The Value of Recognition: The DAISY Award

The DAISY Award: Meaningful Recognition's Impact on Patients, Nurses, and Organizations

This review demonstrates the impact of The DAISY Award and how meaningful recognition (MR) through gratitude affects nurse engagement, healthy work environments (HWEs), and patient/families' (PFs) experiences. MR has mutual benefits for nurses and PFs, promoting therapeutic healing and resiliency. MR in HWEs can impact organizations' care quality, fiscal health and influence public perceptions. Nurse leaders should create an environment where MR is a core strategic imperative that impacts nurse, patient, and organizational outcomes.

Rebuilding Nursing Culture Through Application of Social Identity Theory and Inclusivity in Health Care Systems: An Exemplar

This article explores leader practices for rebuilding health system nursing culture by leveraging feedback from clinical nurses and applying Social Identity Theory (SIT) and inclusivity frameworks. An enriched nursing culture is the foundation of quality patient care, and as healthcare systems evolve, it becomes increasingly essential to foster a cohesive and inclusive environment in every aspect of employment practices. Social Identity Theory, which emphasizes how individuals define their self-concept through group affiliations, offers a lens to understand the interplay of identity, values, and behavior within nursing teams. Inclusivity practices are pivotal in creating a welcoming and diverse health care workplace. By employing these approaches, health care systems can rebuild and strengthen their nursing culture, improving retention, onboarding, job satisfaction, teamwork, and enhancing the quality of care provided to patients. This article delves into practical strategies and application of SIT and inclusivity practices to restructure and revitalize nursing culture, emphasizing the positive impact on health care outcomes. An exemplar demonstrating the impact of the voice of the clinician in program development highlights the application of SIT and inclusivity to create culture. It concludes with leader practices for rebuilding nursing culture to include contingent labor as part of the care team.

The implementation and impact of an advanced practice recognition program

ABSTRACT

Meaningful job recognition is a pillar for sustaining healthy work environments and proven beneficial for job satisfaction and retention. However, few dedicated award recognition programs exist for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), and no available literature evaluates the impact on professional practice, sense of belonging, and job retention or satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel award recognition program for APRNs and physician associates (PAs) in a large academic medical system and evaluate it's impact on job satisfaction, retention, and sense of belonging. Five awards were created to recognize areas of achievement for clinically practicing APRNs or PAs within an academic health system. Nomination letters were collected, deidentified, and reviewed by an award committee. Winners were announced and received a plaque. A survey was sent to employed APRNs evaluating their response to the program. The survey was sent to both APRNs (83%) and PAs (17%). Survey end points included job satisfaction, willingness to stay in role for 1 and 5 years, sense of community, something to work toward, and increasing recognition of APRNs. Results showed statistical significance in three areas. Advanced practice registered nurses or PAs who were aware of award opportunities and/or nominated for an award showed higher job satisfaction, more likely to stay in job for 1 year, and felt a greater level of recognition. Dedicated APRN award programs may have a positive impact on job satisfaction and retention. This model may be extrapolated to provide greater opportunities for meaningful recognition among clinical APRNs.

Rejuvenating Meaningful Recognition Through Shared Governance

As majority stakeholders in healthcare systems, direct care clinical nurses are accountable for professional practice, including meaningful recognition. A sustainable recognition program can be established through structural empowerment and shared decision-making within a healthy, clinical nurse-led governance structure. This article describes the journey of rejuvenating meaningful recognition across 27 hospitals and more than 500 sites of care, with the aim of positively impacting nurses and strengthening connection to purpose.

Creating an Organizational Culture and Climate of Meaningful Recognition for Nurse Managers

OBJECTIVES

To examine the current nurse manager (NM) recognition culture and climate in organizations and to develop a theoretical foundation for meaningful recognition.

BACKGROUND

Nurse managers call for wider recognition, but the theoretical conceptualization and underpinnings of meaningful recognition are sparse in the literature.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive design was used utilizing individual interviews. The study participants included 30 individuals consisting of NMs, chief nursing officers, and chief nursing executives. Content analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

A theoretical model with super-categories and supportive quotes was created to operationalize a culture and climate of meaningful recognition in the organizations represented by the sample.

CONCLUSION

This qualitative descriptive study highlights the importance of recognizing the value of NMs for their contributions to nursing leadership and patient care. Implications of recognizing NMs are counteracting the feeling of being invisible and mitigating issues within the work environment.

Overwork Among ICU Nurses: Identification of Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to describe the current situation and explore overwork predictors among ICU nurses in China.

BACKGROUND

Overwork is a comprehensive condition of labor where employees work for extended periods with high intensity and high pressure, which can negatively affect their health. Limited literature exists regarding the prevalence, characteristics, professional identity, and environment of overwork among ICU nurses.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design study was conducted. The Professional Identification Scale for Nurses, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, and the Overwork Related Fatigue Scale (ORFS) were used. To explore relationships between variables, univariate analysis or bivariate correlations were used. Multiple regression was used to identify predictors of overwork.

RESULTS

Almost 85% of nurses were categorized as overworked, of which, 30% were moderately to severely overworked. Gender, form of employment, stress related to ICU nursing technology and equipment updates, nurses' professional identity, and nurse working environment accounted for 36.6% in the ORFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Overwork is common among ICU nurses. Nurse managers need to develop and implement strategies to better support nurses to prevent overwork.

Retaining the Best: Recognizing What Meaningful Recognition Is to Nurses as a Strategy for Nurse Leaders

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to identify what meaningful recognition is to nurses in a postpandemic healthcare landscape.

BACKGROUND

The COVID pandemic has exacerbated the critical need to retain our nursing workforce. Meaningful recognition as a component of a healthy work environment can be a strategy to retain nurses. Identifying what is considered meaningful recognition to nurses will optimize organizational use of it.

METHODS

A descriptive correlational design was used. Members of Sigma Theta Tau in the state of Maryland were asked to respond to an online survey consisting of demographic data and questions exploring meaningful recognition and the healthy work environment using tools with established reliability and validity. Deidentified data from 163 respondents were collected.

RESULTS

Meaningful recognition strategies that meant the most to nurses in this study were: 1) reasonable payment for level of service provided; 2) public recognition within the organization and the profession; and 3) opportunities for professional development. Trends in desired meaningful recognition varied across ethnic/racial and gender groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Meaningful recognition to nurses is as diverse as the nursing population. It is important that instruments be developed to capture the rich cultural and ethnic differences in relation to what is considered meaningful recognition to the nursing workforce. Although pay, public recognition, and opportunities for advancement were seen in this study as important forms of meaningful recognition, a deeper exploration across ethnic, racial, and gender groups is needed. This study underscored that one size of meaningful recognition does not fit all.