Journal of Nursing Management

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on healthcare professionals globally, with nurses facing diverse challenges at the forefront. Despite their resilience, nurses are experiencing emotional burdens, which have contributed to a growing intention to abandon the profession. Understanding these factors is crucial for addressing the global nursing shortage. Methods. A qualitative descriptive approach was utilized for this study. Nurses who were actively working during the last waves of the pandemic in Catalonia, Spain, were intentionally recruited through social media and personal contacts, and data were collected through online semistructured interviews until data saturation was reached. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis method. Results. Fourteen nurses, with an average of 22.8 years of work experience, were interviewed. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes: (1) the impact of COVID-19 on health, (2) factors influencing the decision to stay, and (3) recommendations to improve crisis management. Conclusion. Nurses faced significant emotional impacts but demonstrated dedication and resilience. Their decision to persevere was influenced by factors such as responsibility, guilt, and economic stability. Urgent measures are necessary to provide tailored mental health support and recognize emotional challenges in crisis preparedness.

Aims. This study aimed to analyze the effects of the surgery preparation time on patient outcomes. Background. Postoperative complications have a decisive effect on postoperative survival. The anesthesia time is a crucial determinant of such complications. Competent operating room nurses can shorten the surgery preparation time, which is the time from when anesthesia is first administered to the making of the surgical incision. The shortening of this preparation time can shorten the anesthesia time and may reduce postoperative complications. However, discussion of this preparation time is insufficient. Therefore, this study analyzed the effect of the surgery preparation time on patient outcomes. Methods. From electronic health records data, this retrospective cohort study used the data of 1,944 patients who had been immediately admitted to the ICU after their surgery between 2017 and 2020. The patients were divided into two groups: ≥30 minutes preparation time and <30 minutes preparation time groups. We performed chi-squared tests and t-tests to determine differences in preoperation, intraoperation, and postoperation characteristics of the patients and patient outcomes based on the surgery preparation time. Furthermore, we performed a multiple logistic regression by including 12 adjusted variables to determine the influence of the surgery preparation time on patient outcomes. Results. Among the 1,944 patients, 820 were in the ≥30 minutes preparation time group and 1,124 in the <30 minutes preparation time group. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the surgery preparation time affects alertness (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: [1.09, 1.90]), ventilator application (OR = 1.32; 95% CI: [1.03, 1.70]), and length of stay in the ICU (OR = 1.69; 95% CI [1.16, 2.47]). Conclusions. The surgery preparation time affects postoperative patient outcomes. The competence of operating room nurses is the most essential aspect of the surgery preparation time. Implications for Nursing Management. It is important to analyze operating room nurses’ tasks, standardize the tasks, and educate nurses according to their experience level to reduce the surgery preparation time and improve patient outcomes.

Aims. (i) To evaluate the scope and quality of nurse-patient interactions recorded in the clinical notes of inpatient mental health units and (ii) to identify nursing interventions recorded in the context of the nurse-patient relationship in the clinical notes of inpatient mental health units. Design. A multimethod approach was use. Methods. Employing a quantitative cross-sectional design for the first aim, and a qualitative content analysis design of secondary data for the second aim. In total, 1,714 clinical notes were examined from 44 randomly selected patients who were hospitalized in five mental health units over the years 2022-2023. Results. The patient’s experience of the interaction was present in 69.9% (n = 1,198) of the notes. However, only 12.0% (n = 205) of the notes reached a sufficient standard of quality in terms of describing the nurse-patient interactions. Specifically, more than half of the notes did not reflect any type of nursing intervention (n = 723; 60.4%). Thirty interventions compatible with the nursing intervention classification were identified, of which more than 70% corresponded to domains in the physiological area. Conclusion. This study shows that the quantity and scope of patients’ clinical notes in mental health units do not sufficiently reflect the interventions performed by nurses, nor the quality or impact of these interventions in the context of the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care. Improving the quality of clinical notes by integrating interventions and their impact can increase the quality of nursing care. Impact. The use of standardized nursing terminologies would contribute to the understanding of the extent and quality of nurse-patient interactions recorded in clinical notes. Thus, standardized documentation would also help to improve these interactions and their recording, which will facilitate decision-making. Reporting Method. Findings were reported using COREQ and STROBE guidelines. Patient or Public Contributions. There were no patient or public contributions.

Aim. To identify the barriers and enablers to the implementation of a national policy to increase and develop the advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) workforce in Ireland. Background. The Department of Health (Ireland) introduced a policy to increase the number of ANPs to 2% of the nursing workforce. Evaluation provides information to inform successful policy implementation and development of ANP roles in healthcare services. Methods. Qualitative descriptive design. Twenty candidate ANPs participated in four focus groups. Nine key stakeholders were also interviewed. Results. Analysis identified four barriers: lack of infrastructural resources; delay in releasing and arranging replacements for candidate ANPs; role resistance from administration, allied healthcare professionals and other nurses; and lack of organisational readiness. The five enablers were: supportive physicians; Nursing and Midwifery Practice Development Units; supportive directors of nursing; role awareness and clarity; and educational preparation. Conclusions. This evaluation identifies barriers and enablers to the implementation of a national policy to increase the critical mass of advanced practitioners within the healthcare services. Evaluation at the implementation phase informed the roll-out of future advanced practice initiatives. Implications for Nursing Management. To support advanced practice development, leadership, infrastructure, and resource planning are needed to harness known enablers and address identified barriers to the implementation and sustainability of these posts.

Background. Although retaining new nurses is imperative for the future of the nursing profession, it remains a challenging task in the healthcare industry. Understanding the career journey of new graduates as they transition from students to nurses is vital. However, longitudinal studies investigating the factors influencing retention during this period are lacking. Aim. The aim of this study is to identify the influencing factors and develop a longitudinal prediction model for new graduate nurse retention. Methods. A secondary data analysis was conducted using the New Nurse e-Cohort Study dataset from two survey periods, November–December 2020 and February–March 2022. The participants were categorized into either retention or turnover groups based on their turnover experiences. A decision tree based on classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was utilized. Results. Of the total 586 participants, 463 (79%) were in the retention group. The CART model highlighted that new nurses’ retention was significantly associated with younger age, higher readiness for practice (clinical problem-solving) during the nursing program, lower transition shock (such as confusion in professional values, loss of social support, and conflicts between theory and practice), and a higher person-environment fit (person-job fit). The predictive accuracy of the CART model was 79.7%. Conclusion. To retain new nurses, nursing educators and hospital managers should collaborate to prepare nursing students for actual practice, offer support during organizational socialization, and foster healthy professional values for competence in the workplace. Implications for Nursing Management. Transforming the educational strategies of nursing programs and hospital management policies is imperative to ultimately enhance the retention of new graduate nurses.

Objectives. To examine the effectiveness of a patient-family (carer) partnership intervention on the BP control, self-care and self-efficacy for hypertensive people, and dyadic-relationship quality, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and health-related quality of life for the family dyads (hypertensive people and family carers) in rural communities of mainland China. Design. A randomised controlled trial. Methods. A total of 110 family dyads were randomly recruited from village clinics and randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 55) or control group (n = 55). Family dyads in the control group received usual care. In addition to the usual care, family dyads in the intervention group received the individual-based, five-session patient-family (carer) partnership intervention. The primary outcomes included SBP, DBP, and the proportion of people with normal controlled BP. EuroQol five-dimensional-five-level (EQ-5D-5L) was adopted to evaluate participants’ health-related quality of life. Data were collected at the baseline (T0), one-month (T1), and three-month postintervention (T2). Generalised estimating equation model was adopted to test the study hypotheses on all study outcomes. Results. Compared with the control group, hypertensive people in the intervention group had a greater reduction in SBP by 10.10 mmHg and DBP by 4.66 mmHg and a larger proportion of people with normal BP at T2, as well as statistically significant improvements at T1 and T2 in dyadic relationship, self-care, antihypertensive drug-titration rate, anxiety symptoms, and health-related quality of life. The intervention also had statistically significant positive effects on family carer’s dyadic relationship and health-related quality of life at T1 and T2. Conclusion. The patient-family (carer) partnership intervention has the potential to improve hypertensive people’s BP control and family dyad’s dyadic-relationship quality and mental health at short-to-medium term follow-ups. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care. This study provided evidence and direction to support healthcare providers in developing and implementing patient-family (carer) partnership intervention for hypertension care in rural areas. This trial is registered with ChiCTR1900027087.