[A Predictive Model on Patient-Centered Care of Hospital Nurses in Korea]

PURPOSE

Patient-centered care is a widely utilized concept in nursing and health care. However, the key components of patient-centered nursing have not yet been reported. Moreover, previous studies on patient-centered care have mostly focused on components of nursing rather than organizational factors. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of influential factors of patient-centered care is required.

METHODS

The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical model based on person-centered care theory, and the relevant literature and to test the developed model with covariance structure analysis in order to determine the causal paths among the variables.

RESULTS

The model fit indices for the hypothetical model were suitable for the recommended level (goodness of fit index=.87, standardized root mean residual=.01, root mean square error of approximation=.06, Tucker-Lewis index=.90, comparative fit index=.92, parsimonious normed fit index=.75). In this study, five of the six paths established in the initial hypothetical model were supported. The variables of teamwork, self-leadership, and empathy accounted for 56.4% of hospital nurses' patient-centered care. Among these, empathy was the strongest predictor of patient-centered care.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that it is necessary to use strategies to improve self-leadership and empathy. In addition to enhancing the personal factors of nurses, nursing organizations should strive for effective multidisciplinary cooperation with active support for patient-centered care and openness to change.

Relationships among demands at work, aggression, and verbal abuse among registered nurses in South Korea

BACKGROUND

In order to improve organizational culture and job outcomes, it is important to characterize and better understand the relationship between aggression and verbal abuse among nurses.

PURPOSE

To examine the relationships among demands at work, aggression, and verbal abuse among nurses.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted using survey data from three tertiary hospitals located in South Korea. Sixteen nursing units were selected and 378 nurses' data were used as the final sample. The relationships were examined by multiple linear or logistic regression analyses.

FINDINGS

More than 70% of the nurses had experienced at least 1 type of verbal abuse. Higher physical aggression and hostility were significantly related to greater verbal abuse experience.

CONCLUSION

To prevent the vicious cycle of victims becoming perpetrators, it is necessary to develop and implement concrete strategies to manage verbal abuse and aggression among nurse colleagues.

Impact of critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, and leadership on clinical competence in nursing students

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships among critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, leadership and clinical competence, and identify the factors influencing clinical competence in nursing students.

METHODS

In this descriptive study, 153 nursing students (from 2nd to 4th school year) of a university in South Korea were enrolled in December 2010. The instruments for this study were the Korean versions of the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Leadership Inventory, and Clinical Competence Scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, MANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression with PASW 18.0 software.

RESULTS

The mean scores (ranging from 1 to 5) in nursing students for critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, leadership, and clinical competence were 3.44, 3.51, 3.55, and 3.42, respectively. Positive correlations were found for clinical competence with critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, and leadership. The strongest predictor of clinical competence was leadership. In addition, leadership, nursing school year, and subjective academic achievement accounted for 34.5% of variance in clinical competence.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that developing leadership, critical thinking disposition, and self-efficacy in undergraduate nursing education is important to improve clinical competence of nursing students.