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Biomedical subjects

K M Kerfoot

Publications and source records attributed to K M Kerfoot.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Leadership in systems: the role of the corporate nurse.

Major changes have taken place in health care. The small "Mom and Pop" organizations have been replaced by merged and consolidated entities to become more efficient. It is difficult to find a physician in solo practice now and difficult to find a nonaligned hospital, home health agency, or nursing home. Managing in large complex consolidated integrated networks is very different and requires different structures and competencies. The history of nursing started with the Chief Nurse not being apart of the executive team. Through many strides, and even regulatory conditions emanating from organizations such as the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the CNO now is expected to develop and be accountable for the budget and be considered apart of the executive team in an egalitarian position. The same process is now taking place in the large consolidated organizations. It is as important for the voice of patient care to be present strategically at the executive level of the new structures as it has been to have that person well positioned in the smaller organization. We in nursing have met the challenge by preparing CNOs to operate at the executive level through education and membership in organizations such as the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Strategically, we need to think through the educational programs and mentoring experiences that will help more CNOs step into these positions easily. Programs such as the Johnson & Johnson Wharton Program for Nurse Executives have been invaluable for helping individuals make the transition into strategic, executive roles. Our challenge is to determine how these opportunities can be made available to more people as the times demand greater expertise.

Humans↗
PubMed1982

Teaching patients self care: a critical aspect of psychiatric discharge planning.

This article has dealt with selected issues in patient education that involves teaching patients self care in the mental health delivery system. It has presented several predischarge teaching techniques that have been used in a research study by the first author and other strategies that have been found to be effective in both authors' clinical practice. There are many other areas in need of systematic investigation related to self-care skills. The first author's study is one of very few conducted by psychiatric nurses to document effective self-care treatment techniques (Figure). We hope that other clinicians and researchers will become interested in this area and add to the knowledge base of self care in the field of psychiatric-mental health nursing.

Family↗
PubMed1981

Postpartum affective disorders: the manias and depression of childbirth.

Care offered to women with post-partum affective disorders is crucial to their present and future self-concept and their ability to bond with their infant. Nurses working in obstetrical units are becoming more aware of facilitating the natural bonding process and the staffs of psychiatric/mental health professionals also need to take this into account when working with mothers experiencing post-partum affective disorders. Currently there is much exciting basic research in post-partum illnesses and, it is hoped, in the future women will not have to endure extensive emotional trauma during the post-partum period. Meanwhile, it behooves nurses to help affected women and their families to cope with their experiences in the most productive, guilt-free manner.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Achieving excellence: the nurse manager's challenge.

We must develop the idea that excellence is constant reshaping and self discovery. Gardner (1961) points out that, "... free men must set their own difficult goals and be their own hard task masters" (p. 160). We must move to self-supervising models of excellence. We must do this for the nursing profession and we must each do this for the people on our units and for ourselves. We must set a standard that strives for the very highest achievement in every part of our life. As Captain Kirk described, "I had ambition not only to go farther than any man had ever been before but as far as it was possible for man to go" (Gardner, 1961, p. 140). Developing a patient care unit of excellence means that we do not just try to compete with another unit and do better. Excellence means that we chart new ground and become a pacesetter in developing new models that create exceptional levels of quality at a value and cost that people are willing to pay.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Staff nurse financial management committees--the nurse manager's guide to effective financial performance.

As Cohen states (1991, p. 25), "The future role that nursing will play in the health care delivery system is one of many major issues faced by contemporary nursing... Nursing must be able to determine realistically the cost of and evaluate the effectiveness of nursing care provided to its patients." A unit-based financial management committee is one very effective way of teaching the skills needed for the professional nurse to advance the practice in financial management. This will help nursing gain the professional status that they have always worked for. But beyond these very lofty ideals, a staff nurse managed financial management committee can make the nurse manager's life much easier. Staff nurses need to understand and accept the importance of managing the financial as well as the quality side of patient care. When this happens, the budget becomes theirs. Nurses develop a sense of ownership of the budget and learn how to effectively manage the unit's finances. Much staff nurse brain power is not used. Systems must be developed to access nurses' effective ideas for financial management--first in a financial management committee and then on the unit. Not only will this develop the professional status that nurses need and deserve, but it will also impact the cost of health care. In a society where the cost of an appendectomy requires Dayton Hudson to sell 39,000 Ninja Turtle action figures, Atlantic Richfield to sell 192,000 gallons of gas a day, Anheuser-Busch to sell 11,627 6-packs of 12 oz.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cost Control↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Building a patient-focused unit: the nurse manager's challenge.

Developing a patient-focused unit is necessary to attain the highest standards of patient care. It is only when we can view our unit through the eyes of a patient that we will be able to see ourselves as others see us. Professionally, we have committed ourselves to creating caring environments that promote healing. We cannot meet this goal until we make a commitment to be patient-focused and give up being nurse-focused or facility-focused.

Hospital Units↗