Constrained nursing: Nurses’ and assistant nurses’ experiences working in a child and adolescent psychiatric ward

The role of nurses and nursing in CAP inpatient care is unclear, and nurses are at risk of moral distress due to having to deal with complex demands while lacking organizational support. This study aimed to describe nurses’ and assistant nurses’ experiences working in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient care. Eight nurses and seven assistant nurses working in a child and adolescent ward in Sweden participated in the study. Data were collected in 2019 using semi-structured qualitative interviews and subject to qualitative content analysis. Results describe nurses’ and assistant nurses’ experiences of child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient care in one theme, Constrained nursing, and four categories: Striving to be there for children and parents; Finding a way to manage work; Depending on others; Lacking nursing leadership. Findings suggest that good, person-centred and recovery-oriented nursing practice can exist in CAP inpatient care but remain unrecognized and lacking support due to unclear roles and responsibilities and lack of nursing leadership. This study is reported in accordance with the COREQ guidelines.     

The content of advocacy in procedural pain care – patients’ and nurses’ perspectives

Title. The content of advocacy in procedural pain care ‐ patient’ and nurses’ Perspectives. Aim. This paper is a report of an exploration of the content of nursing advocacy from the point of view of patients and nurses in the context of procedural pain care. Background. Nursing advocacy is every nurse’s professional duty, grounded in patients’ legal and moral rights. Nevertheless, earlier research has approached advocacy as a whistle‐blowing event from the nurse’s perspective. Method. This cross‐sectional study was conducted with a cluster sample of otolaryngology patients (n = 405) and nurses (n = 118) in 11 hospital units in Finland during 2007. The data were collected using an instrument measuring the content of advocacy and analysed statistically. Results. Advocacy in procedural pain care is a process which takes place in the patient–nurse relationship through role identification in decision‐making about pain care. This prompts counselling and responding activities, which in turn lead to some degree of empowerment on the part of both patient and nurse. However, advocacy is partly dependent on the nurse’s own role identification: in the context of pain care it seems that the nurse’s pain care skills and influence over pain care plans are important factors in the decision to advocate or not. At best, patients have some role in decision‐making about their care; at worst, they are subjected to paternalism. Conclusions. Advocacy is an integral part of the nursing care process. It is important that this key ethical aspect of professional nursing is discussed in nursing education and systematically applied in nursing practice through on‐the‐job training, feedback and collaboration.     

Service quality in hospital wards with different nursing organization: nurses' ratings

Title. Service quality in hospital wards with different nursing organization: nurses’ ratings. Aim. This paper is a report of a study to assess: (1) the relations between nursing organization models in hospital wards and nurses’ perception of the quality of patient care and dimensions of the practice environment, and (2) if these relations were modified by variations in local conditions at the ward level. Background. Previous literature is inconclusive concerning what model of nursing organization maximizes the quality of nursing services. Method. A cross‐sectional survey was carried out in a representative sample of Norwegian hospital wards in 2005. Intra‐ward organization models were classified as: (1) Team leader (n = 30), characterized by extensive responsibilities for team leaders, (2) Primary nurse (n = 18), with extensive responsibilities for named nurses, and (3) Hybrid (n = 37), (1) and (2) combined. We prepared multilevel regression models using scales describing quality of patient care, learning climate, job satisfaction, and relationships with physicians as dependent variables. As independent variables, we used variables representing local ward conditions. Results. Eighty‐seven wards and 1137 nurses (55% response rate) provided complete data. The ward level proportion of variance ranged from 0·10 (job satisfaction) to 0·22 (relationships with physicians). The univariate effect of organization models on quality ratings was not statistically significant. Introducing local ward conditions led to a statistically significant effect of primary nurse organization on relationships with physicians, and to a substantial proportional reduction in ward level variance, ranging from 32% (quality of patient care) to 24% (learning climate). Conclusion. Caution is needed about using service quality arguments when considering the possible benefits and drawbacks of different organizational models.     

Nursing education in China: past, present and future

wong f.k.y. & zhao y. (2012) Journal of Nursing Management 20, 38–44
Nursing education in China: past, present and future Aim To describe the development of nursing education in the past, present and future in China. Background The development of nursing education in China is closely tied with the country’s wider context, including the social, political and economic environment. Evaluation The source of information includes published materials accessible to the public and the authors’ knowledge as content experts of the nursing situation in China. Key issues Nursing in China is developing rapidly particularly in the last decade in quantity and quality terms. The education development of nursing is in line with the service development which aims at client-centred care adopting a holistic approach caring for clients at the preventive, curative and rehabilitative levels. Conclusions Nursing education in China, both at the pre-registration and post-registration level, plays a key role in building a strong team of nurses to fulfil the health mission of the country. Implications for nursing management Managers in nursing education need to continuously revise the curriculum to produce nurses who meet societal needs at present and for the future. At the same time, nurse managers in the service need to make best use of these nursing talents according to the nurses’ competence and educational levels.     

Empowering a safer practice: PDAs are integral tools for nursing and health care

hudson k. & buell v. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management  19 , 400–406
Empowering a safer practice: PDAs are integral tools for nursing and health care Aim This study’s purpose was to assess the characteristics of personal digital assistant (PDA) uptake and use in both clinical and classroom work for baccalaureate student nurses (BSN) within a rural Texas university. Background Patient care has become more complicated, risk prone, automated and costly. Efficiencies at the bedside are needed to continue to provide safe and successful within this environment. Method Purposive sample of nursing students using PDAs throughout their educational processes, conducted at three campus sites. The initial sample size was 105 students, followed by 94 students at end of the first semester and 75 students at curriculum completion at the end of a 2-year period. Students completed structured and open-ended questions to assess their perspectives on PDA usage. Results Student uptake varied in relation to overall competency, with minimal to high utilization noted, and was influenced by the current product costs. Conclusions PDAs are developing into useful clinical tools by providing quick and important information for safer care. Implications for nursing management Using bedside PDAs effectively assists with maintaining patient safety, efficiency of care delivery and staff satisfaction. This study evaluates the initial implementation of PDAs by students, our future multitasking nurses.     

Supportive leadership in Swedish community night nursing

gustafsson c., fagerberg i. & asp m. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management 18, 822–831
Supportive leadership in Swedish community night nursing Aim The aim of the present study was to examine the support night nurses’ give to staff in community night nursing. Background Studies have shown that support given to staff is one of night registered nurses’ (RNs’) experiences of the meaning of caring. This support, that community RNs display for staff in night-time care, is sparsely described. Methods All community night-duty nurses in a medium-sized municipal in Sweden participated in the present study. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data from observations. Results The support given by RNs to staff is described using three themes: (1) a conditional supporting stance, (2) preparing propitious conditions for caring and (3) confidence in the abilities of individual staff members and adaptation to their individual needs. The results reveal that RNs consider support to staff in terms of nursing leadership. Conclusions Out of ‘concern for the staff’ the RNs try to be there for them, which corresponds to nursing leadership. Such concern also arises from the RNs’ awareness that by giving support to staff this affects the staffs’ caring for older people. Implications for nursing management The current municipal social care organization of community nursing of older people in which RNs have extensive responsibilities with insufficient control, is a working condition with a risk for decreased quality of care and a high risk for work-related stress syndrome.     

The development and implementation of a clinical skills matrix to plan and monitor palliative care nurses' skills

AimTo develop and implement a region wide skills matrix for palliative care and district nurses in rural Victoria in order to identify and address individual learning needs and appropriate professional development strategies based on the Australian National Palliative Care Standards. This study is the first in a series of papers discussing and evaluating the development and implementation of a skills matrix. Future papers will report on participants’ data reporting.MethodsThe development and implementation of a skills matrix for palliative care nurses was based on using several evidence-based strategies involving four main stages. There were: stakeholder consultation, collaboration, consolidation and implementation. The initial stage of development of the matrix involved consultation with regional stakeholders to establish and refine the project objectives. The second stage involved collection of information from regional stakeholders; brainstorming and discussion of the technical skills required for palliative care and the cross over with district nursing. The third stage involved a facilitated process whereby action plans were devised and the final stage involved a plan for the survey dissemination and evaluation of the training needs.Other evidence-based strategies used were Benner’s theoretical model of clinical competence, the Australian National Palliative Care Standards and the triple C model of project implementation.ResultsThis study reported on the development and implementation of a self-assessment of competencies skills matrix for nurses working in palliative care based on the Australian National Standards of palliative care used by services.The matrix included all the aspects covered by the Australian National Palliative Care Standards and mapped them to various competencies using Benner’s model ranging from novice to expert. The availability of a skills matrix tool to self-assess is important to keep track of the clinical competencies gained by palliative care nurses. Targeted educational interventions identified by the skills matrix have the potential to improve quality of care provided in the palliative care setting.ConclusionThe successful development and implementation of the palliative skills matrix across the Gippsland region relied on using several evidence-based strategies to standardise the competencies across the palliative care setting in rural Victoria, Australia. Examples of these strategies included using Benner’s theoretical competency model, the Australian National Palliative Standards and the triple C model, which included stakeholders’ consultation, collaboration and consolidation.     

Nurse strategies for optimising patient participation in nursing care

The study’s rationale: Patient participation is an essential factor in nursing care and medical treatment and a legal right in many countries. Despite this, patients have experienced insufficient participation, inattention and neglect regarding their problems and may respond with dependence, passivity or taciturnity. Accordingly, nurses strategies for optimising patient participation in nursing care is an important question for the nursing profession. Aim and objective: The aim was to explore Registered Nurses’ strategies to stimulate and optimise patient participation in nursing care. The objective was to identify ward nurses’ supporting practices. Methodological design and justification: A qualitative research approach was applied. Three focus groups with experienced Registered Nurses providing inpatient somatic care (n = 16) were carried out. These nurses were recruited from three hospitals in West Sweden. The data were analysed using content analysis technique. Ethical issues and approval: The ethics of scientific work was adhered to. According to national Swedish legislation, no formal permit from an ethics committee was required. The participants gave informed consent after verbal and written information. Results: Nurse strategies for optimising patient participation in nursing care were identified as three categories: ‘Building close co‐operation’, ‘Getting to know the person’ and ‘Reinforcing self‐care capacity’ and their 10 subcategories. Conclusions: The strategies point to a process of emancipation of the patient’s potential by finding his/her own inherent knowledge, values, motivation and goals and linking these to actions. Nurses need to strive for guiding the patient towards attaining meaningful experiences, discoveries, learning and development. The strategies are important and useful to balance the asymmetry in the nurse–patient relationship in daily nursing practice and also in quality assurance to evaluate and improve patient participation and in education. However, further verification of the findings is recommended by means of replication or other studies in different clinical settings.     

Care providers’ perceptions of the importance of oral care and its performance within everyday caregiving for nursing home residents with dementia

Scand J Caring Sci; 2011; 25; 92–99
Care providers’ perceptions of the importance of oral care and its performance within everyday caregiving for nursing home residents with dementia Background: The oral caregiving in nursing homes for persons with dementia often becomes complicated due to the patients’ lack of compliance, which in turn can result in giving oral care a low priority in daily care. Furthermore, directives for responsibilities are unclear. Objective: The aim of this article was to describe care providers’ perception of and reasoning for the oral care for nursing home residents with dementia and to describe registered nurses’ reasoning in relation to their responsibility for monitoring oral care interventions within the regular caregiving routines for nursing home residents with dementia. Methods: Two sub‐studies were carried out; focus group discussions with nine care providers and interviews with four nurses. All participants were staff in nursing home units specialized in dementia. Results: The focus group discussion revealed three themes: Art of caregiving, Barriers and Treatment strategies. Themes related to the nurses’ statements about oral hygiene within caregiving were Care, Responsibility for care and Information. Conclusion: Three main findings from the study are discussed: Unclear responsibilities of different staff members related to daily oral care for the nursing home patients; a lack of guidelines and routines for oral hygiene and a lack of guidelines for sharing information between the different professional groups.     

Home‐visit nurses' attitudes for providing effective assistance to clients with schizophrenia

There were two objectives of this study. The first was to identify the attitudes of home‐visit nurses towards clients with schizophrenia that lead to the provisions of effective care and positive client outcomes for clients with schizophrenia. The second was to develop a framework to understand how nurses acquire nursing attitudes that lead to such provisions. Seven expert home‐visit nurses who had successfully prevented rehospitalization of clients with schizophrenia for more than 2 years were interviewed. In the semistructured interviews, the nurses described their experiences in assisting one or two clients. Data were analyzed qualitatively. The central theme was having equal footing with the client. An effective nursing attitude was acquired through recognizing one's own preconceptions of clients with schizophrenia through two steps: encountering unexpected client behaviours and becoming aware of one's problematic care. For these clients, it was essential that the nurses reflect on their preconceptions towards clients with schizophrenia and alter these preconceptions by working with the clients and believing in their innate ability to live in the community. The findings suggest that the field of mental health home‐visit nursing might benefit from adding these educational components in order to cultivate effective nursing attitudes for assisting clients with schizophrenia.     

闭环式反馈控制法在护理质量管理中的应用

护理质量控制的目的是实现护理质量的持续改进,在以往的护理管理中,往往先将护理质量检查结果反馈给科室护士长,然后由护士长制订整改措施,没有指导护士长针对质量问题进行深入分析和跟踪验证整改措施的有效性,导致某些护理质量问题重复发生。自2004年我院护理质量管理采用闭环式反馈控制法,即发现问题,确认问题,原因分析,制订整改措施,验证并巩固整改效果。通过实施新的管理方法,使护理质量管理形成良性循环,护理缺陷重复发生率降低,在持续改进护理质量的有效性方面取得成效。     

Dependency in autonomous caring – night nurses’ working conditions for caring in nursing

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 312–320
Dependency in autonomous caring – night nurses’ working conditions for caring in nursing Few research studies have focused on nurses’ working conditions for caring provided at night, and these studies have mainly described nurses’ work in hospital settings, not in a municipal, social‐care context. In Swedish municipal care, nurses have responsibility for hundreds of older people in need of care. This working condition compromises caring encounters; instead the nurses’ caring is mainly mediated through care staff (or relatives). In considering that caring based on caring encounters is fundamental to ethical nursing practice questions leads to the aim: to explore Swedish municipal night nurses’ experiences of their working conditions for caring in nursing. All municipal night‐duty nurses (n = 7) in a medium‐sized community in Sweden participated in interviews, while six of them also wrote diaries. Thematic content analysis has been used in analysing the data. The findings revealed that the nurses experienced their working conditions for caring in nursing in the themes of Dependency in the Organisation and Other Staff, Vocational Responsibility, Deficiency in Conditions for Caring and Autonomous Caring. The findings illustrate privileged, as well as, poor working conditions for caring in nursing. The nurses’ role as consultants emerge as their main function. The consultant function implies that nurses do not participate in ordinary bed‐side caring, which makes it easier for them to find time for caring in situations that arise when nurses’ skills, expertise and authority are called upon. Conversely the consultancy function entails short‐term solution of complex caring problems, which can signify deficient caring due to prevailing working conditions. The findings also point to nurses’ possible problems in fulfilling their own and vocational demands for ethics in the practice of caring in nursing related to existing working conditions.     

The validity and reliability of an instrument to assess nursing competencies in spiritual care

Aim. This study contributes to the development of a valid and reliable instrument, the spiritual care competence scale, as an instrument to assess nurses’ competencies in providing spiritual care. Background. Measuring these competencies and their development is important and the construction of a reliable and valid instrument is recommended in the literature. Design. Survey. Method. The participants were students from Bachelor‐level nursing schools in the Netherlands (n = 197) participating in a cross‐sectional study. The items in the instrument were hypothesised from a competency profile regarding spiritual care. Construct validity was evaluated by factor analysis and internal consistency was estimated with Cronbach’s alpha and the average inter‐item correlation. In addition, the test–retest reliability of the instrument was determined at a two‐week interval between baseline and follow‐up (n = 109). Results. The spiritual care competence scale comprises six spiritual‐care‐related nursing competencies. These domains were labelled:
1 assessment and implementation of spiritual care (Cronbach’s α 0·82)
2 professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care (Cronbach’s α 0·82)
3 personal support and patient counseling (Cronbach’s α 0·81)
4 referral to professionals (Cronbach’s α 0·79)
5 attitude towards the patient’s spirituality (Cronbach’s α 0·56)
6 communication (Cronbach’s α 0·71). These subscales showed good homogeneity with average inter‐item correlations >0·25 and a good test–retest reliability. Conclusion. This study conducted in a nursing‐student population demonstrated valid and reliable scales for measuring spiritual care competencies. The psychometric quality of the instrument proved satisfactory. This study does have some methodological limitations that should be taken into account in any further development of the spiritual care competence scale. Relevance to clinical practice. The spiritual care competence scale can be used to assess the areas in which nurses need to receive training in spiritual care and can be used to assess whether nurses have developed competencies in providing spiritual care.     

A study of nurses' knowledge of a palliative approach in residential aged care facilities

Aim. To identify residential aged care nurses’ current knowledge of palliative care for older residents in need of end‐of‐life care. Background. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the delivery of palliative care in residential aged care facilities. While it is recognized that aged care nurses do possess palliative care knowledge the actual level of their knowledge has not been well documented. Design/method. An analytical study using a validated questionnaire tool – Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing, developed by Ross et al. [Journal of Advanced Nursing 23 (1996) 126–137] , combined with a demographic survey of Registered Nurses and assistants in nursing working in five high care residential aged care facilities in inner city region of Sydney, Australia. Results. The total Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing score possible was 20. The mean score for Registered Nurses was 11.7 (SD 3.1) and for AINs 5.8 (SD 3.3), the difference between scores being significant (t = 8.7, df 95, P = 0.000). Misconceptions in palliative care were identified for both the groups of carers. Conclusion. This research has highlighted the need for ongoing palliative care education for both the groups of primary carers. Relevance to clinical practice. The findings of this research highlight the existing palliative care knowledge of residential aged care nurses and provides evidence for education programmes.     

Mental health nurses’ contributions to community mental health care: An Australian study

Australian mental health policy is focused on providing mental health care in the community setting and community mental health teams provide services to clients in a shared model with primary care. The historical literature reports that community mental health nurses’ experience high levels of stress and are often allocated the most complex and challenging clients managed by the team. Yet information on their specific roles remains limited. This paper reports on research conducted at one Australian public mental health service to identify the components of the community mental health nursing role and to quantify the time nurses spent in each component during the study period. Six focus groups were conducted with community mental health nurses to identify their perceived role within the team. Data analysis identified 18 components of which 10 were related to direct clinical contact with clients and eight covered administrative and care coordination activities. A data collection tool based on the findings of the focus groups was designed and nurses recorded workload data on the tool in 15‐min intervals over a 4‐week period. Seventeen nurses collected 1528 hours of data. Internal coordination of care was identified as the top workload item followed by clinical documentation and national data collection responsibilities supporting the complexity of the community mental health nursing role. The high rating attached to the internal coordination of care role demonstrates an important contribution that community mental health nurses make to the functioning of the team and the delivery of quality mental health care.     

In search of legitimacy – registered nurses’ experience of providing palliative care in a municipal context

Background: The palliative care approach was originally developed for hospice care and for persons with cancer diseases, but has gradually expanded to embrace other contexts and people of all ages, with various life‐threatening diseases. The palliative care concept thus also applies to older people and the context of municipal care, where Registered Nurses (RNs) hold key care provision positions. The municipal context is not, however, focused primarily on advanced nursing care, and it is important to highlight RNs’ prerequisites for care provision. Aim: The study’s aim was to describe RNs’ experience of providing palliative care for older people in a municipal context. Data were collected through focus group discussions with 20 RNs from four different municipalities in southern Sweden and were analysed using conventional content analysis. Findings: The results showed that the nurses experienced that it was they who cushioned the effects of unclear responsibilities between different organizations, but had limited legitimacy in the municipal context and in relation to other care providers. The results also showed that nurses lacked proper support and prerequisites for providing high‐quality palliative care to older dying patients. Conclusion: The results pinpoint the importance of increased acknowledgement of nurses’ knowledge and skills and a critical view on the effects of moving towards an organization composed of different consultants, which can lead to even more unclear responsibility for nursing care provision.     

Medication safety challenges in the palliative care setting: Nurses' perspectives

AimTo explore medication safety issues faced by general and palliative care community nurses working in rural and remote palliative care domiciliary settings.MethodAn online survey for nurses working in rural communities was conducted across the South East region of rural Victoria, Australia. Nurses from 18 community based health care organisations across the region were invited to participate in an anonymous survey addressing medication safety issues in the palliative care settings. Qualitative data obtained from the open-ended survey questions were analysed inductively.ResultsA total of 29 nurses completed the survey (response rate 28% from potential respondents). Most of the nurses were working in a rural practice providing a mixed model of community palliative care and community nursing. Medication safety issues raised by the nurses included; errors associated with dose administration aids, frequency of medications reviews undertaken by clinical pharmacists of clients’ medications, high occurrence of medications error reporting, lack of awareness of medications initiated by nurses and cytotoxic medications handling.ConclusionTargeted interventions addressing the identified issues raised by community general and palliative care nurses have the potential to improve medication safety in the domiciliary palliative care setting.