Critical care nursing quarterly
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Work structures that empower nurses contribute to a healthy work environment yet there are few studies that have looked at the relationship between nurse participation in formal work structures and their perception of empowerment. Nurses involved in power-sharing activities demonstrate a greater commitment to the organization and have improved job satisfaction. To measure the perception of structural empowerment by nurses and examine the relationship between staff registered nurse participation in organizational structures and perceived structural empowerment. ⋯ Of those who did participate in councils (n = 48, 39.3%), the number of council meetings nurses attended correlated significantly with support (r = 0.37, P = .009). The percentage of time council members communicated information to their peers at the unit level correlated positively with informal power (r = 0.30, P = .04). Organizational structures that provide opportunities for nurses to participate in professional matters that are important to them support empowerment that is essential for a healthy work environment.
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Critical care nursing is one of the most stressful specialties in the nursing profession. The demands of the specialty can lead to frustration and burnout at very high rates. High-quality, effective mentorship can be a valuable tool in recruiting and retaining nurses for these areas as well as improving their sense of job satisfaction. ⋯ The information in this article is not only pertinent to those working in critical care; it can be utilized and explored on all levels of nursing. Through effective mentorship, we can positively impact our healthcare organizations; improve job satisfaction; and promote professional development and empowerment in students, new graduates, staff nurses, educators, nurse leaders, and nurse faculty. Most importantly, mentoring can result in improved nursing care, high-quality healthcare, and improved patient outcomes.
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To gain an understanding and increased knowledge regarding the presence and affects of ambient stressors on patients' sleep and the efficacy of implementing sleep promotion measures within the intensive care unit environment, the author reviewed 10 empirical studies. Research indicates that ambient stressors within the intensive care unit have detrimental effects on patients' sleep, and nursing interventions that focus on the abatement of ambient stressors enhance patients' sleep. In the intensive care unit, optimizing the environment to promote sleep requires the active removal of ambient stressors.
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Every year, thousands of children are admitted to pediatric intensive care for treatment. Many of these admissions are for acute injuries, but children with chronic illnesses requiring repeated hospitalization are also on the rise. Hospitalization of a child is extremely stressful for both the patient and family. ⋯ Intensive care units are modifying layouts of the unit to facilitate visitors and provide sleeping spaces for parents when available. Families are considered part of the team instead of visitors, and are included in the decision making process. The purpose of this article is to promote discussion of family-centered care in the pediatric intensive care unit.
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With the current and predicted nursing shortage, much emphasis is placed on recruitment and retention. With an aging workforce, we must recruit, educate, and retain nurses from many different generations. ⋯ We must do all we can to recruit and retain nurses from all generations in order to provide a workforce able to meet the needs of our patients and families. Generational preferences should be considered when developing nursing education and in welcoming and accepting new staff into the culture of the nursing unit.