Contemp Nurse
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This paper reports a study aimed at exploring the nursing practices associated with the administration of pro re nata (PRN) postoperative analgesia to children, and at gaining a preliminary understanding of the decisions that nurses make about this important intervention. ⋯ Documentation surrounding this task is poor and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency to ensure quality patient outcomes.
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In an era when patient safety and quality of care are a daily concern for health care professionals, it is important for nurse managers and other clinical leaders to have a repertoire of skills and interventions that can be used to motivate and engage clinical teams in risk assessment and continuous quality improvement at the level of patient care delivery. This paper describes how a cohort of clinical leaders who were undertaking a leadership development program used a relatively simple, patient-focused intervention called the 'observation of care' to help focus the clinical team's attention on areas for improvement within the clinical setting. ⋯ The observations of care also provided the CLs with many opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate exemplary practice as it was observed as a means of enhancing the development of a quality and safety culture within the clinical setting. The 'observation of care' intervention can be used by Clinical Leader's to engage and motivate clinical teams to focus on continuously improving the safety and quality of their own work environment and the care delivered to patients within that environment.
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Mixed methods research is becoming increasingly popular in the health and social science disciplines. The aim of this article is to give an overview of the varieties of mixed methods designs. We begin by situating mixed methods research in the context of a paradigmatic framework which assists a researcher in making decisions concerning the design of their study. Although the most commonly used mixed methods designs are underpinned by positivist/postpositivist assumptions, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods can be used within any research paradigm.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine trends in the global healthcare environment, especially the developed countries. The developed countries are examined in detail as they have influenced the changes that have occurred in the delivery of healthcare in Australia. The countries discussed include the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. ⋯ There has been a marked rise in the cost of hospital and other institutionalised care and health insurance. The ageing population and the increased use of sophisticated and expensive equipment have also increased costs. Other issues identified are, the declining number of hospitals beds, the shift from care in the hospitals or institutions to care in the home or community, the increase in continuum of care programs, the establishment of health care networks, focus on service quality, the lack of security about gaining health insurance and the focus on treatment rather than prevention.
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The Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration is an established instrument to measure the perceived work relationship between physicians and nurses. The survey addresses areas of autonomy and decision making, interprofessional education and relations, psychosocial care, teamwork, and shared responsibility. The aim of this prelimiary study was to adapt the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration for use in Turkey and test its psychometric properties and utility in clinical and research practice. ⋯ The overall findings of this study indicate that the Turkish version of the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration is a psychometrically sound tool with satisfactory measurement characteristics including construct validity and internal consistency reliability. This instrument may be useful in assessing the effectiveness of educational programs designed to enhance collaboration between physicians and nurses, whether these programs are aimed at residents and graduate nursing students or practicing physicians and nurses.