Recruitment and retention of nurses: challenges facing hospital and community employers

Understanding nurses' perceptions of their workplaces underpins successful recruitment and retention initiatives, particularly in this time of global nursing shortage. The American Nurses Association and the American Academy of Nursing have identified "magnet characteristics"--organizational factors that support excellent practice and working conditions in hospital settings. Using selected magnet characteristics, this exploratory study examined nurses' perceptions of their work experiences in both hospital and community settings. Mail surveys were completed by community and hospital nurses (n = 1248) selected randomly from a provincial registry in Ontario, Canada. Scales measured organizational factors (organizational and immediate supervisor support, decentralized decision-making, nurse-physician relationships and work-group cohesiveness) and job-related factors (autonomy, job challenge, work demands, fair treatment, work-status congruence; satisfaction with career, salary, working conditions) of nurses' experiences in their work settings. Nurses in both sectors wanted more opportunities to participate in decision-making and recognition for their contributions to their organizations. In the hospital sector, nurses reported significantly lower levels of perceived organizational and supervisory support and autonomy, and were less satisfied with working conditions and scheduling. Nurses in the community sector were most dissatisfied with salary. No cross-sector differences were reported on nurse-physician relationships, degree of job challenge or career satisfaction. Successful recruitment and retention initiatives hinge on the ability (and willingness) of healthcare organizations to attend to the concerns expressed by nurses and create work settings that are attractive to both new recruits and nurses currently in their employ.     

Learning group: facilitating the adaptation of new nurses to the specialty unit

BACKGROUND: The nursing shortage creates major problems in finding qualified, experienced nurses in the critical care area. METHOD: A learning group was formed to expedite the new nurses' acquisition of skills and knowledge needed to care for critical care patients. RESULTS: After 4 months of continuing education provided in the learning group, all group members had demonstrated their interest in learning. They also had demonstrated they were able to perform different procedures and skills according to the standards listed in the trauma intensive care unit nurses' manual. CONCLUSION: The learning group is able to facilitate quicker adaptation and smoother transition of new nurses to the trauma intensive care unit. The continuing education provided by the learning group demonstrated support from the workplace and peers to the new nurses.     

Dying in an acute hospital setting: the challenges and solutions

More than half of all UK deaths occur in hospital, yet evidence suggests that the quality of inpatient end of life care is suboptimal at best. Over half of all NHS complaints pertain to problems with care in the dying phase, particularly with regard to poor communication. This is a hugely topical area following the recent publication of the Department of Health’s End of Life Care Strategy. With reference to current literature, we seek to investigate the challenges associated with providing ‘a good death’ in hospital and construct a framework of strategies for improvement; including communication skills training, use of integrated care pathways, advance planning, educational initiatives and the role of the palliative care team.     

基层护士药物治疗知识掌握情况的调查分析

目的：了解基层医院护士对药物治疗知识的掌握情况.方法：采用自设调查表，对该院115名临床护士进行有关药物治疗知识的调查。结果：32．2％的护士对药物知识的重要性认识不足；对药物知识掌握不合格的占27．0％，一般的占63．4％；良好的占9．6％；认为参加专题讲座可获取药物知识的占7．8％。92．2％的人从未参加过专题教育，其他方式占33．3％；药物的药理作用、不良反应、配伍禁忌、药品保管等知识掌握较差。结论：转变观念，提高对药物知识的认识，强化基层护士用药知识再教育；开展多样化的药物知识培训；重视药物知识施教的针对性，将之作为基层医院护理教育的新内容。     

Job satisfaction of registered nurses working in an acute hospital

The links between job satisfaction and the retention of nurses are well established in the literature. Given the current difficulties experienced by the NHS in recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of nurses, the need to understand how satisfied nurses are in their jobs becomes clear. This study set out to measure the job satisfaction of registered nurses working in adult acute medical and surgical specialties using the Mueller McCloskey (1990) Satisfaction Scale, a 31-item Likert questionnaire. Data were collected from 141 E-grade nurses working in a ward environment. In addition to providing a general outline of reported job satisfaction, the findings of this study identify key areas of reported job satisfaction around peer socialization and dissatisfaction with childcare facilities and control over work conditions. Based on these findings, recommendations are made that may affect positively nurse retention and suggestions put forward for future use of the Mueller McCloskey Satisfaction Scale.     

新护士临床初期面临的压力与挑战

目的　探讨新护士在临床初期面对的压力和情感经历。方法　对98名新护士进行了PaganaKD临床压力问卷(CSQ)调查。结果　最突出的压力和情感体验是无信心、发生差错、焦虑、喘不过气等,各因子分高于PaganaKD常模分。结论　有助于管理者、指导者、合作伙伴了解和解决这些问题