Duties and Responsibilities of Staff Nurse- A Study

Nursing has come a very, very long way in the past century. However, some of the challenges highlighted by nurse leaders in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, still face the profession a century later even though their exact nature might be somewhat different. Throughout the history of nursing, most of the challenges can be linked to the gender and class barriers faced by women in society and the ever-present economic demands of the healthcare industry.The Staff Nurse is the first level professional Nurse in the hospital set up. Therefore by appearance and by word she will be professional at all time. Taking a walk through the history of nursing, the shortage of nurses appears to have been a problem from the time when the value of trained nurses in hospitals and the community was recognized. From the mid-1800’s, when scientific developments in Western medicine increasingly led to successful treatment, hospitals changed from places where the sick and destitute were cared for to institutions where the ill were admitted for treatment. The time was ripe when Florence Nightingale introduced formal training of nurses, and since then, it appears that the demand for qualified nurses increased exponentially. The objective of obtaining state registration for nurses was the priority issue for nurse activists from the 1880’s. At the Chicago World’s Fair, British nurses introduced the nurse leaders from all over the world to the idea of state registration for nurses as well as the issue of standards for nurse training schools, which would satisfy a requirement to introduce registration. The struggle for state registration was at the time also the main driving force behind the establishment of nursing organizations in various countries. Keywords: Staff Nurse, Hospital Stress, Tolerance Adjustment, Florence Nightigale. Demand, Shipt System.

Policy Advocacy and Nursing Organizations: A Scoping Review

Policy advocacy is a fundamental component of nursing's social mandate. While it has become a core function of nursing organizations across the globe, the discourse around advocacy has focused largely on the responsibilities and accountabilities of individual nurses, with little attention to the policy advocacy work undertaken by nursing organizations. To strengthen this critical function, an understanding of the extant literature is needed to identify areas that require further research. We conducted a scoping review to examine the nature, extent, and range of scholarly work focused on nursing organizations and policy advocacy. A systematic search of six databases produced 4,731 papers and 68 were included for analysis and synthesis. Findings suggest that the literature has been increasing over the years, is largely non-empirical, and covers a broad range of topics ranging from the role and purpose of nursing organizations in policy advocacy, the identity of nursing organizations, the development and process of policy advocacy initiatives, the policy advocacy products of nursing organizations, and the impact and evaluation of organizations’ policy advocacy work. Based on the review, we identify several research gaps and propose areas for further research to strengthen the influence and impact of this critical function undertaken by nursing organizations.

The Environment as a Patient: A Content Analysis of Canadian Nursing Organizations and Regulatory Bodies Policies on Environmental Health

Background Individual, community, and societal health is impacted by the environment, specifically by air, water and soil pollution, and climate change. Poor environmental conditions have been associated with many illness exacerbations. Although global nursing organizations have increased their environmental health focus, evidence is lacking that Canadian nurse leaders and organizations are similarly invested. Purpose The purpose of this analysis was to explore the policies of Canadian nursing regulatory bodies and associations on nursing practice specific to environmental health. Methods A content analysis of nursing focused position statements and competency documents was conducted to assess Canadian nursing policies in environmental health. Publicly available position statements and competency documents regarding health and the environment were retrieved from Canadian nursing regulatory colleges and nursing associations, the Canadian Nursing Associations, and the International Council of Nurses. All documents were coded inductively and thematically analyzed. Results In total, 22 documents were retrieved which consisted of 11 policy statements from nursing associations and 11 competency documents from nursing regulators and national associations. Four themes were generated: collaboration, language of engagement, nursing actions, and social justice. Conclusion There is a gap between nursing policies and competencies directing nursing action related to the health of the environment across Canada. There is an opportunity to improve eco-literacy within the nursing profession, undergraduate education and to produce nursing research on environmental health.

Use and Significance of Nursing Diagnosis in Hospital Emergencies: A Phenomenological Approach

Background: Professional nursing organizations recommend the use of nursing diagnosis to enhance and facilitate the standardization of care and the development of a common language used by nursing practitioners. In the clinical reality of hospital emergency departments, however, its use is controversial. The objectives of the research are (a) to explore the use of nursing diagnosis in hospital emergency departments, and (b) to describe the meaning of nursing diagnosis for hospital emergency nurses. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted. A purposeful sampling and snowball technique were used. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, researchers’ field notes, and documental analysis. An inductive analysis based on Giorgi´s proposal was used to identify significant emerging themes from interviews and field notes. Seventeen participants with a mean age of 40 were recruited. Results: Three themes were identified. The results showed how the use of nursing diagnosis in hospital emergency departments depends on nurses to apply a working methodology in their practice, along with other dimensions such as the characteristics of emergency care, the type of health problems, and the complexity of care. Conclusions: The use of standardized language in emergency departments is complex due to the overcrowded nature of care in these settings.

Registered Nurses’ Experiences With Incivility During the Early Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Multi-State Survey

Background: Incivility among workers in the health sector is recognized as an occupational hazard. The COVID-19 outbreak brought sudden and profound changes to many health care settings, many of which have been identified as antecedents to workplace incivility. The purpose of this retrospective study was to explore the experiences of registered nurses with workplace incivility, cyber-incivility, and incivility outside of work during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This mixed-methods study used convenience sampling. Data were collected from June to September 2020 via an online survey, which consisted of both closed- and open-ended questions. Participants were recruited from national nursing organizations and unions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis for open-ended responses. Findings: A total of 526 nurses’ responses were included in the analysis. More than one third experienced greater incivility at work during the COVID-19 outbreak than before the pandemic (37.4%), and almost half (45.7%) said they witnessed more incivility than before the pandemic. Cyber-incivility and incivility outside of work were also issues. Qualitative results indicated that respondents felt they were on edge during this period. Other themes included leadership failure, fractured co-worker relationships, heightened incivility from patients and families, and hostility and ostracism from the general public Conclusion/Application to practice: Occupational health nurses, nursing leaders, and staff nurses need to work to restore relations that were fractured by incivility during the pandemic. In the future, improved preparedness, including establishing clear channels of communication, may lessen incivility by decreasing role stress and organizational chaos.

Tomorrow is cancelled: Rethinking nursing resistance as insurrection

Recent events such as the COVID 19 pandemic and racist police violence have contributed to a heightened awareness about the nature and origin of health care disparities. Nurses are portrayed as heroes while expected to work with no equipment, and nursing organizations release antiracist statements, while little is done to address the underlying conditions that cause disparities. In this paper, we engage with ideas from The Invisible Committee and other theorists to suggest that nursing needs to develop new ways of thinking about both its past and its present politics if any chance of a radical new future is possible.

War Mobilization, Gender, and Military Culture in Nineteenth-Century Western Societies

Gender served as an important structural and organizing principle for the mobilization of peoples for war and nation in Europe and the United States during the nineteenth century. This chapter explores, from a gender perspective, how military and civilian cultures became more intimately conjoined and societies were militarized. Men experienced induction in mass conscription armies as a rite of passage to manhood and citizenship and prolonged their military identities in veteran’s organizations. Women participated in voluntary and nursing organizations that supported military and combat activities throughout the century and figured as national symbols and in the commemoration of civilian and military suffering. Popular culture, art, music, and military display made use of deeply gendered images linking military culture to nationalist themes.

Promoting education on the health effects of climate change for nurses in Finland

Background Climate change has a direct and indirect impact on human health that include health impacts from rising temperatures and poor air quality. Without changes in our greenhouse gas emissions, it is estimated that by the end of this century average temperatures will rise from two to four degrees Celsius worldwide. In Finland, this rise in temperature is estimated to be 1.5-2 times higher than other regions of the world. During the heatwaves in Finland in the 2000s, the mortality rate among the elderly increased by 21%. Nurses should be aware of these health effects and the patients who are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts caused by climate change. Purpose The purpose of the study was to identify the health issues that Finnish nurses associate with climate change. The purpose was also to find out how prepared nurses are to deal with the health effects of climate change. Methods A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in November 2018 using focus group interviews to collect data. Results Interviews revealed that nurses have seen much of the health damage caused by climate change in their patients. However, they had not linked their observed changes in patients' health to climate change. Nurses interviewed felt unaware of the health effects of climate change. In addition, nurses felt that climate change was not adequately addressed in basic and in-service training. Conclusions Education could strengthen the competence of nurses in helping their patients prevent and reduce the health impacts caused by climate change. It is therefore important to include climate change and its impact on human health in the nursing curriculum. Key messages Nursing organizations can influence nurses’ understanding of climate change in their practice. Nurses' understanding can be used leverage their role in reaching nurses for new and emerging health conditions that influence public health.