this study add to the growing body of literature on the importance of differentiated practice in creating satisfying work environments.

Health care reform, innovations in technology, and the need to make health care cost-effective have affected all aspects of health care practice and education. Critical thinking skills, interpersonal and communication skills, leadership and motivation skills, computer literacy, and cultural sensitivity are all capabilities nursing graduates must now possess if they are to practice effectively in the complex and competitive contexts that today define the health care marketplace. Partnerships with community agencies are essential if faculty are to prepare a new generation of nurses who will be proficient in the skills that 21st-century nursing practice will demand. Although academic institutions have made some changes to meet marketplace demands, nursing educators, practitioners, and researchers must thoroughly reconceptualize their philosophies and retool their curricula in response to these changes.

A survey of a random sample of Connecticut registered nurses' experiences with issues of ethics and human rights found a strong focus on protecting patient rights and dignity, adequacy of staffing patterns, informed consent, and respecting advance directives. Ethics committees were commonly available but were infrequently used. Participants reported high levels of ethics education but also desired more such education. The character of the issues is consistent with other studies and largely reflects conflicts over which nurses do not have independent control. Consideration is given to issues of nurses' moral agency in health care organizations.

Collaboration between community nurses and nurses from a university who conducted focus groups is discussed. The focus groups explored why low-income, inner-city, white women of childbearing age did not abuse drugs. This partnership effort resulted in positive, successful outcomes for both groups of nurses and yielded culturally sensitive information that may be useful in preventing substance abuse. Methods of facilitating this collaboration and results of our joint endeavors are explored.

Senior baccalaureate nursing students (N = 10) just weeks away from graduation volunteered to participate in a concentrated clinical experience being offered at a large urban medical center new to them. Students worked with a preceptor for five consecutive 8-hour evening shifts on one of four general medical-surgical units, a pediatric unit, or an ambulatory surgery unit. Students lived in the hospital in available patient rooms for that week. A week after the experience, students participated in a focus group designed to elicit feedback about their experiences. Content analysis revealed that the two major categories that comprised the Crystallization of the Professional Self were (1) validating professional identity and (2) viewing the culture of work. This consolidated experience resulted in changes in self-image and in role expectations.

What do we do with a stress level that is high in many areas of our life? How do nurses cope without becoming ill themselves? We look at the literature for documented causes of the stress that seems to pervade the workplace and for strategies that will help us to function as healthy human beings.