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A group of male and female general nurses was tested using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), with statistical modifications, to determine the degree of pshychologically 'androgynous' sex role characterization, so that comparisons might be drawn between the sexes regarding attributes commonly held to be desirable for nurses. Some indicators for future trends in nurse recruitment are given.

AIM: Little is known about the working practices of community children's nurses and how they manage the complexities of working with children and young people with life-limiting, life-threatening and chronic ill-health conditions and their families. This action research project aimed to find ways of managing community children's nursing caseloads that would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of services and inform negotiations with service commissioners. METHODS: A data collection template comprising six input categories was adapted from the Cornwall Community Trust's health visitor weighting framework to reflect the complexity of need and the family focus of the service provided. Data were collected for one year by nurses in one integrated community children's nursing and clinical psychology service in the Southwest of England. Qualitative interviews were held with the nurses to further explore patterns identified in the input data. RESULTS: From the documentary analysis and the interviews it was possible to identify a typical ratio of client numbers in each category which allowed the nurses to be proactive in meeting children's and families' assessed needs. The numbers of clients on caseloads fluctuated over time and varied between geographical caseload areas. The type of work carried out by individual nurses varied depending on the type of contract for their locale. However, by weighting the clients in each category it was possible to arrive at a means of meaningful comparison in terms of family centred nursing. CONCLUSION: The nursing input framework supports monthly caseload monitoring by community children's nurses and informs reports to the service commissioners as part of activity monitoring data. The mechanism will be tested in comparable services in the UK to gauge its transferability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives. (1) To develop an insight into the opportunities and barriers to nurse prescribing for a case study of children's nurses. (2) To consider the implications of independent nurse prescribing for children's nurses and the potential for nurse prescribing to be developed in acute children's care settings. (3) To use research data to develop a training strategy. Background. Nurse prescribing in the UK is evolving and current initiatives aim to extend the range and scope of prescribing. Children's nursing presents interesting challenges because of off-license drugs. Successful nurse prescribing lies in practice area preparation, local policy and practice development and identifying precourse training needs. Design. Case study. Research questions. (1) What opportunities do children's nurses identify as being appropriate for nurse prescribing? (2) Can children's nurses identify the benefits of patient group directives and the different levels of nurse prescribing? (3) What preparation do children's nurses need for nurse prescribing? Methods. Focus group of health visitors/district nurses to inform a survey of 500 nurses working in acute and specialist care settings in a large Children's Hospital. Results. Focus group main themes - training, supervision and the development of confidence, record keeping, benefits of nurse prescribing, autonomous practice, the formulary and its use in practice. Response rate was 27%. Senior nurses and specialists identified potential benefits for their practice. Course content needed to focus on children, i.e. children's physiology and pharmokinetics. Children's nurses frequently advise junior medical colleagues on prescribing issues. Patient group directives are a useful alternative to prescribing. Conclusions. The results provide an insight into the training needs of children's nurses and specialist nurses which may be used to develop nurse prescribing training and practice. Training may need to be targeted at senior nurses/specialist nurses initially to develop a critical mass to change organizational culture. Relevance to clinical practice. Pertinent for senior nurses responsible for developing children's nursing practice and services for children in acute settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on one aspect of a research project carried out to monitor and evaluate the introduction of primary nursing on four demonstration wards in one health authority. Nursing staff working on the wards were interviewed to identify how the changes were affecting them and their work. Stress questionnaires were also completed by a sample of nurses on the wards. Responsibility and communication -- key concepts emerging from the data -- are discussed and related to the literature on primary nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]