Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 12, 2010). Research paper (M.S.), 3 hrs. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-68).

Thesis--M.N. University of Washington, 1960.

Thesis (DPhil.(Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2000 / The current rationalisation of health care in the Western Cape may result in a decrease in the number of patients attending the Trauma Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), one of the two large tertiary care hospitals in the Western Cape. This in turn may result in cuts in staff allocations to this unit. The nursing staff need to be proactive in preventing potential cuts which may compromise the services that they offer. Current statistics collected by nursing managers in the trauma unit at GSH provide an indication of the volume of work handled, but do not necessarily capture the intensity of that work. The purpose of this research project will determine the extent to which nursing care required by patients attending the trauma unit at GSH has increased and to establish appropriate staff workload scheduling. The existing classification systems available for assessing patient acuity levels are no longer suitable as they use patient numbers to describe workload. By using a classification system specifically developed for the use by nurse managers in high care units (trauma units), the appropriate staffing norms based on the acuity level of patients can be determined. Finally, this research project will determine a suitable model for measuring the intensity of workload specific to a trauma unit environment for the effective and efficient allocation of staff.

M.Cur. / Contemporary problems in the nursing education and concern that the current nursing curriculum apparently does not prepare the nursing student for the task of unit management, prompted this investigation. In an effort to evaluate the curriculum of unit management', the learning opportunities available to nursing students to gain management skills have been investigated. Anon-experimental method of investigation has been used. In the first place a questionnaire on unit managers to supervisors has been used to determine the extent to which certain management tasks are being performed by unit managers. Secondly, it was determined what learning opportunities are available to nursing students to gain management skills in practice. The investigation identified the following deficiencies in the curriculum: - goal orientated and planned teaching strategies are not being implemented for unit management and the management skills gained by the students are merely to perform incidental and relevant tasks; - there are no structural and planned evaluation techniques to measure management skills or to evaluate to which extent supervision takes place. In view of these deficiencies certain recommendations are made for the utilization of learning opportunities in the curriculum of unit management for nursing students.

M.Cur. (Nursing Management) / In this study two decentralised organisation designs in nursing management are investigated. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of two different designs (the territorial matrix) on the attitudes and perceptions of nurses towards their work. A descriptive multiphase investigation was done. In the first phase the attitudes and perceptions of nurses in the territorial design were investigated by using the Michigan Organisational Assessment Scale. In the second phase the territorial design was changed to a nursing matrix design. In the third phase the attitudes and perceptions of nurses were retested by again using the Michigan Organisational Assessment Scale. The fourth phase was used to compare the results gathered in the first and third phases. Phase five was used to describe the two designs by means of a systems analysis. An analysis of the data showed that the operational hypothesis can be accepted, because nurses' attitudes and perceptions were more positive in the matrix design than those in the territorial design. This study was not meant for generalisation purposes, but is a descriptive research method to record the effects of nursing service design on the attitudes and perceptions of nurses.This study is also an effort to describe and document a modern organisational design in nursing management.

M.Cur. / Refined equipment, heightened technology and improved surgical techniques in the field of ophthalmology have all resulted in a marked shift towards ambulatory, outpatient surgical treatment and day surgery and therefore shortened hospital stay for patients. This leaves patients and their next-of-kin with the responsibility for own care after treatment. To be able to accomplish this, they need adequate and relevant health education. Nurses are faced with the responsibility of imparting this information in order to enable patients to make decisions or choices that will address their health behaviour and thus influence their lifestyle. It is therefore necessary to use strategies of health education that will bring about this change of behaviour. One such strategy is values clarification. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the health education experience of patients undergoing ophthalmic day surgery before and after the health educator attends a workshop in values clarification. The study was conducted in two phases, with a workshop in values clarification as intervention between the phases. During Phase 1, phenomenological interviews were held with patients before the health educator attended the workshop in values clarification. The health educator then attended a workshop in values clarification. Thereafter, phenomenological interviews were again held with patients. Data analysis was done and findings were compared and discussed together with a literature control. The trustworthiness of the study was determined according to Lincoln and Guba's model. Conclusions and recommendations were made and guidelines, based on findings, were set for preoperative health education of patients undergoing ophthalmic surgery.

D.Cur. / The aim of this study was to describe a job grading system for nurses in a specific private health service. Nursing personnel form a significant component of the manpower in private health services and must therefor be utilized in the most costeffective manner. The Labour Relations Act (South Africa, 1996) demands that the principles of fair labour practice must be applied in all dimensions of personnel management. In the dynamic relationship between the employer and employee within private health services, the nurse as employee has the right to fair labour practice. The job grading system is described by means of a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research design within the context of a specific private health service in South-Africa. The system is described according to the Paterson job grading system (1957), the NIPN-Q system of the Institute for Personnel Management, the Peromnes system, the Hay-method and the JE Manager method of job grading. The methodological assumptions of the study are based on Botes' research model (1994) which implies a functional approach to the practice of Nursing Science. The context of the study is a particular private health service where all categories of nurses are employed. The aim of the system is the facilitation of fair labour practice as included in the legislation concerning labour relations. Within the context of this study, the implementation of the job grading system is the duty of the nursing human resources manager and to function as agent for the implementation of the job grading system implies specific internal sources such as abilities, attitudes and values in order to facilitate fair labour practice. The study takes place in four phases. During phase one of the study the expectations of the role-players with regard to a job grading system for nurses in a particular private health service were explored and described by means of focus group interviews as well as individual interviews with top management and supported by literature. Applying the strategies as suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985:290) ensured trustworthiness. From this data a total of twenty-one statements were formulated. A theoretical framework for the job grading system was described during phase two of the study based on the identified concepts and relevant national and international literature. During the description of the theoretical framework, deductive logic was utilized to formulate statements for each concept. At the end of the theoretical framework, six sets of statements were formulated with a total of fifty statements. The contents of the job grading system were derived from the generated statements of the expectations and the statements from the conceptual framework by means of deductive and inductive logic. During phase three of the study, which comprised the development of the job grading system, the system was validated and refined by a representative profile of the different role-players. The system was also made available in English and guidelines for implementation was described. The emphasis in the guidelines is based on the principles of democracy and the facilitation of fair labour practice. During phase four of the study the system was validated and evaluated for its' operationalization value by means of individual application of the system by nurses holding certain posts in the specific private health care service. Content validity was determined by means of a content validity index as described by Lynn (1986). The unique contribution of this study is the description of a job grading system for nurses with fair labour practice as purpose. The strength of the study is grounded in the verification, validation and operationalization of the system, which is significant of the implement value of the system in the practice.

M.Cur. / The nursing service manager is responsible and accountable for ensuring quality health care in a nursing service. The principle of liability requires a formal quality improvement programme in the nursing service according to which a specific level of quality nursing can be maintained. It is therefore clearly evident that a quality improvement programme, objectively maintain and evaluate the quality of a service. Opportunities for improvement are identified, and a mechanism is provided for taking remedial steps to bring about and maintain improvement, The abovementioned is of utmost importance and implies a constant commitment to health care service of a high quality. The overall objective of this study is to formulate and describe guidelines for a quality improvement programme for the nursing service of a referral hospital in the Gauteng Province. This study is an explorative, descriptive, qualitative and contextual research aiming to investigate the perceptions of quality in nursing/midwifery which will facilitate the exploration and description of a value clarification on quality, by the chief professional nurses, senior professional nurses, administrative personnel and patients within the nursing service of the referral hospital in the Gauteng Province. Focus group interviews, naive sketches and interviews as methods of data gathering was conducted. A simple random sampling method was used. A total number of three focus group interviews were conducted: one with seven chief professional nurses, one with fourteen senior professional nurses and one with twelve administrative personnel using tape recordings with the written consent of the participants. Naive sketches were obtained from the same groups. An expert psychiatric nurse, with a master's degree in the field and whose daily activities involved interviewing of the psychiatric nursing students and psychiatric patients, conducted the focus group interviews. The researcher conducted thirty individual patient interviews. Trustworthiness in this research was done according to Guba's model (!!! Krefting, 1991:214-222). Data analysis was done according to Tesch's (1990, in Creswell, 1994:155) protocol. An external coder with expertise in the field of coding in qualitative data was utilised to analyse and categorize the data. The researcher and the independent coder had consensus discussions for the formulation of the main categories and sub categories. Consensus discussions were also conducted with the study leader. The results were quantified based on the number of respondents whose perception on quality had reference to the same categories. The structured coding was based on the principles of quality: structure, process and outcome. A description of the conceptual framework was developed from the data analysis and a literature study. This framework with its content and criteria serves as scientific and theoretical basis of the quality improvement programme and are based on the values/value clarification on quality of the different roleplayers in the nursing service. Fifteen belief statements/values were described from the value clarification. The guidelines for the quality improvement programme of the nursing service in the referral hospital were described, based on the eight steps of the quality assurance model of Laing and Nish (Booyens, 1998: 576). A description of values is the first step and from these values on quality in the nursing service, the formulation of management standards was deduced in conjunction with the conceptual framework and the nursing/midwifery practice standards of the Nursing Department of RAU. Lastly the evaluation, limitations, recommendations and conclusion of the study were done.

D.Cur. / It is obvious that different interpretations in South African State Hospitals have been attached by both internal and external role players to the role and functions of the Chief Professional Nurse. Within nursing practice a number of external and internal environmental variables have led to her role becoming ill defined and role expectations confused. In practice, the Chief Professional Nurse performs the role of middle manager, on a par with the line functionary, i.e. the Nursing Service Manager. Her area of control covers a wide area of diverse disciplines. The Chief Professional Nurse should be classified as a unit manager, responsible for the supervision and control of a service centre. A key role in the organizational structure of State Hospitals would thus be defined. The post requirements of the Chief Professional Nurse are diversified, flexible and dynamic. Attention should primarily focus on her clinical, managerial and educational expertise and responsibility towards research. Both the national and international literature studied, confirm the importance of these functions. Yet, research and literature studies prove, that these responsibilities are ineffectively managed. Consequently, the Chief Professional Nurse is not effectively utilized. In the opinion of the researcher, an investigation into the role and functions of the Chief Professional Nurse was necessary, to ensure quality nursing and effective functioning of nursing personnel. For that reason, an investigation into the classification of the post of the Chief Professional Nurse in State Hospitals was deemed necessary, together with specified guidelines, to facilitate: better utilization of the Chief Professional Nurse; promoting the quality of a working life; quality nursing care. The strategy used in this research was an explorative and descriptive study within the context of several Academic, Main Regional, Regional and Community State Hospitals of nine (9) provinces. A pilot study was carried out by independent researchers. Job descriptions were used from forty-one (41) hospitals, of which four (4) were from Academic hospitals and thirty-seven (37) from Main Regional, Regional and Community hospitals. These job descriptions were based on guidelines supplied by the Commission for Administration. Focus interviews were held with Nursing Service Managers and Chief Professional Nurses. Workshops were held with Senior Professional Nurses and policy makers were approached for their written comments on the role and functions of the Chief Professional Nurse. A random sample population was drawn from thirty-three (33) hospitals of five (5) provinces in South Africa. The respondents totalled a hundred and nine (109). Of these, twenty-seven (27) Nursing Service Managers and thirty-nine (39) Chief Professional Nurses were involved in interviews. Forty-three (43) Senior Professional Nurses took part in the workshop. From the interviews held and the study of post descriptions, the following conclusions were drawn. The Chief Professional Nurse is confused with regard to her role expectations, and therefore not suitably utilized. The prime responsibilities of the Chief Professional Nurse are, as listed in priority, clinical, educational, managerial and research responsibilities. The other responsibilities include community and occupational involvement, role model and last but not least, leadership. The value of this research is contained in the guidelines, which were determined with regard to the responsibilities attached to the post of a Chief Professional Nurse. A schedule of time allocation per function is included to ensure that the Chief Professional Nurse is effectively utilized and that she will enjoy a quality working life. The recommendations contained in the study are directed towards ensuring the effective utilization of the Chief Professional Nurse and quality in working life and nursing. The researcher recommends that: the implementation of the proposed job descriptions; the proposed time management schedule be applied; employee help programmes be instituted; programmes for personal and professional growth be instituted. A few hypothesis have been stated for testing purposes.