Nurses as working women

Women today make up nearly half of the nation's workforce. A number of these women have children at home, and women also often are responsible for providing care to older adult family members or friends. The different roles assigned to women in today's society are burdensome, particularly for nurses who deal with the stress of managed care, downsizing, the nursing shortage, caring for increasingly ill patients, long and irregular hours, and daily crises. There are ways that nurses can modify their work situation, however, to help them cope with the rigors of the workplace and the home

An innovative strategy to enhance new faculty success.

Faculty stress is a factor in the current shortage of nursing faculty. New faculty members in schools of nursing are subject to stress from many sources. This article reports on an innovative strategy that decreases stress for new faculty while facilitating faculty tenure success

Targeted Group Advising.

Student advising is an integral part of the faculty student relationship. However, with the increasing enrollment of pre-nursing students 1 and the complexity of university requirements, advising requires more time and expertise. Further, many students need more flexibility because they are actively employed or balancing a family and education. In an effort to meet the diverse needs of students, our faculty has developed targeted group advising, an innovative method for advising students that remains student centered

Inclusion of women in nursing research.

Background: Although the inclusion of women in research has been examined in medical publications, little is known about how federal mandates have influenced the inclusion of women in research published in nursing journals. Objective: This study aimed to examine the inclusion of women in published nursing research from 1995 to 2001, with a focus on the leading causes of mortality. Method: All the articles in each journal were reviewed, and all the research articles that focused on the top 10 causes of death were sampled to measure the inclusion of women, the characteristics of the women included, the funding source, and the topic. Results: Of the 1,149 studies reviewed, 139 met the inclusion criteria, and 117 of these studies included women. Only 15 of the studies reported the age of the women in their samples, and 10 of these included women between the ages of 35 and 64 years. The most frequently reported race was White (n = 21), followed by African American (n = 17), Hispanic (n = 6), and Asian (n = 2). There were no associations among year of publication (p = .62), federal funding (p = .30), and inclusion of women. Among the studies including women, heart disease was the most frequent topic (n = 52), followed by Alzheimer's disease (n = 21), cancer (n = 14), respiratory illness (n = 14), and diabetes (n = 8). Discussion: Although the majority of the research included women, continuing efforts must be made to include sufficient numbers of women

The importance of social support for rural mental health

While the mentally ill are considered to be vulnerable as a group, those who are mentally ill and reside in rural communities are at a greater disadvantage due to limited access to health care, a scarcity of resources, and traditional cultural belief systems. Social support has been found to have a direct effect on the well-being of families and individuals. Specific strategies are presented which will assist rural health nurses in providing the support systems necessary to help rural residents in managing and coping with stress and mental health problems

Postanesthesia care of the traumatic brain injured patient

Each year 1.5 million people in the United States suffer a traumatic brain injury (7BI), and many of these patients require immediate surgery. 7BI patients provide additional assessment and technological challenges for perianesthesia nursing care. A major goal of PACU nursing is the prevention of secondary head injury during the post- anesthesia period

Commentary on “spirituality and stress management in healthy adults

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether a 6-week spiritual intervention (SPIRIT-6©) would reduce stress and increase spiritual well-being in healthy community residents. An additional purpose was to explore how healthy adults describe their spirituality. The SPIRIT-6© intervention required weekly attendance at 90-minute sessions that allowed for group expression of spirituality. Session topics included the meaning and importance of spirituality and religion, how spirituality is expressed to others, forgiveness, and spiritual awareness and well-bring. Four booster sessions were also held during the year to reinforce the intervention. The researchers used the term spirituality to refer to both spirituality and religion

Innovation in Engaging Hospital Staff and University Faculty in Research

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to describe an innovative faculty-staff engagement dinner that was conducted to enhance collaboration between university faculty and hospital staff. Specific steps used to develop the dinner, as well as outcomes gained, are discussed.Background/Rationale: Collaborative relationships between academic and clinical nurses may promote nursing research and strengthen mutual interest. Unique stressors and demands of clinical and academic nursing often lead to isolated practice roles. Nursing may require new ways of facilitating collaboration between groups.Description of the Project: A dinner supported by a health system was planned for nursing staff interested in conducting research. Faculty at 2 local universities interested in collaborating with nursing staff were invited. Forty participants attended, including 8 faculty from 2 universities, 17 staff nurses, and 16 nurse leaders. Seven collaborative research projects were initiated following the dinner meeting.Interpretation/Conclusion: Faculty and nursing staff partnerships were established and led to research projects that focused on themes of improving quality. Faculty and nursing staff expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to connect over shared research ideas.Implications: Mechanisms for enhancing staff nurse and nurse faculty collaborative relationships are needed to promote nursing research that ensures evidence-based bedside practices. A dinner event was an innovative method to partner nurses at the bedside with faculty with expertise in research methods

The experience of being an older nurse

The nursing workforce is aging at an unprecedented rate, yet we know very little about the expe-riences of older staff nurses. A qualitative design with purposeful sampling was used to describe the experience of being an older staff nurse. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with 11 staff nurses over the age of 55 who were employed at least part-time in six hospitals located in the southeastern United States. Data analysis was guided by a feminist perspective utilizing the voice-centered relational method developed by Brown and Gilligan. Study findings demonstrate that older nurses are working because they continue to care, despite the stressors of intergenerational conflict with younger nurses, less respect from patients and families, and ineq-uity in pay. Older nurses are confident in their abilities and are capable of meeting the demands of hospital nursing

Myths and realities of ageism and nursing

Ageism is pervasive throughout society, and it is an especially important issue for nurses because the nursing workforce is aging rapidly. This article explores ageism as it applies to women and nurses, along with the myths and realities about this prevalent attitude. It also presents strategies for managing and educating the aging nursing workforce