Infection control and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus decolonization:the perspective of nursing home staff

Infection control and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nursing homes have started to assume greater importance in practice and policy.

Testing a model for developing, implementing and evaluating a strategy to improve the quality of nursing and midwifery care in an acute hospital trust.

Abstract:
Background: Health care organisations
worldwide are faced with the need to develop
and implement strategic organisational plans
to meet the challenges of modern health care.
There is a need for models for developing, implementing and evaluating strategic plans that engage practitioners, and make a measurable difference to the patients that they serve. These presentations describe the development, implementation and evaluation of such a model by a team of senior nurses and practice developers, to underpin a strategy for nursing and midwifery in an acute hospital trust. Developing a Strategy The PARIHS (Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services) conceptual framework (Kitson et al, 1998) proposes that successful implementation of change in practice is a function of the interplay of three core elements: the level of evidence supporting the proposed change; the context or environment in which the change takes place, and the way in which change is facilitated. We chose to draw on this framework to develop our strategy and implementation plan (O’Halloran, Martin and Connolly, 2005). At the centre of the plan are ward managers. These professionals provide leadership for the majority of staff in the trust and so were seen to be a key group in the implementation process.

Gender, gender roles and completion of nursing education:a longitudinal study

The current worldwide nursing shortage and high attrition of nursing students remain a challenge for the nursing profession. The aim of this paper was to investigate how key psychological attributes and constructions differentiate between completers and non-completers of nursing education. A questionnaire including measures of gender role identity and perceived gender appropriateness of careers was administered to 384 students early in the first year of the course. At the end of the programme attrition rates were obtained. The findings indicate that males were more likely to leave the course than females. Furthermore, those who completed the course tended to view nursing as more appropriate for women, in contrast to the non-completers who had less gender typed views. The female-dominated nature of nursing, prevalent stereotypes and gender bias inherent in nursing education seem to make this an uncomfortable place for males and those with less gendered typed views. Whilst it is acknowledged that attrition is undoubtedly a complex issue with many contributing factors, the nursing profession need to take steps to address this bias to ensure their profession is open equally to both female and male recruits.

An exploration of nursing home managers' knowledge of and attitudes towards the management of pain in residents with dementia

Background The aims of this study were to explore the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that nursing home managers hold with regard to the assessment and management of pain in residents with dementia and to determine how these may be affected by the demographic characteristics of the respondents.

Methods A questionnaire comprising six sections was mailed, on two occasions during March and April 2010, to 244 nursing home managers in Northern Ireland (representing 96% of the nursing homes in Northern Ireland).

Results The response rate was 39%. Nearly all respondents (96%) provided care to residents with dementia, yet only 60% of managers claimed to use pain treatment guidelines within their nursing home. Respondents demonstrated good knowledge about pain in residents with dementia and acknowledged the difficulties surrounding accurate pain assessment. Nursing home managers were uncertain about how to manage pain in residents with dementia, demonstrating similar concerns about the use of opioid analgesics to those reported in previous studies about pain in older people. Managers who had received recent training (p = 0.044) were less likely to have concerns about the use of opioid analgesia than those who had not received training. Respondents' beliefs about painkillers were largely ambivalent and were influenced by the country in which they had received their nursing education.

Conclusions The study has revealed that accurate pain assessment, training of nursing staff and a standardised approach to pain management (the use of pain management guidelines) within nursing homes all have a significant part to play in the successful management of pain in residents with dementia. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A study to evaluate the introduction of simulation as a teaching strategy for the mental health and learning disability fields of nursing, in an undergraduate nursing curriculum within one higher education institution

High Fidelity Simulation or Human Patient Simulation is an educational strategy embedded within nursing curricula throughout many healthcare educational institutions. This paper reports on an evaluative study that investigated the views of a group of Year 2 undergraduate nursing students from the mental health and the learning disability fields of nursing (n = 75) in relation to simulation as a teaching pedagogy. The study took place in the simulation suite within a School of Nursing and Midwifery in the UK. Two patient scenarios were used for the session and participants completed a 22-item questionnaire consisting of three biographical information questions and a 19-item Likert scale. Descriptive statistics were employed to illustrate the data and non-parametric testing (Mann-Whitney U test) was employed to test a number of hypotheses. Overall students were positive about the introduction of patient scenarios using the human patient simulator into the undergraduate nursing curriculum. This study used a small, convenience sample in one institution and therefore the results obtained cannot be generalised to nursing education before further research can be conducted with larger samples and a mixed-method research approach. However these results provide encouraging evidence to support the use of simulation within the mental health and the learning disability fields of nursing, and the development and implementation of further simulations to complement the students’ practicum.

Simulated peer assessment initiative aimed at increasing the competency of nursing students within fields of nursing

Newly qualified nurses have been educated and assessed as being proficient carrying out certain procedures ,one such insertion of nasogastric feeding tube. Link between theory and practice will be explored. Highlighting the value of low fidelity simulation and peer assessment to enhance skills and competencies.