Deconstructing nursing from practice to theory

People often talk about 'basic' nursing care as if it is the simplest thing in the world: it looks so easy that anyone could do it. But there is more to it than meets the eye. We asked three prominent nurses to spend time watching individual nurses going about their business in an attempt to get to the bottom of this thing called nursing care. And when you look beyond the surface it is obvious delivering nursing care is neither simple nor basic.

Political leadership in action

This paper explores the author's personal experience of working in positions of leadership in a variety of National Health Service roles. In particular how in these roles was it possible to influence policy and if not, why not, what the challenges are for leading in a political environment, and what competencies are needed to succeed. Readers will draw their own conclusions about how they approach their work and what might be done differently on reflection.

Nurturing nursing's future through nurse executive partnerships

At a time when nurses are becoming an endangered species, nurse executives have a unique opportunity to respond by forging new and responsive relationships with graduate students who express interest in nursing administration and leadership as a preferred career choice. In this article, a case example demonstrates how a senior faculty member and a graduate student formed a partnership, conducted research, and nurtured an appreciation of the nurse educator role. Using this experience, senior nurse executives can too form partnerships with graduate students as a way to recruit into nursing leadership roles.

Factors impacting on nurse managers' ability to be innovative in a decentralized management structure

Several studies indicate that management styles and knowledge of organizational structures have an impact on the potential for staff innovation. This exploratory study was conducted to investigate the implications of such variables in relation to nursing managers in a public sector health organization in Victoria, Australia. It reviewed factors that appeared to impact and encourage innovative behaviour amongst nurse managers within a decentralized management structure. To evaluate nurse managers' ability to be innovative, a 55-item survey consisting of both open questions and Likert-type scale questions was developed and distributed to 140 nurse managers working in a public sector health organization. The response rate was 58% yielding 82 usable responses. The study findings revealed that factors of management structures and management styles, in conjunction with the nurse unit managers' perceptions and communication skills, had an impact on nurse manager's ability to exhibit innovative behaviour in the 21st century workplace.

Attending, questioning, and quality

Health care is just now feeling the effects of many years of neglect of serious attention to quality outcomes. We have many tools available now to change our thinking and to provide techniques to attain excellence in quality, such as Six Sigma and principals from Toyota. However, these techniques will only get us to a minimal level of quality. We need to change our questions, think the impossible, and break out of our old modes of thinking about quality. Zero defects are possible. We only have to take that quantum leap and think in new ways. We are posed on the edge of a quantum leap into new ways of thinking about quality. We will hear much more about nurse-sensitive indicators in the near future. Nurse leaders should change their questions now to attend to new models that will get us closer to the ultimate "impossible thinking" goal of zero defects in nurse-sensitive indicators of quality.

Perceptions of work-time and leisure-time among managers and field staff in a UK primary health care trust

AIMS

The aims of the research were to explore the issues around the perception of District Nurses in an inner London Primary Health Care Trust of their use of work-time and leisure-time, and to reveal how the boundaries between these two aspects can become blurred and impinge on each other.

BACKGROUND

Time use is helpful in considerations of wider issues such as satisfaction at work and work-life balance.

METHODS

The data were collected by a questionnaire to seek the views of managers and field staff on issues such as the impact on the quality of patient care of the nurses' perception of work-time and leisure-time.

RESULTS

The research identified the different perception of "work-time" that employees have in relation to their place within the hierarchical structure.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings answered the question of whether time is perceived differently, dependent on one's occupation within the Trust.

Paediatric oncology nurse education: the development of a national framework

BACKGROUND

It is recognized that there is a need for specialist nursing courses in a range of paediatric nursing specialities. Paediatric oncology nurses are facing challenges with clinical advances and the need for specialized care. At present there are no available courses in Scotland offering preparation for nurses working in a paediatric oncology setting.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

This project, supported by Macmillan Cancer Relief, addresses this deficit by developing a comprehensive framework for a small and widely dispersed speciality.

METHODS

Information on the needs and expectations of nurses and service managers in this field was obtained through postal questionnaires and focus groups. Due to the need for collaboration between higher educational institutions and service colleagues the views of educators were also established through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.

RESULTS

Problematic practice issues were cited and these issues were further discussed and recognized as the main educational needs. Availability and accessibility of education were of great importance.

CONCLUSION

The framework developed aims to provide ongoing opportunities for continuing professional development within this speciality. Development of the educational framework is required to provide a course accessible to a wide geographical area of nurses.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

A National Framework for Paediatric Oncology Nurse Education was developed in response to views of experts working in the field, to the views of other stakeholders and to what is known about needs and preferences of children with cancer and their families.

Inclusão da competência interpessoal na formação do enfermeiro como gestor

Este artigo se propõe a apresentar reflexões sobre a necessidade de incluir o desenvolvimento da competência interpessoal no processo de formação do enfermeiro gestor. Destaca as tendências da gestão contemporânea e a importância da construção de relacionamentos interpessoais como base para as ações do gestor. A inclusão da competência interpessoal, nesse sentido, pode influenciar na transformação da prática gerencial do enfermeiro e na formação de um líder que consiga avaliar e dimensionar os problemas de modo global e exercer o seu papel com segurança e transparência.