Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Nurses professional concerns: 1900-2005

A study was recently published "to broaden the context for understanding nurses' professional concerns as voiced through letters to the editor of the American Journal of Nursing from 1900 to 2005. Two issues from each year were randomly selected. Line-by-line analysis was used to code, categorize, and analyze the data. The following five themes emerged: self-care versus self-sacrifice; nursing's emphasis on holistic care; educational and professional preparation; nurse-physician relationships; and the image of the nurse. The recurrent nature of these themes has important implications for nursing education, clinical practice, leadership, and research." [From PubMed abstract]

To see the full article:
Anthony MJ, Barkell NP. (2008) Nurses' professional concerns: letters to the editor for 1900-2005. J Prof Nurs. 24(2):96-104.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Magnet Recognition

"Magnet status is an award given by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC), an affiliate of the American Nurses Association, to hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria designed to measure the strength and quality of their nursing. A Magnet hospital is stated to be one where nursing delivers excellent patient outcomes, where nurses have a high level of job satisfaction, and where there is a low staff nurse turnover rate and appropriate grievance resolution. Magnet status is also said to indicate nursing involvement in data collection and decision-making in patient care delivery. The idea is that Magnet nursing leaders value staff nurses, involve them in shaping research-based nursing practice, and encourage and reward them for advancing in nursing practice. Magnet hospitals are supposed to have open communication between nurses and other members of the health care team, and an appropriate personnel mix to attain the best patient outcomes and staff work environment." [from The Center for Nursing Advocacy]

"The Magnet Recognition Program is based on quality indicators and standards of nursing practice as defined in the American Nurses Association's Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators (2004). The Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators and other “foundational documents” form the base upon which the Magnet environment is built. The Magnet designation process includes the appraisal of qualitative factors in nursing. These factors, referred to as Forces of Magnetism were first identified through research done in 1983.

The full expression of the Forces embodies a professional environment guided by a strong visionary nursing leader who advocates and supports development and excellence in nursing practice. As a natural outcome of this, the program elevates the reputation and standards of the nursing profession." [from AANC]

The next generation model for the Magnet Recognition Program ® has been unveiled. "This new model is designed to provide a framework for nursing practice and research in the future, as well as serving as a road map for organizations seeking to achieve Magnet recognition. ... To provide greater clarity and direction, as well as eliminate redundancy within the Forces of Magnetism, the new model configures the 14 Forces of Magnetism into 5 Model Components. The new, simpler model reflects a greater focus on measuring outcomes and allows for more streamlined documentation, while retaining the 14 Forces as foundational to the program." [from AANC]

For a view of the model, and to read more about the model see A New Model for AANC's Magnet Recognition Program ®




Friday, April 25, 2008

YSN Library April 21 - April 25

Here is the schedule for when I will be at YSN for this week.
Questions, comments, concerns? .... please email me
janene.batten@yale.edu

Monday 4/21
8:30 - 5:00

Tuesday 4/22 - Earth Day
Contact me in the Medical Library for help 737-2964
Class: 4:00 - 5:00 RSS and Blogs
11:00 - 12:00 Tech Tuesday [Bass Library] Second Life
More about Second Life, and a YouTube video talking about it's potential

Wednesday 4/23

8:30 - 5:00

Thursday 4/24
Contact me in the Medical Library for help 737-2964

Friday 4/25
8:30 - 5:00

Library classes

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Concept synthesis of the art of nursing

"Nurses have attempted to explicate the art of nursing since the time of Florence Nightingale. Despite these efforts, the concept remains obscure. A clearer conceptualization of nursing art is needed to help guide practice and research."

Results from an investigation published in the May issue of Journal of Advanced Nursing substantiates "existing knowledge related to the art of nursing. In addition, the findings extend that knowledge by more clearly identifying the antecedents, attributes and outcomes of nursing art. Specifically, the epistemological and ontological components are more clearly identified. Clarity of this type is important in terms of future development of discipline-specific practice and research."
[Extracted from abstract found in PubMed record]

To read the full article:
Finfgeld-Connett, Deborah. (2008). "Concept synthesis of the art of nursing." Journal of Advanced Nursing 62(3) 381-8.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation

The Joint Commission’s Hospitals, Language, and Culture (HLC): A Snapshot of the Nation is a three year cross-sectional qualitative study funded by The California Endowment designed to explore how 60 hospitals across the country provide health care to culturally and linguistically diverse patient populations.

The HLC study has issued a new research report, One Size Does Not Fit All: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Diverse Populations. This report provides a framework to help organizations meet the challenges of providing safe, quality care to culturally and/or linguistically diverse patients. Though the report is based on the findings from an in-depth study of hospitals, all types of health care organizations can use this framework to take an in-depth look at their current practices and guide efforts to address the cultural and language needs of the populations they serve. (Executive Summary)

The first report released by the Hospitals, Language, and Culture study presents the challenges hospitals face when providing care and services to culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and discusses the way hospitals are addressing those challenges.

To find out more about this research visit the Hospitals, Language, and Culture (HLC) website.

(from the HLC website)

Friday, April 18, 2008

Instructional Technology Report

From The Chronicle's Wired Campus Newsletter an instructional technology report out of Harvard University showing that of all the digital tools that professors use, Harvard students find most useful online course material and syllabi.

"The report said students want courses to have "a Web site that contains readings, notes and other content so they can be accessed easily during the semester," wrote Anthony A. Pino in his report. It is based on responses last December from 328 undergraduates and 120 graduate students. Students were asked to rate the usefulness of about 16 technologies, including RSS Feeds, wikis, blogs, podcasts, and videos. One of the most noticeable difference between undergraduates and graduate students was over video lectures. Undergraduates valued them but graduate students worried that undergraduates would use them as a substitute for attendance, wrote Mr. Pino"

With it's heavy use of graphs this is a very easy to read report.

For some informal insights into "digital natives" see the blog Digital Natives

YSN Library April 21 - April 25

Here is the schedule for when I will be at YSN for this week.
Questions, comments, concerns? .... please email me
janene.batten@yale.edu

Monday 4/21
Contact the Medical Library for help 737-4065
Class: 4:00 - 5:00 My EndNote Web

Tuesday 4/22 - Earth Day
Contact me in the Medical Library for help 737-2964
11:00 - 12:00 Tech Tuesday [Bass Library] Digital Primary Sources in the Library

Wednesday 4/23
11:30 - 5:00

Thursday 4/24
Contact me in the Medical Library for help 737-2964
Class: 4:00 - 5:00 OVIDSP

Friday 4/25
8:30 - 5:00

Library classes