Search

Aim: Explore the potential of a part-time work option for nurses as a strategy for managing domestic markets in Jordan by examining perceptions of working nurses and nursing students in the context of current social and cultural variables., Background: Unemployment among Jordanian nurses has become a reality in recent years. However, labor markets literature in nursing rarely studies what kind of policy responses should occur during a surplus of nurses., Methods: A cross-sectional design structured the study. The perceptions of nurses and students were measured through a questionnaire developed specifically for the purpose of this exploratory study., Results: Both nurses (n = 51) and students (n = 56) supported the introduction of the new suggested part-time option. However, students were more willing to start working or transfer into part-time work, take payment on hourly basis, and support colleagues to transfer into part-time work. Different solutions were also suggested by participants., Discussion: The results were useful for providing the foundational data to further study the viability of a part-time work option for Jordanian nurses. The results show how optimistic current and future Jordanian nurses are regarding this employment option. For countries that may need to diversify their employment models due to excess supply of nurses and to address gender imbalances, this work may help inform policy development., Implications for Nurses: Both employed and unemployed nurses will benefit if health care managers consider its application. The flexibility of this option may help improve the quality of life of many nurses., Implications for Health Policy: The results of this study provide nursing leaders and managers with foundational evidence that may be applicable in the Jordanian health sector. Although further studies are recommended, nursing leaders and policy makers should consider such a solution., (© 2016 International Council of Nurses.)

Background: The prevalence of obesity and the female labor participation rate have been rapidly increasing in South Korea. To examine the relationship between these factors, we investigated the association between timing and type of work and obesity in the Korean female working population., Methods: Data collected by the 2008 Community Health Survey (CHS) were analyzed using a complex, stratified, multistage, probability cluster sampling method. Descriptive analysis of relevant variables was performed using the chi-square test, and work-related variables by work type were identified using multivariate logistic regression. The relationship between long working hours, night/shift work, and body-mass index in female workers and explanatory, stratifying, and dependent variables and covariates was analyzed using multiple logistic regression models., Results: A total of 42,234 CHS participants were eligible for study inclusion. Among both manual and nonmanual workers, working less than 40 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.31 and aOR 1.29; 95% CI 1.09-0.52, respectively) or more than 60 (aOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.06-1.30 and aOR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04-1.57, respectively) hours per week was significantly associated with obesity after controlling for covariates. However, working type (day or night/shift) was significantly associated with obesity only in nonmanual workers (aOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.01-1.42). When we controlled working type in the model, manual workers who work more than 60 hours show higher likelihood of being obese (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.18)., Conclusion: Working fewer (<40) or more than (>60) hours per week is significantly associated with obesity in the Korean female working population, regardless of the type of work. The type of work (day vs. night/shift work) was significantly associated with obesity only in only nonmanual workers.

Part-time work concepts are requested for different reasons from an increasing number of employees. Despite this fact there are no systematic part-time work concepts published in the German literature, especially for physicians working in hospitals. This article describes background and circumstances of a part-time work concept which was established two years ago in a department of anaesthesiology at a university hospital in Germany. This concept considers needs of young families as well as older employees. We are convinced that a transparent part-time work concept is a good argument for job-seeking physicians when deciding for an employer. The benefit for the already employed colleagues has at least the same value., (© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York.)

Objectives: The present study was designed to identify the association between work hours and obesity in Korean adult manual and nonmanual workers, and to determine whether there is a gender difference in this association., Methods: The study was conducted using Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data collected between 2007 and 2010. Individuals aged below 25 or over 64 years, pregnant women, part-time workers, soldiers, housewives and students were excluded. The total number of individuals included in the analysis was 8,889 (5,241 male and 3,648 female subjects). The outcome variable was obesity, defined as body mass index ≥25 kg/m(2). Variables considered in the model were age, education, income, marital status, alcohol drinking, smoking, daily energy intake, physical activity, sleep hours per day, the type of job, work hours, and work schedule. Work hours were categorized as <40, 40-48 (reference), 49-60, and >60 hours per week., Results: In the multiple SURVEYLOGISTIC regression analyses, the adjusted odds ratio of obesity for long work hours (>60 hours per week) in male manual workers was 1.647 (95% confidence interval 1.262-2.151). Long work hours did not significantly increase the odds ratio for obesity in male nonmanual workers and female manual and nonmanual workers., Conclusions: More than 60 work hours per week increased the risk of obesity in Korean male manual workers. This result might be helpful in preventing obesity in Korean adult workers, especially male manual workers.

Aim: To examine an employer response to a government employment policy, the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG), over a 2-year period (2008-2009 and 2009-2010)., Background: Healthcare organizations rely on a stable supply of nurses to meet their staffing needs. However, employment trends have indicated a propensity for part-time employment. The NGG was created to stimulate full-time employment of new graduate nurses in Ontario, Canada., Methods: A mixed methods design was used, which included online surveys and focus groups. All healthcare providers (n = 1198) were surveyed in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. Each year, a sample of NGG employers participated in sector-specific focus groups., Results: Approximately 20% of potential healthcare employers participated in the NGG. Reasons for non-participation included lack of awareness of the initiative and lack of full-time jobs. Barriers to offering full-time employment to new graduates included lack of full-time vacancies and budget constraints., Conclusions: Employers perceive flexible staffing practices as a way to contain personnel costs but often at the expense of a stable full-time nursing workforce., Implications for Nursing Management: This research contributes to an understanding of employers' perspectives on full-time hiring and participation in a government employment policy., (© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Background: The article presents the results of evaluation of activities for older workers (50+). The aim of the study was the examination of older workers' opinions on activities undertaken in their companies related to maintaining older workers' employment., Material and Methods: Data is derived from the questionnaire survey conducted on 50+ employees (250 women and 250 men)., Results: Almost one fifth of the employees admitted that they feel discriminated against in their company. Only a quarter of older workers declared that they had special offer of trainings, most of them concerned update trainings, expending knowledge (40% of responses). Only about one fifth of respondents admitted that they were encouraged to further their education. The smallest number of actions concerned health promotion., Conclusions: Older workers have different needs than younger ones, especially in the organization and working conditions. Activities related to the management of aging in Poland are still taken to a small extent. Disturbing is the fact that so few respondents admitted that in their companies, there were activities conducted concerning health promotion. From the point of view of working capacity and extending the retirement age, such initiatives should be carried out on a large scale among workers of all ages, with particular emphasis on the elderly.

Midwives have long been internationally mobile, but there has been relatively little attention paid to the requirements that internationally educated midwives (IEMs) must meet to practice and become integrated into the health-care systems of their destination country. This paper examines from a comparative perspective the policy context and integration procedures that IEMs must follow in order to practice in Canada and how this compares with the U.S., the U.K., and Australia. The data upon which this paper is based are largely derived from an analysis of documents and websites for key organisations involved in the integration process supplemented with interviews with key informants influential in the assessment and integration of IEMs. What these data reveal is that the challenges for IEMs derive in large part from the differences in entry to practice requirements-midwifery and nursing training in three of the cases, baccalaureate training in one. Another critical factor is whether bridging or adaptation programmes are available (rarely in the U.S.), and whether they focus more on orientation objectives (as they do in the U.K. and Australia) or also the upgrading of skills (as they do in Canada) critical for IEM professional integration. These different approaches to the integration of IEMs have important implications for the 'brain drain' and 'brain waste' of much needed midwifery skills in both source and destination countries., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Internationally, nursing faculty shortages have been reported and there is a potential for them to worsen into the next decade as existing faculty age. To, in part, address this issue, across disciplines there is clearly an international trend towards the increasing casualisation of the higher education workforce. Despite the potential impact of this two-tiered workforce structure, there has been limited examination of the discipline specific issues related to the employment of a growing number of sessional nursing staff. This paper provides a critical review of the literature related to the employment of sessional teachers in higher education. The paper advances the discourse around the role and implications of employing sessional teachers in undergraduate nursing schools. Recommendations for supporting sessional staff and further research are presented., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Using data from the 2004 California Board of Registered Nursing Survey, a two-stage least-square equation was estimated to examine the effect of wages on hours worked by female registered nurses. Wages were found to have a nonlinear effect on hours worked, with a backward bending supply curve. Wages had a positive effect on the average hours worked per week up to $24.99 per hour and a negative effect between $30.00 and $100.00 per hour when compared with the wage category of $25.00 to $29.99. Results suggest that wages are important to secure the labor supply but do not increase aggregate supply beyond a wage threshold.

Against the background of expected changes in demography, this paper takes a deeper look at the concept of organizational age management. On the basis of the analysis of 32 organizational examples of good practice in age management, this paper seeks to make statements about the drivers, implementation strategies and effects of age management and derive requirements from this.

The paper is concerned with data, concepts and analyses necessary for understanding the nurse and midwifery workforces at a macro-level, and for developing policies and plans that can best assure the quality and sufficiency of those workforces in the future. The size, composition and age profile of the nurse workforce are set out first. This is followed by an outline of the notions of 'attachment' to and 'separation' from a profession. Data on the population with professional nurse qualifications, whether working in the profession, in another occupation, or not working illustrates the patterns of 'attachment' and 'separation' over the working age range. Historical developments since the 1960s are then considered, including the workforce size and age profile, the nurse labour market, pre-registration course completions, and movement in and out of Australian of nursing professionals. The nature and impact of the 'oversupply' of nurses in the early- to mid-1990s is discussed. Six matters are outlined that need to be taken into account when estimating future requirements. A discussion of the potential for quantitative impact on the overall nurse labour market from work redesign and role extension concludes that there is no easy solution for macro-level nurse workforce shortages, and that some otherwise very positive initiatives may exacerbate shortages. It is clear that further increases in pre-registration (and pre-enrolment) intakes and completions will be necessary, as least for a further 8-12 years. Some of the barriers to such increases are noted and suggestions for the future made.

Hospitals employing large numbers of residents increased their hiring of registered nurses, (including nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and other RNs with greater training) significantly more than hospitals with smaller numbers of residents as a result of the ACGME work hours reforms. Patient safety was the main intent of the regulation and should remain the central concern when discussing the merits of resident work-hours limitations. However, the regulations also reduced the number of resident labor hours available to hospitals. This analysis suggests that nurses have compensated for reduced resident workload, with an additional full-time nurse for every 5.5 residents. This finding contributes to a better understanding of the hospital labor response to the regulation that resulted in the reduction in resident hours.

This study examined organizational factors affecting the impact of shiftwork on work life conflict and subjective health. A model was proposed in which support from supervisors, support from colleagues, and team identity influence time-based work life conflict through two mediating variables: team climate and control over the working environment. Reduced conflict, in turn, produces enhanced psychological well-being and diminished physical symptoms. A structural equation model based on survey data from 530 nurses supported the proposed model. It also identified unpredicted direct links between team identity and physical symptoms, and between supervisor support and both control over the work environment and psychological well-being. The results indicate that organizational interventions focused on social support, team identity, team climate, and control can diminish the negative effects of shiftwork on work life conflict and health in shiftworkers.

This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, quantitative study in the port of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, aimed at identifying occupational risk perceptions in a sample of 306 temporary dockworkers. Most temporary dockworkers (93.46%) acknowledged the existence of health risks on the job, independently of schooling (p = 0.44) and job activity (p = 0.47). Risks identified by temporary workers as a whole included falling of suspended objects (8.43 +/- 2.47), noise (8.06 +/- 2.32), and bad weather conditions (8.05 +/- 2.48). Risks that varied significantly between jobs were: noise (p = 0.00), lifting loads manually (p = 0.00), work tools (p = 0,00), insufficient number of work team members (p = 0.03), extra wages based on productivity (p = 0.00), work pace (p = 0.01), working on scaffolding and other high areas (p = 0.00), workers moving on top of cargo (p = 0.00), and ship's ladders and gangways (p = 0.00). The study corroborated that temporary dock work is unhealthy and hazardous, and that the risks affect workers according to the specific jobs they perform.

Much has been written about current and future nursing shortages and the numerical gap between nurses available and projected nursing needs. Very little analysis has focused on the implications of the pending expertise gap within the nursing workforce. A graying and retiring registered nurse workforce will greatly increase the proportion of novice nurses with minimal experience in bedside practice. The expertise gap will also affect nursing education. This article explores the implications of these phenomena. Without careful planning, efforts to address the numerical shortage may inadvertently worsen the expertise gap, contributing to unsafe care and affecting nursing retention.

There has been a trend of growth in part-time employment within the Australian nursing workforce and currently half of the profession work part-time. While the literature across disciplines has postulated reasons behind preferences for part-time employment, little is known about nurses' motivators to work part-time. In an era of nursing shortages that form considerable barriers to meeting healthcare service demands, a clear understanding of these motivators is critical for the effective planning and management of the nursing workforce. A grounded theory study that explored the phenomenon of part-time nursing found that nurses' motivators to work part-time were complex and identifiable with nursing, establishing that nurses' working time decisions are made in contexts that may be unique to the profession. This paper provides an exhaustive description and explanation of one cohort of part-time nurses that accounts for variations between nurses and provides an understanding of the complexity of factors that contribute to nurses' decisions to work part-time.

Various reports and opinion papers have offered suggestions to alleviate the national and California RN shortages. The methodology of using the report card concept for comparing the number of RN jobs per 100,000 populations regionally with the national database further highlights the severe shortage of RN's in various regions in California. This report card method may potentially be used as a planning or forecasting tool, as well as a monitoring tool to initiate workforce development strategies and projects, and to evaluate their effectiveness over time.

Objective: Extended work schedules-those that vary from the standard eight hours per day, 35 to 40 hours per week-are common in nursing and contribute to problems with nursing recruitment and retention, in addition to compromising patient safety and the health and well-being of nurses. This study describes the nature and prevalence of such schedules across nursing settings., Methods: Quantitative survey data collected as part of the Nurses Worklife and Health Study were analyzed. The sample consisted of 2,273 RNs. Demographic data, information about respondents' primary jobs (position, workplace, and specialty), and specific work schedule variables were analyzed, including data on off-shifts, breaks, overtime and on-call requirements, time off between shifts, and how often respondents worked more than 13 hours per day and on scheduled days off and vacation days. Respondents were also asked about activities outside of work, commuting time, and other non-nursing activities and chores., Results: More than a quarter of the sample reported that they typically worked 12 or more hours per day, as did more than half of hospital staff nurses and more than a third of those with more than one job. A third of the total sample worked more than 40 hours per week, and more than a third worked six or more days in a row at least once in the preceding six months. Nearly a quarter rotated shifts. Almost one-quarter of nurses with more than one job worked 50 or more hours per week, and they were more likely to work many days consecutively, without sufficient rest between shifts, and during scheduled time off. Single parents were as likely as those with more than one job to work 13 to 15 hours per day, 50 to 60 hours or more per week, and many days consecutively. Seventeen percent of all nurses worked mandatory overtime, as did almost a quarter of the single parents. Nearly 40% of the total sample and more than 40% of hospital staff nurses had jobs with on-call requirements., Conclusions: The proportion of nurses who reported working schedules that exceed the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine should raise industry-wide concerns about fatigue and health risks to nurses as well as the safety of patients in their care.

This series on the state of the nursing workforce focuses on describing the results of the national surveys of RNs. The series begins with an analysis of RNs' perceptions of the current nursing shortage and whether they perceive the shortage has gotten better or worse over the past few years. Future topics will include RNs' perceptions of being a nurse and how they perceive certain aspects of their jobs; RNs' awareness of the J&J Campaign and whether they think it has been effective; RNs' perceptions of the impact of the shortage on the quality of patient care in hospitals; and various issues related to the age and diversity of the nursing profession.

In the beginning of 2003, the renal provider in Connecticut with the largest market share systematically reduced the hours of social workers and dietitians throughout its units. This change was part of a larger strategy of "leveraging and maximizing... organizational and management structure to improve patient, employee, and business care, including increased management emphasis on improving return on invested capital." For social workers in this company, the target ratio appeared to be 160 patients per 1 full-time equivalent. Soon after this increase in case ratio, the Connecticut Council of Nephrology Social Workers (CT CNSW) became concerned about the reduced level of social work services available to patients.

Objective: We used the Danish National Birth Cohort to estimate the effect of shift work on the duration of pregnancy and birth weight., Study Design: In the Danish National Birth Cohort (1998-2001), we identified women (and their singleton births): 32465 women with daytime work, 1038 women with fixed evening work, 400 women with fixed night work, 3137 women with rotating shift work (without night), and 3197 women with rotating shift work (with night) during pregnancy (first and second trimester). Birth outcomes were collected by linkage to the Central Population Register, the National Patient Register, and the National Birth Register. Gestational age at birth and birth weight were analyzed by means of general linear regression and logistic regression., Results: Mean gestational age at birth and birth weight at term for daytime work were 281 days and 3616 g, although 281 days and 3586 to 3626 g for shift work. There were no statistically significant differences in gestational age at birth or birth weight at term between any types of shift work and daytime work. Fixed night work had a high risk of postterm birth (odds ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.01-1.79); fixed evening work had a high risk of full-term low birth weight (odds ratio, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.10-2.94); and shift work as a group showed a slight excess of small-for-gestational-age babies (odds ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.00-1.18). The risk of postterm birth was modified by maternal occupation. Industrial workers with fixed night work had a high risk of postterm birth., Conclusion: Our results suggest that shift work during pregnancy had limited effects on indicators of fetal growth. Night work may prolong the duration of pregnancy and reduce fetal growth, especially among industrial workers.

Background: The number of physicians working as a locum tenens is increasing. Although most physicians who provide locum tenens coverage are often older and semiretired, an increasing number of physicians are taking this route for limited periods early in their careers., Methods: The medical literature was searched through MEDLINE using the key words "career choice," "contract services," and "locum tenens." Information about locum tenens was gained by the author through research and a personal experience working as a locum tenens., Results and Conclusion: Working as a locum tenens can be an opportunity to meet interesting patients, learn about local culture, see how practices are organized, learn adaptability, and broaden clinical skills. Opportunities are available through for-profit agencies, academic health centers, state agencies, federal sites such as the Indian Health Service, individual hospitals, and physicians or international staffing companies. Because the physician working as a locum tenens is an independent contractor, exercising some caution when choosing where to work by carefully checking workload and available resources is advised.

In 1994, the UKCC directed employers 'only to appoint persons into posts for which they have been appropriately by their programme of education and training leading to registration'. As part of a larger study into the expectations that NHS organisations have of newly qualified children's nurses, data were collected on the nursing registrations employers stipulated when wishing to appoint D grade staff to their children's wards. The survey was initially undertaken in 1998 and repeated in 2002. A letter requesting an application pack for 'a position as a D grade staff nurse on your children's ward/s' was sent to English NHS trusts identified as having a children's service. In 1998, 28 out of 47 (56 per cent) of the trusts appeared willing to employ nurses without a children's nursing qualification, indicating that a registered general nurse (RGN) or enrolled nurse qualification (EN) would be acceptable. In 2002, 12 of the trusts had changed their registration requirements for the D grade post since 1998 but four (out of 19 that provided data) were still apparently willing to employ non-children's nurses on children's wards. The size of the sample makes it inappropriate to generalize the results across all acute NHS trusts but there are indications that in spite of government policy and recommendations, some trusts appear willing to consider employing nurses without a children's qualification on children's wards.

This paper examines the nature and level of flexible employment in the National Health Service (NHS) by investigating the extent to which part-time work and job sharing arrangements are used in the provision and delivery of health care. It attempts to analyse the reasons for an increasing number of part-timers and a very limited number of job sharers in the NHS and to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each pattern of employment. Data collected through the use of questionnaires and interviews from 55 NHS trusts reveal that the use of part-time work is a tradition that seems to fit well with the cost-saving measures imposed on the management of the service but at the same time it has led to increasing employee dissatisfaction, and that job sharing arrangements are suitable for many NHS employees since the majority of them are women with a desire to combine family commitments with career prospects but a very limited number of employees have had the opportunity to job share. Therefore it is concluded that to attract and retain the quality of staff needed to ensure high performance standards in the provision and delivery of health care the NHS should accept the diversity that exists within its workforce and take a more proactive approach to promoting a variety of flexible working practices and family-friendly policies.