The art of rewarding and retaining staff, part 3

This article is the last in a 3-part series on rewarding and retaining your staff. Part 1 focused on why people leave organizations, what makes staff want to stay, and lessons from business leaders on building a culture of retaining staff.^{1 and 2} Part 2 focused on ways to build relationships, reward and recognize staff, create flexible schedules, listen to your team, and develop action plans.^{3 and 4} This article covers creating fun in the workplace, hiring for attitude, customer service, management rounding, and the need for leadership development and education.     

The art of rewarding and retaining staff, part 2

The key for success is retention of your current staff. This article is part 2 of a 3-part series on retaining staff. Part 1, featured in the June issue, focused on why people leave organizations, what makes staff want to stay, and lessons from business leaders to build a culture to retain staff. This article focuses on building relationships, identifying ways to reward and recognize staff, reviewing flexible schedules, listening to your team, and developing action plans. Part 3 will cover creating fun in the workplace, hiring for attitude, maximizing customer service, conducting management rounding, and meeting the need for continuing education.     

Motivating and rewarding the staff nurse.

In meeting the economic and professional need for staff nurses to stay at the bedside, a system established at one medical center uses four methods to motivate and reward the staff nurse. They are: recognition and monetary reward, rural nursing experience, cross-training, and inservice participation.     

Understanding and improving airway management in companion animals - part 1

Airway Management, briefly taught within the veterinary nursing curriculum, is performed many times a day and a vital part of the anaesthesia process. Students are shown how to place an endotracheal tube, taught little about dead-space and airway resistance but, although there are many publications on the pitfalls of intubation, it is often sub-optimally managed in a busy clinic. To provide excellent, safe airway management for our patients, we must understand the history, mechanics and pitfalls about the process: It is only then can we truly apply better techniques in order to improve both care and safety to our patients.     

Body part identification in 1- to 4-year-old children

The purpose of this study was to examine the sequence in which body parts are learned and can be identified by very young children. The 101 children tested were divided into four age groups: 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds. The children were requested to point to 20 body parts on a doll. Analysis of the results indicated significant differences in the ability to identify body parts by age and sex. The greatest increase in scores occurred between the ages of 1 and 2 years, with girls achieving a slightly higher score in each age group. The percentage of subjects at each age who identified different body parts is presented, indicating the sequence in which body parts are learned.     

Body part identification in 1- to 2-year-old children

The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental sequence of body part identification in very young children, 11 to 25 months of age. In the first part of the study, 113 children, divided into five age groups (12-month-olds, 15-month-olds, 18-month-olds, 21-month-olds, and 24-month-olds), were asked to point to 20 body parts on a doll. The results indicated a positive correlation between number of parts correctly identified and increasing age. No sex differences or Sex X Age interactions were found. In the second part of the study, the difference between pointing to body parts on the self and pointing to body parts on a doll was examined in two groups of 2-year-olds. The results indicated no significant difference between the ability to point to body parts on a doll and the ability to point to body parts on the self. Factors that may contribute to the development of body part identification in 1- to 2-year-olds and the sequence in which body parts are learned are discussed. The results help provide diagnostic criteria for children with suspected delays in cognitive, language, or body scheme development.     

Effects of hospital restructuring on full time and part time nursing staff in Ontario

This study examined the effects of hospital restructuring and downsizing on full-time and part-time nursing staff. Data were collected from 1362 nursing staff, a 35% response rate, using anonymous questionnaires. Measures included personal and situational characteristics, hospital restructuring and downsizing variables, work outcomes and psychological well-being indicators, and work-family experiences. Although full and part-time nurses were significantly different on most personal and demographic characteristics, both groups experienced and described hospital restructuring and downsizing similarly. Full-time nurses reported greater emotional exhaustion and poorer health and indicated greater absenteeism and lower intention to quit.     

The safety needle switchover,part 1 of 2

The relatively new Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, which mandates implementing safer needle devices, is intended to create a safer health care work environment. Alabama's Children's Health System shares its strategy for compliance.     

The clinical use of spinal opioids,part 1

Spinal opioids are effective analgesics for surgical and non-surgical pain. Central and systemic side effects are less frequent than with epidural local anaesthetics or parenteral opioids. This review focuses on the analgesic efficacy of spinal opioids and their combination with local anaesthetics for postoperative analgesia, including patient-controlled epidural analgesia. Intrathecal administration of opioids has some advantages over their administration by the epidural route. Several factors may influence selection of the opioid; however, in most situations morphine is the drug of choice. Thoracic epidural administration of opioids seems to have no clinically important advantages over the lumbar route in terms of quality of analgesia, adverse effects, doses required or pulmonary function. However, evidence suggesting that effective postoperative analgesia can significantly improve postoperative morbidity in patients at risk is accumulating. In such patients, combined use of epidural local anaesthetics and opioids may become the technique of choice for postoperative analgesia. However, there is no evidence that this would have any clinically relevant benefit in low-risk patients.     

The utilization of knowledge of and interest in research and development among primary care staff by means of strategic communication - a staff cohort study

Objective The obvious gap between evidence and practice in health care is unfavourable for patient care and requires the promotion of a scientific attitude among health care professionals. The aim of the present study was to determine the utilization of knowledge of and interest in research and development among primary care staff by means of a strategic communication process. Method A cohort consisting of primary care staff (n = 1276) was designed and strategic communication was utilized as a platform over a 7‐year period. Quantitative and qualitative methods were taken in account. Results We found that 97% of the staff had gained knowledge of research and development, 60% of whom remained interested in the subject. The oral communication channel was the most powerful for creating research interest. Organizational culture was a barrier to interest in science. Conclusion The study demonstrates a significant increase in knowledge and interest among primary care staff as a result of a strategic communication process. Practice implications Strategic communication should lead to a more evenly distributed research commitment among all health care professionals, thus facilitating communication between them and patients in order to clarify, for example, the causes of disease.