• Intensive Crit Care Nurs · Jun 2009

    Quality of practice in an intensive care unit (ICU): a mini-ethnographic case study.

    • Anette Storesund and Anne McMurray.
    • Haukeland University Hospital, Surgery Department, Postoperative Section, Bergen 5021, Norway. astoresu@yahoo.com
    • Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2009 Jun 1; 25 (3): 120-7.

    BackgroundNurses' perspectives of maintaining quality practice is important in the context of today's safety and quality agenda. This study provides a snapshot of registered nurses' perspectives on practice quality in one Australian ICU.MethodsA mini-ethnographic case study examined how quality is embedded in the culture of ICU nursing. Semi-structured interviews of 10 informants were analysed using Spradley's (Spradley JP. The ethnographic interview. Sydney: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.;1979) ethnographic guidelines.FindingsThree major themes influenced nursing quality: maintaining cohesiveness in a complex and stressful environment; rapid, effective and respectful communication; and specialist knowledge gained through experience and formal learning.ConclusionThe nurses reported satisfaction with the quality of their ICU practice, but revealed factors that could diminish quality and contribute to job dissatisfaction. Given current recruitment and retention issues and the link between satisfaction and retention, it is important to consider this these factors in advancing the knowledge base for workforce planning.

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