Professional socialization: The key to survival as a newly qualified nurse

Bullying of staff registered nurses in the workplace: a preliminary study for developing personal and organizational strategies for the transformation of hostile to healthy workplace environments

The primary purpose of this study was to validate the perceptions of frequency and patterns of bullying behavior experienced by registered nurses (RNs) across the United States. This study was completed to develop relevant and sensitive tailored interventions for the future. A 30-item anonymous electronic survey was used to identify the frequency, type, perpetrators, and personal and professional consequences of bullying. Findings from the overall population of 303 RN respondents (mean age of 49 years) indicated that 70% of the bullying was reported by a predominant group of staff RNs (n = 212), and it is this group that is the focus of this report. Of this group, bullying occurred (a) most frequently in medical-surgical (23%), critical care (18%), emergency (12%), operating room/Post Anesthesia Care Unit (9%), and obstetrical (7%) areas of care and (b) within the 5 years or less of employment on a unit (57%). Perpetrators included senior nurses (24%), charge nurses (17%), nurse managers (14%), and physicians (8%) who publicly humiliated, isolated, excluded, or excessively criticized the staff nurses. Subsequent stress levels were reported as moderate or severe, with support found primarily with family, colleagues, and friends and not with an available workplace infrastructure of solution. Many left the workplace completely with or without jobs awaiting them. Bullying among U.S. nurses is a hidden problem with significant patient-directed quality performance and workforce implications. It is critical that innovative strategies be developed and implemented to address the root cause of this problem.

Creating a healthy workplace for new-generation nurses

PURPOSE

To examine dimensions of the psychosocial work environment that influence the psychological health of new-generation nurses.

BACKGROUND

While much work has been done concerning the health of nurses in general, research on the relationship between the nursing work environment and the psychological well-being of new-generation nurses at the start of their careers is limited.

DESIGN

A correlational descriptive design was used for this quantitative study. Survey data were collected from new nurses (N=309) whose names were obtained from a provincial licensing registry in Quebec, Canada.

FINDINGS

Among new nurses, 43.4% stated that they have a high level of psychological distress. These nurses were significantly more likely to perceive an imbalance between effort expended on the job and rewards received, low decisional latitude, high psychological demands, high job strain, as well as low social support from colleagues and superiors (p < or = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding the relationship between the work environment and health as experienced by new-generation nurses is imperative for creating interventions to successfully recruit and retain these young nurses.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Generation Y nurses in Quebec, faced with high levels of psychological distress because of their exposure to difficult nursing work environments, might leave the profession thereby exacerbating an already salient nursing shortage.

Choosing a career in athletic training: exploring the perceptions of potential recruits

CONTEXT

The success of any academic program, including athletic training, depends upon attracting and keeping quality students. Therefore, understanding potential recruits' perceptions of athletic training is important.

OBJECTIVE

To (1) gain insight regarding undergraduate students' decisions to enter or not enter an athletic training education program (ATEP), and (2) examine potential athletic training recruits' perceptions of the roles and responsibilities of certified athletic trainers.

DESIGN

We used a descriptive study employing a grounded theory approach to explore perceptions of the athletic training profession by college students with various levels of interest in athletic training.

SETTING

Athletic training education program from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I research-intensive university.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Forty-six undergraduate students (23 interested in applying to an ATEP and 23 who were aware of but not interested in applying to an ATEP).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding procedures. Member checks and peer-debriefing techniques were used to ensure trustworthiness of the study.

RESULTS

Three contributing factors appeared to influence the recruitment of students to a career in athletic training: (1) a strong affiliation to a sports/team model, (2) initial exposure at the high school level, and (3) an incomplete understanding of athletic training.

CONCLUSIONS

Awareness of how students are recruited into ATEPs is important information for our profession. Educators and administrators must create a comprehensive recruitment strategy using factors that influence potential recruits' decisions to enter the athletic training profession, specifically their association with sports and their experiences during high school.

A new model of bullying in the nursing workplace: organizational characteristics as critical antecedents

Providing a safe work environment where nurses can practice without fear or threat of aggression is acknowledged as a critical global issue for healthcare organizations. Although there has been growing recognition that workplace bullying is one of the most concerning forms of aggression experienced by nurses, to date, there has been little progress in developing explanatory models. In this article, we outline our recently validated model of bullying, which specifies organizational characteristics as critical antecedents. The model has important implications for the management of bullying, identifying that to be effective, interventions need to address features of workplace climate.