Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-164).

D.Cur. (Nursing) / The phenomenal political changes that have taken place in South Africa during the past three years have had a ripple effect on the health services of the country. Trade unionism, although they had been active in many spheres, entered the hospitals with great vengeance leaving many services crippled. Problems could not be solved according to the old, now obsolete rules of the game as these were no longer acceptable to the health care workers. New and different approaches had to be found to deal with this upheaval that was affecting patient care. The researcher realised that the nursing service manager, especially in the public sector, was in no way equipped to handle the crisis. Legal limitations aggravated the situation as there was no third party intervention that could try and find a solution to the dissatisfaction of the staff. The result was that the nursing service manager had to cope with the situation as best as she was able to, while still trying to manage the nursing care of the patients and the upheaval in the personnel corps. In addition to this, the nursing service manager, by enlarge, still had the viewpoint that conflict was a disturbing element that had to be removed. Limited studies have been done in the field and there were no guidelines to enlighten the nursing service manager. It became evident to the researcher that research into conflict management of a nursing service was necessary. Existing models and theories on conflict were reviewed to glean knowledge for the proposed study.

The basic philosophy of shared governance includes the right for staff nurses to practice in an environment that allows participation in the decision making process at all levels of the organization. Autonomy and responsibility support shared governance. The purpose of this study was to examine nurses’ perceptions of autonomy in a well established shared governance setting. The Neuman Systems Model served as the theoretical framework.A convenience sample of 83 (42%) staff nurses at Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta, Georgia completed the Schutzenhofer Professional Nursing Autonomy Scale. Three open ended questions were included in the questionnaire to further explore staff nurses’ perceptions of the professional practice environment. Demographic data were also collected.Findings in this study revealed no significant correlations between selected demographic variables and autonomy. More than between selected demographic variables and autonomy. More than half (65.1%) ranked in the higher level of professional autonomy, 34.9% (29) ranked in the mid level and none in the lower level. Qualitative data revealed that nurses working in a well established shared governance setting perceived control over the nursing care of patients and appreciated and the ability to make decisions regarding patient care. Respondents overwhelmingly indicated that nurses should be compensated for participation in governance activities.Conclusions from this study were that implementation of professional practice models such as shared governance improve nurses’ perceptions of autonomy and create an atmosphere in which nurses can practice the art of nursing while clearly articulating a vision for the future. Consistent and appropriate decision making by nurses facilitates the interdisciplinary plan of care and encourages trusting relationships among professional disciplines.Nurse managers are in an ideal position to create a vision by designing structures that promote staff involvement. Managers must build formal recognition programs into shared governance systems and provide nurses with the time to attend meetings. Today’s nursing leaders must be ready to create a vision, facilitate change, mentor, nurture, coach and advise staff. / School of Nursing

Nurses in management and clinical positions in all areas of the country are experiencing role changes due to restructuring within the health care industry. Nurses have an opportunity to embrace and enhance these changes as the trend toward Patient Focused Care continues which entails a restructuring of care delivery at all levels.Oncology nurses are specifically encouraged by the Oncology Nursing Society to mentor other nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the concept of mentoring as related to oncology nurses who have experienced role changes due to redesigns in the health care delivery systems. The theoretical framework used in this study was Benner's "From Novice to Expert."A convenience sample of 88 oncology nurses were surveyed. The Darling Measuring Mentoring Potential Scale (MMP), a demographic questionnaire, and a cover letter were mailed. Respondent confidentiality was maintained and the procedures for protection of human subjects were followed. A descriptive correlational design was used. The research questions were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. Means and standard deviation of mentoring characteristics were also obtained on the clustered scores. Findings of the study indicated a small, but significant difference between levels of education, role changes and mentoring potential. Levels of education and role changes accounted for 15% of the differences in mentoring potential scores. However, the mean scores for both the clustered basic and supporting mentoring characteristics were below the suggested scores as suggested for a substantial mentoring relationship.Conclusions from the study were that the concept of mentoring is still not prevalent among oncology nurses and does not play an important role in the professional lives of the respondents. The concept of mentoring needs to be formally addressed in nursing education as well as in hospital staff education and leadership programs. There needs to be continuing research regarding the concept of mentoring within the nursing profession in order to promote the benefits of this concept so that nurses may join with those in other professions to enjoy the products of mentoring. / School of Nursing

Dissertation (MHSc--Health Science) -- AUT University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (vii, 62 leaves ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 362.173068 FRA)

One purpose of the study was to report forecasts made by a sample of nursing education administrators regarding future developments in health care, nursing practice and nursing education. The study was also designed to identify predicted new dimensions, if any, required for managing future nursing education programs.Forty-three baccalaureate nursing education administrators representing nine midwestern states were identified. Thirty-one individuals completed the total three round Delphi study.The following questions were investigated: (1) What events will most probably occur in health care by 1992?; (2) What events will most probably occur in nursing practice by 1992?; (3) What events will most probably occur in nursing education by 1992?; and (4) What specific, new managerial skills, if any, should be included in the nursing education. administration role by 1992?Reiterative judgments concerning the probable future of health care, nursing practice, nursing education and nursing education administration were systematically secured by utilizing the Delphi process. Individual responses were tabulated according to median and interquartile percents of probability. A median percent of probability over fifty was considered to be an indication of the probable occurrence of an event by 1992.The following summary of findings was developed from analysis of the data: Increased emphasis and integration of health maintenance into the health care delivery system; growth in competitive incentive programs by all health care agencies for clients; use of computers by staff nurses for autonomous decision-making concerning patient care; utilization of "technical" and "professional" nurses according to uniform job descriptions for each level; increase of faculty-student ratio to 1:15 in clinical education; utilization of computers for construction and analysis of nursing education programs; implementation of retrenchment and cost-effective budgeting systems; exercise of political astuteness by nursing education administrators; and innovative utilization of faculty members. Managerial skills considered to be both new and essential by 1992 were identified by the respondents. Skills included: computer usage skills; computer language; information systems knowledge; program analysis via computer; marketing; trend analysis; and coping with organizational complexity.

The study was designed to examine and document the hierarchy of job wants as ranked by nurses. The ranked job wants by nurses were compared to the ranked nurse job wants as perceived by nurse administrators, hospital administrators, and physicians. A second purpose was to determine if a correlation existed between the ranked listings of each job classification groupings.The job want factors adopted for the study included the following:1. Improved working conditions2. Feeling "in" on things3. Tactful evaluation4. Full appreciation for work done5. Administration loyalty to nurses6. Improved wages7. Opportunities for professional growth8. Sympathetic understanding of personal problems9. Job security10. Meaningful workThe sample in the study consisted of 174 respondents. The 76 nurses, 29 nurse administrators, and 34 hospital administrators were employed in one of four hospitals in Northeastern Indiana. The 35 physicians practiced in at least one of the four hospitals selected for the study.A total of six hypotheses were tested. The data were analyzed by employing the Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient to measure the correlation between the ranked responses of nurse administrators, hospital administrators, and physicians. The correlation between nurse administrators and hospital administrators, between nurse administrators and physicians, between hospital administrators and nurse administrators were also analyzed.Meaningful work and appreciation for work done are job wants which nurses ranked most important. Nursing administrators, hospital administrators, and physicians were found to be sensitive to the job wants of nurses who work in the hospital setting.

Throughout the twentieth century, nursing services gradually moved from being located within the community to being concentrated in institutions, such as hospitals. The aim of this thesis is to identify those nursing services that existed within the Rockhampton region from 1911 to 1957; to document the evolution of the services; and to explore those factors that influenced this evolution. In particular, an emphasis is placed on social and political factors. The nursing services explored in this thesis include private duty nursing, private hospitals, church and charity facilities, public hospitals and public community services. These services represent most nursing opportunities during the first half of the twentieth century. However, this thesis takes a unique position by exploring all services in detail within a limited location. In order to accomplish this, an empirical historical method is utilised, based on a wide range of documentary primary sources drawn from archival collections relating to Rockhampton and the nursing profession. By examining a limited geographical area, this thesis highlights the complexity of nursing in regards to who nursed, how nursing was practiced and what factors influenced nursing. A particular feature that emerges within this thesis is the important role untrained nurses played within nursing services throughout the period under review. This group dominated private duty nursing and lying-hospitals in the Rockhampton region, although were gradually restricted to facilities for the aged and chronically ill. Trained nurses also became more institutionalised throughout the period, gradually losing former levels of autonomy as they gained more controlled working conditions, wages and career structures. Finally, this thesis highlights variations in nursing services between metropolitan and regional areas of Queensland.

Title page, table of contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University of Adelaide Library. / This study aimed to identify tools, systems and processes that inform nurse skill-assessment and nurse-to-patient allocation decisions in Adult Level III Australian Intensive Care Units (ICU), and to develop a Nurse Skill Matching Decision-Support Framework that could be incorporated within an ICU risk management system. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1274724 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, 2007

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, October 2008.