How do nurses' work arrangements influence nurse managers' communication? A qualitative study

Understanding the Causes and Consequences of Envy among Nurses: A Scoping Review

AIM

This scoping review presents an overview of the causes and consequences of envy among clinical nurses.

BACKGROUND

Many nurses in the United States have in recent years left their permanent positions for temporary agency assignments that pay higher salaries. While greed seems like a likely explanation for the rise in travel nursing, humans tend to have a particular interest in wanting what others have.

EVALUATION

A five-stage scoping review framework and the PRISMA-ScR checklist guided this review.

KEY ISSUES

Social comparison and malicious envy are prevalent among nurses. Envy is a powerful emotion that affects human communication and behavior in organizations. Scholars have underexplored the potential benefits of leveraging benign envy in the nursing context.

CONCLUSION

The results highlight the relational nature of envy. Social comparison and envy provide an insight that suggests that nurses who change jobs are not necessarily greedy. They may be seeking the right mix of tangible and intangible rewards.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Greed and envy can motivate nurses to change jobs. Although envy and greed may produce the same outcome, they are qualitatively different. The motivation to change jobs alludes to nurses' desire to have better control of their professional and personal lives.

Relationship Between Teams' Leader-Member Exchange Characteristics and Psychological Outcomes for Nurses and Nurse Managers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Japan

Introduction

The Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) theory, based on the social exchange theory, relates to positive psychological states among nurses. However, the influence of various LMX qualities coexisting within a team on nurses or nurse managers is still uncleared.

Objective

This study examines the relationship of nurses and nurse managers’ psychological states with the average LMX and LMX dispersion among nurses in their units.

Methods

The study was conducted at two university hospitals in March 2017 using anonymous questionnaires. Nurses completed the LMX-7 scale and the subscales of job satisfaction, achievement, and growth from the Checklist on Commitments Related to Work. Nurse managers completed the subscales of management satisfaction, effectiveness, and extracting extra effort from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Both nurses and managers completed the Intention to Continue Working scale. The nurses’ data were analyzed using a multilevel analysis to clarify associations between nurses’ psychological states and LMX, average LMX, and LMX dispersion. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis tested to test the correlations of the psychological states of nurse managers with average LMX and LMX dispersion.

Results

Data from 586 nurses and 28 managers were analyzed. The LMX and average LMX of nurses were positively related to positive psychological states. Nurse managers displayed significant associations between high LMX dispersion and good psychological states. When average LMX was low, management effectiveness increased as LMX dispersion increased; when average LMX was high, management effectiveness was almost constant.

Conclusion

The unit’s LMX characteristics appear to be related to the psychological states of both nurses and nurse managers. Increasing the LMX of each nurse may lead to positive psychological states for not only that nurse but all nurses in the unit. When LMX with subordinates is low, increasing LMX with a portion of nurse managers should be a priority to improve their psychological states.

Peer-mentees' challenges in an undergraduate peer-group clinical mentoring programme in a nursing education institution

Background

Clinical competency and professional growth amongst nursing students is the cornerstone of a nursing education programme. The demanding and complex training of nursing students requires various clinical teaching and learning strategies such as peer-group clinical mentoring.

Aim

The objective of this research was to explore and describe the challenges that peer-mentees experience in an undergraduate peer-group clinical mentoring programme in one-specific nursing education institution in the North West Province.

Setting

The study was conducted at a nursing education institution in North West Province.

Methods

A qualitative, retrospective case study research design was used. Two separate World Café sessions following a semi-structured schedule based on Gibbs Reflective Cycle were conducted with 51 peer-mentees who were mentored in clinical practice. Four levels of qualitative thematic data analyses were employed to analyse the data.

Results

Five themes emerged from the findings of the study, namely, poor implementation of the peer-group clinical mentoring programme, ineffective undergraduate peer-group clinical mentoring programme, undesirable attitudes of the mentors, mentors unprofessional conduct as well as communication challenges. Ten sub-themes emerged from the findings. Literature control was done to support the findings.

Conclusion

The findings showed that undergraduate nursing students faced a diversity of challenges in the effective learning and teaching of peer-mentees in a clinical context. Limitations and recommendations of the study were given. Recommendations were given for nursing practice, education and research.

Nurses' experiences regarding shift patterns in isolation wards during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: A qualitative study

AIM AND OBJECTIVE

To explore nurses' experiences regarding shift patterns while providing front-line care for COVID-19 patients in isolation wards of hospitals in Shanghai and Wuhan during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Our findings will help to optimise shift work scheduling, use the existing nursing workforce more efficiently and improve nursing quality.

BACKGROUND

Nurses are one of the main professionals fighting against COVID-19. Providing care for COVID-19 patients is challenging. In isolation wards, the workload has increased, and the workflow and shift patterns are completely different from the usual. More importantly, there is a shortage of nurses. Therefore, it is essential and urgent to arrange nurses' shifts correctly and use the existing workforce resources efficiently.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive study of 14 nurses in Chinese hospitals was conducted.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were used based on the phenomenological research method; data were analysed using Colaizzi's method of data analysis. This study aligns with the COREQ checklist.

RESULTS

Four themes were extracted: assess the competency of nurses to assign nursing work scientifically and reasonably, reorganise nursing workflow to optimise shift patterns, communicate between managers and front-line nurses to humanise shift patterns, and nurses' various feelings and views on shift patterns.

CONCLUSION

It is necessary to arrange shift patterns scientifically and allocate workforce rationally to optimise nursing workforce allocation, reduce nurses' workload, improve nursing quality and promote physical and mental health among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

This study emphasised nurses' experiences on shift patterns in isolation wards, providing useful information to manage shift patterns. Nursing managers should arrange shifts scientifically, allocate nursing workforce rationally, formulate emergency plans and establish emergency response rosters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A scoping review of the nursing workforce's changing demography: Supporting Baby-Boomer nurses

AIMS

This scoping review discusses two telecommuting options to advance scholarship regarding Baby-Boomer nurses' delayed retirement and to extend their contribution to bedside nursing.

BACKGROUND

Peer-reviewed studies published in the 15 years before COVID-19 indicate that Baby-Boomer nurses' retirement will increase the global nursing shortage. However, three international trends have affected Baby-Boomer nurses' decision to delay their retirement.

EVALUATION

This review observed the scoping review framework.

KEY ISSUES

COVID-19 further disrupts the current understanding of Baby-Boomer nurses' retirement as they recognize COVID-19's impact on health care systems and younger nurses. Technological advancements and the changing needs of health care delivery have made telecommuting a practical possibility.

CONCLUSION

Baby-Boomer nurses can leverage alternative work arrangements to meet their needs and to contribute to clinical practice through telecommuting. This approach extends Baby-Boomer nurses' careers and creates a resource for bedside nurses.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Clinical experience matters at the bedside. Telecommuting maximizes the retention of Baby-Boomer nurses' clinical expertise to benefit patients and to socialize bedside nurses. Baby-Boomer nurses can contribute to patient monitoring as well as patient education and counselling through telehealth. They can also provide asynchronous and synchronous telementoring to bedside nurses.

How do nurse managers describe clinical nurses' work arrangements? A qualitative study

Aim

The researcher sought to understand how nurse managers describe nurses in alternative work arrangements.

Design

The researcher conducted this study using grounded theory.

Method

Semi-structured interviews. A theoretical sample of 26 baccalaureate-prepared nurse managers located across the United States participated in the study.

Results

A typology of five work arrangements provides descriptors that contribute toward greater conceptual clarity on nurses' work arrangements. The data reveal that the typology is fluid because nurses can easily switch across work arrangements. Because the rise in alternative work arrangements means that nurses can leave permanent positions-or explore different work arrangements-when circumstances permit or necessitate, nurses who do not receive continued mentoring will likely bring their deficiencies in skill and/or knowledge to facilities where they find future employment. Hence, inadequate mentoring at the unit level has practical consequences for the quality of patient care at the institutional level.