Nurses' perception of workplace discrimination

Why do nurses leave their jobs? Understanding person-related hostility in the healthcare sector of Pakistan

Nursing is considered indigent and oppressed because of uneven organizational hierarchies and unsatisfactory work environments. This study aimed to highlight the critical aspects of organizational culture in the nursing profession and, in general, those propagating hostile behaviours among female nursing staff that result in dissatisfaction and intention to leave the organization. A quantitative research approach was applied and a survey research strategy was used to collect the data. Convenience sampling was applied and data were collected from female nurses who were easily accessible and willing to participate in the research. A total of 707 questionnaires were collected from 14 hospitals and the data was analyzed using SmartPLS 4. Lack of administrative support and gender discrimination positively affected person-related hostility. In contrast, person-related hostility mediated the relationship between gender discrimination and lack of administrative support with the intention to leave. Direct or indirect person-related hostility factors can severely damage organizational reputation and quality and may cause the loss of employees with specific organizational knowledge and exposure. Losing an experienced employee to a newer one cannot replace the costs incurred on hiring, training, and providing knowledge to older employees. HR managers in organizations should devise strategies and policies that allow for the timely resolution of issues of nursing staff based on fair work performance.

Perceived authority gradients among anaesthetic teams in Malta

Over the decades, cases like those of Elaine Bromiley, who passed away after a 'cannot intubate, cannot ventilate' scenario, have prompted deeper analyses of team dynamics and authority gradients. It is thought that a steep authority gradient may have impeded lifesaving communication between members of the anaesthetic team, leading to her death. Using an online questionnaire, we carried out a cross-sectional observational study exploring the perceived authority gradients within anaesthetic teams in the main operating theatres at Mater Dei Hospital, Malta. Nurses were found to experience a steeper authority gradient than anaesthetists. They were less comfortable making suggestions too and also felt like the suggestions they made were less listened to by lead anaesthetists. To a lesser extent, females also experienced a steeper authority gradient. Increasing age and grade were associated with a flatter authority gradient. Further research needs to be carried out to identify the underlying reasons behind the steeper perceived authority gradient affecting nurses. Interventions are being planned to attempt to decrease the perceived authority gradient.

Barriers to ethical treatment of patients in clinical environments: A systematic narrative review

Background and Aim

It is essential that healthcare providers display ethical behavior toward their patients. Despite development of codes of ethics for clinical practice, the occurrence of unethical behaviors toward patients is alarmingly high. The present study was conducted to identify the barriers to ethical treatment of patients in clinical environments.

Methods

Through systematic narrative review, the present study investigated the barriers to ethical treatment of patients. This study was carried out in line with Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 and Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Results

Ethical challenges in clinical environments can be classified into two categories: "organizational factors" and "personal factors." Organizational factors consist of three domains: managers and regulations, organizational environment, and human resources. Personal factors consist of two domains: factors related to patients and their families and factors related to care providers.

Conclusion

Research shows that encouraging healthcare teams to adopt ethical behaviors through education and having them persistently observe ethics in their clinical practice will not completely bridge the gap between theory and practice: it seems that the clinical environment, the personal characteristics of healthcare team members and patients, and the organizational values of the healthcare system pose the greatest barrier to bridging this gap. Accordingly, in addition to raising healthcare providers' awareness of the existing issues in clinical ethics, measures should be taken to improve organizational culture and atmosphere.

The nurses' perception of the factors influencing professional misconduct: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Professional misconduct undermines safe and quality care; however, little is known about its nature and influential factors.

AIM

This study aimed to explain the factors influencing professional misconduct in nurses.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This qualitative study was conducted using the conventional content analysis method.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 19 nurses working in the hospital selected through a purposeful method and analyzed by Graneheim and Lundman approach.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The ethics committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences approved this study with the ethics code IR.TUMS.FNM.REC.1400.187. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Participants were assured of confidentiality.

FINDINGS

Factors influencing professional misconduct by nurses were categorized into three main categories: human factors (nurses' professional characteristics, personal characteristics of nurses and patient/companion, patient's clinical condition), procedural factors (procedural conditions, possibility of proving misconduct), and organizational factors (recruitment process, conditions of resources, managing misconduct, bureaucracy, and ward characteristics).

CONCLUSION

This study assists in explaining the factors influencing professional misconduct by nurses. Therefore this study's results can help managers and planners develop interventions to prevent and correct factors that contribute to misconduct and strengthen factors that prevent misconduct in order to ensure quality and safe patient care.

Acts of xenophobia among nurse educators: A qualitative study

Background

Xenophobia has been in existence for centuries, though subtle and not too pronounced as of recent years. It has now pervaded all spheres including businesses, academia and industries. Previous studies have found it to be disruptive both to organizations and employees.

Purpose

To explore acts of xenophobia among nurse educators, underpinned by the frustration and aggression theory.

Method

A qualitative study involving twenty-five nurse educators in Botswana was carried out between July 2019 and August 2020. Open-ended semi-structured questions were used to collect face to face in-depth interviews from participants.

Findings

Dehumanizing comments, labelling and discrimination were the three themes that emerged from interpretative analysis. Affected persons were mostly foreign nationals and people of different ethnic groupings.

Conclusion

The study concluded that there is need for a policy that addresses acts of xenophobia and an intervention to mitigate acts of xenophobia.

Workplace discrimination and its relationship with organizational commitment among the surgical technologist: A national cross-sectional study in Iran

Background

Discrimination in healthcare centers can reduce care quality and job satisfaction, weaken the morale of the personnel and increase the cost of health care and finally lead to turnover intention. Discrimination in hospitals can affect the work outcomes and performance indicators of nurses such as their organizational commitment. Due to the vital role of surgical technologists in surgery and justice as the basis of effective performance, as well as the role of organizational commitment in care quality, the present study was conducted aimed to determine the level of workplace discrimination from viewpoint of the surgical technologists and its relationship with the organizational commitment.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 615 surgical technologists in 8 metropolises of Iran in 2022. The sampling method in this study was multi-stage. The data collection tools included three questionnaires (demographic information, workplace discrimination, and Allen and Meyer's organizational commitment). Data were collected within 2 months and analyzed by SPSS version 22. Descriptive and inferential analyzes including independent t-test and analysis of variance were used for data analysis. p-value ≥ 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

The average age of the participants in the study were 29.90 ± 5.83 years with the participation of 464 women. The results of the data analysis showed an inverse and significant correlation between workplace discrimination and organizational commitment (r = -0.149, p-value < 0.001). The mean and standard deviation for workplace discrimination was 108.20 ± 11.53, which is average. Also, the mean and standard deviation for total organizational commitment was 100.56 ± 19.14, which is higher than the average.

Conclusion

According to the results of this study, managers need to pay attention to reduce discrimination in the operating room and establish organizational justice, to improve the motivation of surgical technologists and the quality of their performance. It is also suggested that operating room managers and supervisors, by creating a safe, confidential, and fearless environment to encourage the personnel to express what they understand about discriminatory conditions.