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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Improving the quality of nurse assistants in nursing homes: report of an attending physician survey and an AMDA Symposium.

OBJECTIVES: To describe views of attending physicians regarding nurse assistants as part of a multidisciplinary seminar on nurse assistants at the 1997 American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) Annual Symposium. DESIGN: Mailed survey. PARTICIPANTS: AMDA members. MEASUREMENTS: Attitudes regarding nurse assistants and the role of attending physicians with regard to enhancing the role of nurse assistants. RESULTS: Respondents rated the importance of quality nurse assistants with a mean of 4.85 and a mode of 5 (5 being very important). They also thought it was important for the medical director attending physicians to support, train, or otherwise assist in the professional development of nurse assistants (mean 4.07, mode 5). Respondents recommended enhanced training, reduced workload, increased salary and benefits, and building more effective relationships as strategies for improving the quality of care provided by nurse assistants. CONCLUSION: Physicians can be important in enhancing the role of the nursing assistant. Some activities may include acknowledging the nurse assistant, providing support and feedback, and supporting policy changes that enhance continuity, nonhierarchical management, and creative training programs.

Journal Article↗

Use of nursing assistants: staff nurse opinions.

Use of assistive nursing personnel generates fear, uncertainty and lack of trust in many RNs, yet most agree that "help is needed." The nursing profession must develop minimum standards, a code of ethics and appropriate preparation for nursing assistants. They are here to stay!

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

A program on complementary therapies for long-term care nursing assistants.

Nursing assistants (NAs) receive insufficient support in the face of heavy workloads and challenging job demands. This article describes a course on complementary therapies (CTs) intended to improve NAs' quality of life by helping them plan, develop, implement, and evaluate CTs. Future studies may examine the impact, if any, such courses have on recruitment and retention.

Adult↗

Investigating the educational needs of licensed nursing staff and certified nursing assistants in nursing homes regarding end-of-life care.

Nursing homes care for people at the end of life (EOL). There is evidence to suggest, however, that nursing staff in these settings is often unprepared to provide a high level of EOL care. This article reports the findings from three preliminary studies that investigated the needs of licensed staff and certified nursing assistants in nursing homes regarding EOL care. The studies involved needs assessment surveys, focus group interviews with staff members, and telephone interviews with nursing home administrators. Data show that the major needs included a lack of knowledge and skills in symptom management; communication difficulties; conflicts with families and physicians; and emotional distress in dealing with time constraints and attachment to residents. Implications for nursing home staff education are described.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Testing an intervention to reduce assaults on nursing assistants in nursing homes: a pilot study.

Nursing home staffs frequently encounter physical and emotional violence directed toward them by residents. This article addresses the problem from an occupational health perspective and describes a pilot study focused an educational intervention to reduce resident assaults on certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in nursing homes. After a 4-hour education intervention, the study CNAs reported fewer physical assaults by residents and increased levels of knowledge and confidence in their ability to manage residents' aggressive behavior compared with a similar CNA group. Limitations include a small convenience sample who works only the day shift. Results support education and training as effective in reducing resident physical assaults and enhancing nursing home safety. Further research should investigate assaultive resident behavior and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to prevent, reduce, and manage violence in nursing homes.

Aged↗

The role of certified nursing assistants in nursing homes.

UNLABELLED: OBJECTIVE Pilot study to examine the experiences of the certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in Colorado nursing homes. BACKGROUND DATA: CNAs provide 80% to 90% of the care to residents in nursing homes. Their reported turnover rate is as high as 400% in some studies, and the potential pool of CNAs is dwindling. As the demand for CNAs increases, their experiences must be understood to effectively address recruitment and retention issues. METHODS: Minimally structured interviews of 12 CNAs in 6 Colorado nursing homes and observations of care provided were conducted. Atlas/Ti software was used as a data management tool for analyzing and coding data. RESULTS: The overriding theme that emerged from the interviews was "we love our jobs." Three patterns of thought and behavior emerged: attributes of the CNA, working conditions of the CNA, and future success of the CNA and the nursing home. CONCLUSIONS: Issues important to CNAs revolved around basic motivational factors, such as job enrichment opportunities, personal growth opportunities, recognition, responsibility, and sense of achievement. Leadership must become creative and build on that base, providing CNAs with job mobility, job enrichment opportunities, recognition, and increased job responsibility, producing positive outcomes not only for the CNA but also for the resident and the facility.

Adult↗

A comparison of job satisfaction among nursing assistants in nursing homes and the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

Three hundred forty-nine full-time nursing assistants (NAs) in 5 PACE programs and their neighboring nursing homes were surveyed to assess job satisfaction. There were no significant differences between NAs in the two models of care with respect to demographics, job description, or importance placed on job elements. Job satisfaction, however, was higher among the PACE NAs. PACE NAs reported a significantly higher prevalence of the chance to form close relationships with patients, variety, respect for suggestions by people who make decisions about patient care, the chance to use one's own judgment, the chance to discuss patients with other team members, and respect for choices in assignment type.

Adult↗

Infrequent voiders syndrome (nurses bladder). Prevalence among nurses and assistant nurses in a surgical ward.

We evaluated the prevalence of infrequent voiders syndrome (defined as women with a mean voided volume above 400 ml) and predisposing factors among the female nursing staff in a busy 100 beds department of surgery. One hundred and five nurses and assistant nurses were invited to fill in a questionnaire and a frequency/volume chart for a 24-hour period. The infrequent voiders were further studied using uroflowmetry and medium-fill CO2 cystometry. Seventy-two women completed the study. Six (95% c.l. 3%-17%) were infrequent voiders, although fifty women (57%-80%) suppressed the desire to void during working hours. Main reasons for suppression of desire to void were busy work, poor toilet facilities and indolence. The frequency of micturition was higher during evening and night shifts than in the day shift. In the infrequent voiders the functional bladder capacity ranged from 550-1,100 ml, but none had residual urine exceeding 120 ml.

Adult↗

Oral care provided by certified nursing assistants in nursing homes.

The purpose of this study was to describe the actual daily oral care provided by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) for dentate elderly nursing home (NH) residents who required assistance with oral care. The study was conducted in five nonrandomly selected NHs in upstate New York using real-time observations of CNAs providing morning care to residents, retrospective chart review, and CNA screening interviews. Oral care standards developed and validated by a panel of 10 experts (dentists, dental hygienists, registered nurses) to be appropriate for dentate NH residents were used to evaluate the oral care provided by 47 primary dayshift CNAs to a convenience sample of 67 residents. CNAs were blinded to the study's specific focus on oral care. Adherence to individual standards was low, ranging from a high of 16% to a low of 0%. Teeth were brushed and mouths rinsed with water in 16% of resident observations. One resident had her tongue brushed. Standards never met were brushing teeth at least 2 minutes, flossing, oral assessment, rinsing with mouthwash, and wearing clean gloves during oral care. Most residents (63%) who received oral care assistance were resistive to CNA approaches. For most observations, oral care supplies were not evident. Actual oral care provided to residents contrasts sharply with CNAs' self-reported practices in the literature and suggests that NH residents who need assistance receive inadequate oral health care.

Adult↗

Come talk with me: improving communication between nursing assistants and nursing home residents during care routines.

PURPOSE: We examined the effects of communication skills training and the use of memory books by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) on verbal interactions between CNAs (n = 64) and nursing home residents (n = 67) during care routines. DESIGN AND METHODS: CNAs were taught to use communication skills and memory books during their interactions with residents with moderate cognitive impairments and intact communication abilities. A staff motivational system was used to encourage performance and maintenance of these skills. Formal measures of treatment implementation were included. RESULTS: Results were compared with those for participants on no-treatment control units. Trained CNAs talked more, used positive statements more frequently, and tended to increase the number of specific instructions given to residents. Changes in staff behavior did not result in an increase in total time giving care to residents. Maintenance of CNA behavior change was found 2 months after research staff exited the facility. Although an increase was found in positive verbal interactions between CNAs and residents on intervention units, other changes in resident communication were absent. IMPLICATIONS: Nursing staff can be trained to improve and maintain communication skills during care without increasing the amount of time delivering care. The methodological advantages of including measures to assess treatment implementation are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗