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Biomedical subjects

J M Hibberd

Publications and source records attributed to J M Hibberd.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Striving for safety: experiences of nurses in a hospital under siege.

The hospital in which this study took place served as a centre for emergencies, critically ill patients and maternity cases during a nurses' strike in 98 hospitals in Alberta, Canada. Nurses at this hospital were not members of the striking union; they belonged to their own independent union and they worked throughout the 19-day siege. Thirty-two nurses at the hospital responded to posters seeking volunteers for telephone interviews. The objective of the research was to discover the perceptions and experiences of nurses coping with extraordinarily heavy workloads arising out of a labour dispute. Interview data were gathered and analysed according to the conventions of grounded theory. Nurses voiced many concerns about the care patients received and they coped as best they could in a process described as 'striving for safety'. Fearing they would make mistakes that would harm their patients, they engaged in two subordinate processes of 'assessing competence' and 'preserving integrity'. Several organizational factors were identified that, if present, contributed to nurses' ability to continue or 'hang in' but if absent, contributed to despair or 'feeling demoralized'. The study was exploratory in nature and thus limited, but several implications for supporting nurses and managing such crises were discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Implementing shared governance: a false start.

A case study of the implementation of shared governance in a large teaching hospital in Western Canada has been presented. The project was placed in jeopardy due to two major contingencies: turnover in the chief nursing executive position, and a sudden reduction in the operating budget of the nursing division necessitating significant layoffs. Other factors that threatened the survival of shared governance included lack of systematic, long-range planning; the number and diversity of major changes introduced concurrently in the nursing division; and insufficient support systems to sustain organizational change. In particular, some senior and first-line managers could not adapt to or accept the radical philosophical change and so they were unable to empower their staff and to provide the necessary reinforcement needed to ensure the success of shared governance. This combination of these factors contributed to the loss of momentum in the implementation of shared governance. Lowered morale in the wake of layoffs, together with union grievances, and lack of clarity of the role to be played by union representatives in shared governance produced conflict and confrontation within the nursing division and between union and management. Despite the difficulties encountered, there remains optimism and commitment to the challenge of making shared governance succeed. As this article goes to press, remarkable strides have been made in addressing the described issues. A task force composed primarily of staff nurses has developed a "customized" model of governance that meets the needs of the hospital and deals with the identified flaws of the first implementation attempt. The organization is optimistic that by taking time to develop a solid foundation for the proposed change and tending carefully to the details of decision-making processes, an effective structure to support the professional role of the nursing staff will be a reality.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1992

Strikes by nurses.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Economics, Nursing↗