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Employing internationally educated nurses (IENs) to address the nursing workforce shortage is common in many countries, including the United States. This study examined the relationship between unit utilization of IENs and collaboration in U.S. hospitals. Results indicated more IENs on a unit did not significantly affect the collaboration among nurses and between nurses and physicians. The presence of IENs significantly influenced unit nursing characteristics, such as education attainment and unit tenure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical incidents occur in all settings, and healthcare professionals (HCPs) must be prepared to manage ensuing impacts. Effective navigational strategies are needed to enhance recovery so HCPs can remain in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study on the growth of travel nursing in the U.S. The study examined the expansion of health care demand and shortages of nurses. It also investigated the effects of excessive overtime hours on nurses. Healthcare organizations are advised to determine the cost of travel nurses in comparison to the full cost of core staff.

The article presents a study on trends in nursing care efficiency in acute care nursing units in the U.S. Topics discussed include adaptation of the Donabedian quality improvement model, definition of efficiency in the health care system and use of the data envelopment analysis to estimate efficiency. It discusses findings on changes in efficiency between Magnet and non-Magnet hospital units, teaching status and nurse staffing skills.

This descriptive study used mock codes and a written education intervention to address RN under-performance during patient emergencies. Units with shorter lengths of stay, more experienced RNs, and a greater percentage of RNs had higher mock code scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of a 66-year-old African-American woman who had inadequate skin assessment in a darkly pigmented patient. She underwent adrenal-sparing laparoscopic nephrectomy and was asked to have computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis. The article also discussed the patient's transfer to the medical intensive care unit (MICU).

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-driven indwelling urinary catheter removal protocol in an acute care setting. Background: The most common hospital-acquired infection is catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). These infections account for 40% of all hospital-acquired infections. Although indwelling urinary catheters may be a needed intervention, studies have demonstrated over half of the patients who receive a urinary catheter do not have a valid indication for its use. Methodology: A retrospective chart review allowed measurement of prevalence of catheter usage, dwell time, and CAUTIs before and after implementation of the protocol. Indwelling catheter usage was tabulated monthly from nursing clinical documentation. The sum of catheter days was divided by the total patient days and multiplied by 100 to get a percentage of catheter usage for each month. Dwell time was calculated by tabulating the length of time in days each patient had an indwelling catheter and dividing it by the total number of catheterized patients to determine the mean duration in days. The number of CAUTIs was divided by the total number of patients with urinary catheters and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of CAUTI. Results: Prior to implementing the nurse-driven removal protocol, indwelling urinary catheter usage was 37.6%, mean dwell time was 3.35 days, and the CAUTI rate was 0.77%. After implementation of the protocol, catheter usage was 27.7%, mean dwell time was 3.46 days, and the CAUTI rate 0.35%. Implications for Nursing: Findings support the use of a nurse-driven protocol to reduce the incidence and duration of urinary catheterization, to decrease incidence of CAUTI, and to improve the quality of care for hospitalized patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers evaluated the agreement of temperatures measured with a temporal artery thermometer when sequentially used by the same person and a second user in 34 postoperative patients. The differences in two temperatures measured by a single user and between two persons were small and within the range of acceptable values set by experts when evaluating temperature devices for hospital use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opioid-dependent patients have unique pain management and psychosocial needs. Inadequate staff training, the absence of addiction screening and intervention protocols, and stigma related to opioid use can impact outcomes negatively for these patients in general hospital settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 3 million migrant farm workers are employed in the United States. Many factors place them at risk for work-related disease and injury. Knowledge of workers' health issues can prepare medical- surgical nurses to anticipate and meet the needs of this underserved population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article cites a study analyzing fluctuating unit census for timely staffing intervention of nurses in U.S. hospitals, from a nursing administration perspective and from a nursing informatics perspective. The computer system in the study hospital, labeled Caregiver Patient Ratio (CGPR) which provides timely tracking of nursing care hours and patient census data, was used to generate field study data. Data from the CGPR system were reviewed to identify units with a large amount of admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) activity. Although data were available from a total of 48 units, units having psychiatric, obstetrical, pediatric, or operating room/post-anesthesia patients were excluded from analysis to provide a more manageable sample size. From the selected units, data on midnight census, average daily census data, and total treated patients were examined. From the nursing administrative perspective, findings of the study, reportedly, seem to indicate that better data are needed related to nursing time spent with ADT patients.

The article discusses the effects of nurse staffing on the quality of patient care. It discusses how understaffing affects patients, their loved one, the nursing staff itself, and the medical institution they are in. It explains how adequate staffing results to reduced mortality rate. It explains the importance of patient satisfaction. It also suggests strategies for improving nurse staffing.

There has been a national movement during 1990s in the U.S. toward redesigning inpatient care. With the emphasis in health care shifting to the outpatient setting, inpatient services have often become fragmented by small, specialized units organized by patient acuity levels. Hospitals are rethinking the way health care is delivered. Patient-focused work redesign involves developing teams and rebuilding care, as well as tearing down barriers between departments in the delivery care. To address these concerns, a multidisciplinary team was developed to create a patient-focused care system.

The current nursing shortage is severe and expected to worsen in the U.S. In critical care units, the shortage is particularly acute. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses projects a significant increase in the number of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in the 1990s. As the number of beds increases, so does the need for qualified nurses. Consequently, identification of factors affecting the retention of these nurses is essential. Collaboration among ICU nurses and physicians has received attention recently because of its potential to improve patient outcomes.

The article discusses the significance of the concept of respect to medical-surgical nurses. According to the author, the concept of respect includes a feeling of deep admiration drawn by the abilities, qualities, or achievements of someone or something. She adds that a person who is disrespected feels being ignored, insulted, disregarded, and treated discourteously. A brief description of the important role of medical-surgical nurses is provided.

The article focuses on a survey of 16,362 nurses who work in 316 hospitals in four states in the U.S., which reveals that nurses working in an electronic health record (EHR) are less likely to report poor quality patient safety compared to nurses working in non-EHR environment.