The Perceptions about Their Profession of Kosovo`s Nursing Students

Background and Aim: Nurses are key to the health of the nation. Nursing can be described as both an art and a science; a heart and a mind. The aim of this study is to evidence the students' perceptions about the profession of nursing. This is a cross-sectional study. Study Design: The research question is: "What are the nursing students’ perceptions about the profession of nursing?" Methodology: The study was realized during the period of January- February 2021. The study was conducted with nursing students in first, second and third year of study, in bachelor degree of University of Pristina "AAB College" Kosovo, Faculty of Nursing, Department of Nursing, Kosovo. In this study were included n=130 students, respectively (n= 29, 22.3% in first year, n=57, 43.8% second year and n= 44, 33.8% in third year of study). The questionnaire “Cockrell-Punter Nursing Perceptions Scale” used consisted of 25 perception statements related to nursing. These scores no longer reflected simply agreement/disagreement, but as positive or negative perceptions of nursing with a scale values ranged from 1=negative perception to 5=positive perception. The survey performed in classroom was anonymous. All data collected were elaborated with SPSS version 19. Results: In this study, 22.3% (n=29) of students were male and 77.7% (n=101) were female. Age ranged from 18 to 47 years old. The average age is 21.9 years old. The distribution of student’s age was: (8.5% were 18 years old, 18.5%, 19 years old, 27.7% 20 years old, 19.2% were 21 years old and 26.1% were over 21 years old) mean 19.8 years old, min 18 years old, maximum 47 year old, Std. Dev ± 4.19. According to the residence, 88 (67.7%) of students were from urban area and 42 (32.3%) from rural area. Conclusion: Nursing students have good perception about the nursing profession. With age the level of perception increases, so the oldest have more positive perception.

Interpersonal Trauma in the Lives of Nurses and Perceptions of Nursing Work

The purpose of this study was to explore associations between trauma experiences among nurses and nursing perceptions of risk for involuntary job loss and standing in society. This observational study used 2001 data from the Nurses’ Health Study II ( N = 53,323 female nurses). The outcome variables were nurses’ perceptions of their risk for involuntary job loss and their social standing in the United States and within their own community. The exposure variables were childhood and adulthood interpersonal trauma. Nurses reported high levels of emotional (60% childhood; 44% adulthood), physical (45% childhood, 23% adulthood), and sexual trauma (15% childhood, 11% adulthood). Emotional trauma was associated with perception of higher risk for involuntary job loss, but also higher perception of nurse societal standing. Nurses experience high rates of interpersonal trauma, which may influence how they perceive their profession.

Death in the intensive therapy unit: nursing perceptions / A morte na unidade de terapia intensiva: percepções da enfermagem / Muerte en la unidade de terapia intensiva: percepciones de enfermería

Objetivo: analisar as percepções dos profissionais da enfermagem sobre o processo morte e morrer na unidade de terapia intensiva. Método: trata-se de um estudo descritivo de abordagem qualitativa realizado com 15 profissionais de enfermagem das unidades de terapia intensiva de um hospital de médio porte da cidade de Teresina-PI. Utilizou-se uma entrevista semiestruturada e a análise de conteúdo e categoria temática para interpretação dos dados. O trabalho foi aprovado pelo comitê de ética sob o número 2.977.810. Resultados: o profissional da enfermagem depara-se com sentimentos de medo, dor, fracasso e tristeza perante o óbito dos pacientes. Tais sentimentos podem mudar conforme o tempo de experiência profissional, temporalidade dos óbitos, relação com familiares e estratégias de enfrentamento da morte. Conclusão: os entrevistados apresentaram diferentes reações ao ser abordado a temática, contudo, nota-se que os profissionais não estão preparados para lidar com esse processo, o que pode influenciar na qualidade da assistência ao paciente e seus familiares.Descritores: Morte. Unidade de Terapia Intensiva. Enfermagem. Emoções. Percepção.

1167 Nursing Perceptions of Sleep Assessment in the Intensive Care Unit

Introduction Sleep disruption in intensive care unit (ICU) patients is highly prevalent and may contribute to adverse clinical outcomes. Although clinical practice guidelines recommend routine assessment of sleep, surveys of ICU clinicians indicate that sleep assessment programs (SAP) are rarely implemented. The purpose of the current project was to characterize sleep-related perceptions, practices, and knowledge among ICU nurses, to identify barriers and facilitators of implementation of a systematic SAP. Methods A 29-item, paper-based survey was administered to all nurses (N=220) in a medical ICU at a 750-bed academic medical center and a mixed ICU in a 300-bed community hospital. Voluntary survey completion was conducted over four weeks. Descriptive statistics were employed. Results A total of 163 surveys were completed (74.1%). Participants were primarily female (n=135; 82.8%), day-shift nurses (n=83; 50.9%), with 2-5 years of ICU experience (n=70; 42.9%). Respondents said they sometimes (n=52; 31.9%), and often (n=52; 31.9%), assess sleep, and 76.1% (n=124) reported not assessing sleep formally in the last three shifts. Approximately half of the respondents (n=85; 52.1%) were not aware of clinical practice guideline recommendations for sleep in the ICU. Most nurses reported that their unit could benefit from a SAP (n=101; 62.0%) and that they should have a primary responsibility in ensuring that sleep is discussed daily (n=144; 88.3%). Conclusion Despite published guidelines recommending routine sleep assessment, ICU nurses report infrequent assessment and a lack of awareness of these guidelines. However, ICU nurses believe implementation of routine sleep assessments would be beneficial to patient care. This suggests that SAP implementation would be positively received by ICU nurses. Future studies evaluating knowledge and site-specific perceptions and practices, as well as nursing staff characteristics, can further guide implementation of SAPs in the ICU. Support