SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The role of the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in an acute care setting has been a point of debate for many years. Increasing LPN job responsibility has not been widely reported. In this article, the authors describe the process used to advance the LPN role. Emphasized here is the educators' contribution to the process from inception to implementation.
The purpose of this article is to share a competency-based method of job analysis known as DACUM (Develop A CUrriculuM) that provides a credible and defensible framework for developing job descriptions, identifying training needs, and prioritizing staff development initiatives. The process capitalizes on the power of group synergy, interaction, and consensus and facilitates employer/employee buy-in. It is easily adapted for use in any occupational setting, and may be particularly appreciated during organizational restructuring efforts.
Retention of valued employees is essential to maintaining high levels of quality service and efficiency in consideration of the tight labor supply and an increasingly competitive health care market. Health care organizations that desire to become "employers of choice" must devise strategies and innovative programs which will satisfy a spectrum of both work and personal needs. Such initiatives include tangible rewards such as competitive compensation and benefits, and, more important, valued intangibles like quality of work life programs. In a more attractive environment, employees will make a long-term commitment.
The purpose of this project was to develop a system that would allow ambulatory pediatric nurses to describe their practice and to develop in their role as nurses. Patricia Benner's novice to expert philosophy has been used to describe the practice of nurses in many specialties; however, it has not been applied to ambulatory pediatric practice. A group of nurses at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin used Benner's philosophy to generate behaviors that evolved from the novice to the expert within the domains of nursing practice outlined in the ambulatory nurse job description. This tool has been implemented as part of the performance review process and is given to new nurses on orientation as a framework for nurses' professional development.
A model of emergency department (ED) case management consisting of a social worker and a nurse case manager can prevent inappropriate admissions, improve discharge planning, decrease cost, and enhance patient satisfaction. The individual and combined roles of the dyad team of social worker and nurse case manager are discussed. A literature review includes how a case management dyad team of social worker and nurse case manager in the ED can decrease utilization of the ED for nonemergent visits, promote the use of community resources, and improve discharge planning to avoid excessive costs. The importance of the dyad team working with the interdisciplinary team in the ED, the primary care physician (PCP), and other community health care providers in order to provide a holistic approach to care is addressed. A discussion about the improvement of both patient and staff satisfaction demonstrates the results of case management strategies that support and advocate for patients to receive quality, cost-effective care across the health care continuum, while decreasing the use of the ED for nonemergent care.
BACKGROUND: Job strain, defined as high job demands and low job control, has not previously been explored as a possible determinant of male fertility. We collected prospective data on job strain among men, and describe the associations with semen quality and probability of conceiving a clinical pregnancy during a menstrual cycle. METHODS: Danish couples (N = 399) who were trying to become pregnant for the first time were followed for up to 6 menstrual periods. All men collected semen samples, and a blood sample was drawn from both partners. Job demand and job control were measured by a self-administered questionnaire at entry, and in each cycle the participants recorded changes in job control or job demand during the previous 30 days. RESULTS: In adjusted analyses, no associations were found between any semen characteristic or sexual hormones and any job strain variable. The odds for pregnancy were not associated with job strain. CONCLUSIONS: Psychologic job strain encountered in normal jobs in Denmark does not seem to affect male reproductive function.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the work stressors of nurse s aides in long-term care facilities and the factors related to work stressors. One hundred two nurse s aides in long-term care facilities in the Shihlin and Peitou districts of Taipei City were interviewed about work stressors. Of the six types of work stressors, the type patient care tasks was found to be the most stressful as reported by nurse aides, whereas the type the relationship with one s supervisor was the least stressful. Variables such as age, nationality, identity, resident care time and the number of residents a nurse took care of were significantly related to the work stressors. The findings of this study suggest that it is necessary to provide prevocational training, and even on-the-job training for nurse s aides. In addition, it is important to build a supportive work environment for nurse s aides, especially for those who are foreign.
OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine how do working life and private life characteristics relate to sickness absence. METHODS: Questionnaire data for 1557 female and 1913 male employees were related to registered sickness absence by multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Apart from health problems, clear associations with sickness absence were observed for complaints attributed to heavy, arduous work, and sickness presenteeism. The use of tranquilizers, occurrence of bullying, and the existence of a high total workload from paid and unpaid work were associated with sickness absence in women. In men, the use of alcohol as sedative, anxiety of reorganization, not holding a supervisor position, adverse life events, and divorce were related with sickness absence. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified different areas at work and outside work for women and men that could be targets for actions aiming at preventing high sickness absence.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Evaluates an in-house National Vocational Qualification Scheme at Mount Vernon Hospital. Examines the main issues of differing management and trainee perspectives, time and resource constraints and the non-transferability of the qualifications at present within a European context.
It has been said that managing change is a synonym for managing people through change. No other industry has experienced more change in the past ten years than the health-care industry. In order to regulate all this change, managers in health-care organizations must identify new ways to deal with the changes. The issues are as old as time: job satisfaction, cultural conflict, and compensation. This paper addresses each of these key issues with the following examples. A new nursing paradigm that was implemented at a hospital has significantly increased job satisfaction. This paper also takes a look at ways to manage cultural conflict in a diversified workforce. Finally, the results of a team approach to compensation are studied.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
BACKGROUND: The Research Coordinator (RC) role is a relative new addition to staffing profiles in Australasian Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The RC plays a pivotal role in conducting ethically and scientifically sound research. There have been anecdotal reports of the RC role in various speciality areas. However, limited research has been undertaken into the role, and only one study has been published from the intensive care setting. AIM: To evaluate which factors the RC found to be the best and worst attributes of the role. METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based cohort study was conducted in 2004 collecting free text information from RCs in ICUs in Australia and New Zealand. RESULTS: Forty-nine participants (71%) completed the study with 273 entries into the two categories of 'best' (60%) and 'worst' (40%) aspects of the role. We identified four thematic clusters in both categories: (1) 'How the job was structured' (2) 'The worth of the job' (3) 'What the work involves' and (4) 'Who I work with'. Both categories received proportionally the same number of responses in each theme with (1) the most frequent and (4) the least number of entries. CONCLUSION: There is much variation between RCs in almost every descriptor of the role. The Australasian Intensive Care RC values autonomy, respect and intellectual stimulation with the scope for extending the role to suit the individual and finds isolation, under-recognition and workload, often not sufficiently compensated, to be the worst aspects of the position.
BACKGROUND: A population-based twin study has recently shown that genetic factors are of significance for hand eczema. OBJECTIVES: To characterize further a sample of this twin material with regard to contact allergy, atopic dermatitis and wet work. METHODS: In total, 1076 individual twins were examined clinically and patch tested. The diagnosis of atopic dermatitis was based on the U.K. Working Party criteria. The decision concerning wet work was based on the individual job description, taking into account the later introduced definition of at least 2 h of water exposure daily. The data were analysed by a newly developed statistical method which makes it possible to analyse the individual risk factor and at the same time discriminate between genetic and environmental factors. RESULTS: The statistical analysis confirmed atopic dermatitis as an important risk factor for hand eczema. Contact allergy was also confirmed as a significant risk factor for hand eczema, and the risk was related to strength (+ to + + +) of contact allergy. The results indicated that the high frequency of hand eczema in women in comparison with men was caused by environmental and not genetic factors. Aggregation of hand eczema within twin pairs was only to a minor degree explained by atopic dermatitis and nickel allergy (or other contact allergies). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that a hitherto unrecognized genetic risk factor for hand eczema independent of atopic dermatitis and contact allergy is probably of importance for the development of irritant contact dermatitis on the hands.
BACKGROUND: Research has shown that families of disabled children who have a key worker benefit from this service and recent policy initiatives emphasize the importance of such services. However, research is lacking on which characteristics of key worker schemes for disabled children are related to better outcomes for families. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was completed by 189 parents with disabled children who were receiving a service in seven key worker schemes in England and Wales. Path analysis was used to investigate associations between characteristics of the services and outcomes for families (satisfaction with the service, impact of key worker on quality of life, parent unmet need, child unmet need). RESULTS: The four path models showed that key workers carrying out more aspects of the key worker role, appropriate amounts of contact with key workers, regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers, and having a dedicated service manager and a clear job description for key workers were associated with better outcomes for families. Characteristics of services had only a small impact on child unmet need, suggesting that other aspects of services were affecting child unmet need. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for policy and practice are discussed, including the need for regular training, supervision and peer support for key workers and negotiated time and resources for them to carry out the role. These influence the extent to which key workers carry out all aspects of the key worker's role and their amount of contact with families, which in turn impact on outcomes.
Stress and burnout have reached crisis levels among hospital nurses. The authors of this paper address this problem with the development of a scale to improve the 'fit' between a nurse and his/her work environment, thereby potentially increasing satisfaction, and reducing stress and burnout. Approximately 1000 hospital nurses, randomly selected from a large eastern state, described their work in each of 10 clinical areas; their reports enabled the construction of the Job Context Index, which rank orders the 10 settings on three dimensions, including general work pressure/uncertainty, routinization of tasks, and co-worker interdependence. Nurses, as well as educators and administrators, may find their index a useful tool for matching nurses' temperaments and workstyles with the characteristics of the clinical areas in which they might be working.
A new clinical career structure for nurses was planned, introduced, implemented and evaluated in South Australia in 1986. The new structure was based on the Royal Australian Nursing Federation (South Australian Branch) Model, and its trial took place in 11 health units, involving 5000 registered nurses, or one-third of the nurse workforce in South Australia. The findings of the evaluation research were utilized by Government. The sociopolitical context within which the evaluation of the new clinical career structure was implemented is re-examined in this paper.
The shift towards community care has created the need for data, amongst other things, on the job facets of community nurses. There is a lack of studies on the job satisfaction of these nurses, in particular of community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) in the United Kingdom. This paper reports on part of a general survey of CPNs in Northern Ireland. It deals with the CPN's perception of their level of job satisfaction and the factors which they identified as contributing to their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the job.