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Intensive Care Nurses (intensive + care_nurse)
Selected AbstractsBeing an intensive care nurse related to questions of withholding or withdrawing curative treatmentJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 1 2007Reidun Hov MNSc Aims and objectives., The aim of the study was to acquire a deeper understanding of what it is to be an intensive care nurse in situations related to questions of withholding or withdrawing curative treatment. Background., Nurses in intensive care units regularly face critically ill patients. Some patients do not benefit from the treatment and die after days or months of apparent pain and suffering. A general trend is that withdrawal of treatment in intensive care units is increasing. Physicians are responsible for decisions concerning medical treatment, but as nurses must carry out physicians' decisions, they are involved in the consequences. Design and methods., The research design was qualitative, based on interpretative phenomenology. The study was carried out at an adult intensive care unit in Norway. Data were collected by group interviews inspired by focus group methodology. Fourteen female intensive care nurses participated, divided into two groups. Colaizzi's model was used in the process of analysis. Results., The analysis revealed four main themes which captured the nurses' experiences: loneliness in responsibility, alternation between optimism and pessimism, uncertainty , a constant shadow and professional pride despite little formal influence. The essence of being an intensive care nurse in the care of patients when questions were raised concerning curative treatment or not, was understood as ,being a critical interpreter and a dedicated helper.' Conclusions., The findings underpin the important role of intensive care nurses in providing care and treatment to patients related to questions of withholding or withdrawing curative treatment. Relevance to clinical practice., The findings also show the need for physicians, managers and intensive care nurses themselves to recognize the burdens intensive care nurses carry and to appreciate their knowledge as an important contribution in decision making. [source] Job satisfaction among intensive care nurses from the People's Republic of ChinaINTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 1 2008J. Li rn Background:, Prior research has suggested that job satisfaction is a major concern for both nurses and healthcare administrators. A variety of workplace stressors, coping strategies and demographic characteristics have been found to contribute both positively and negatively to job satisfaction. However, most of this research has been conducted in Western culture countries, leaving one to wonder if the findings are relevant in China, particularly in regard to intensive care nurses. Aim:, Therefore, the purpose of this descriptive study was to determine, in intensive care nurses from the People's Republic of China, which combination of workplace stressors, coping strategies and demographic characteristics was the best predictor of job satisfaction. Methods:, To address these purposes, four self-report questionnaires were administered to a convenience sample of 102 intensive care nurses from four teaching hospitals located in two cities in central China. Results:, The best predictors of job satisfaction were workload, years of experience in nursing, uncertainty about patients' treatment, behavioural disengagement and positive reframing. Conclusions:, The findings provide information about what factors need to be considered and addressed in the workplace to facilitate job satisfaction among Chinese intensive care nurses. [source] Attitudes of intensive care nurses towards brain death and organ transplantation: instrument development and testingJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 5 2006Jung Ran Kim BN MClinN DipN RN Aims., This paper reports the development and testing of an instrument assessing attitudes of Korean intensive care unit nurses. Background., Reluctance by healthcare professionals to identify brain-dead patients as a potential donor is one reason for a shortfall in transplantable organs in all countries. Organ donation from brain-dead patients is a particularly contentious issue in Korea, following recent legal recognition of brain death within the cultural context of Confucian beliefs. Method., A 38-item instrument was developed from the literature and key informant interviews, and validated by an expert panel and a pilot study. A survey was conducted with Korean intensive care unit nurses (n = 520) from October 2003 to January 2004. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine construct validity. Item-to-total correlations and Cronbach's coefficient alpha were used to determine the scale's internal consistency and unidimensionality. Results., The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha = 0·88). Principal component analysis yielded a four-component structure: Discomfort, Enhancing quality of life, Willingness to be a donor and Rewarding experience. Overall, Korean intensive care unit nurses showed positive attitudes towards organ transplantation, despite some mixed feelings. Conclusion., The attitude scale was reliable and valid for this cohort. Areas were identified where professional development may enhance positive attitudes towards organ transplantation from brain-dead donors. Effective education for intensive care unit nurses is necessary to increase the organ donor pool in Korea. Further research could test the instrument with other populations. [source] Burnout contagion among intensive care nursesJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 3 2005Arnold B. Bakker PhD Aim., This paper reports a study investigating whether burnout is contagious. Background., Burnout has been recognized as a problem in intensive care units for a long time. Previous research has focused primarily on its organizational antecedents, such as excessive workload or high patient care demands, time pressure and intensive use of sophisticated technology. The present study took a totally different perspective by hypothesizing that , in intensive care units , burnout is communicated from one nurse to another. Methods., A questionnaire on work and well-being was completed by 1849 intensive care unit nurses working in one of 80 intensive care units in 12 different European countries in 1994. The results are being reported now because they formed part of a larger study that was only finally analysed recently. The questionnaire was translated from English to the language of each of these countries, and then back-translated to English. Respondents indicated the prevalence of burnout among their colleagues, and completed scales to assess working conditions and job burnout. Results., Analysis of variance indicated that the between-unit variance on a measure of perceived burnout complaints among colleagues was statistically significant and substantially larger than the within-unit variance. This implies that there is considerable agreement (consensus) within intensive care units regarding the prevalence of burnout. In addition, the results of multilevel analyses showed that burnout complaints among colleagues in intensive care units made a statistically significant and unique contribution to explaining variance in individual nurses' and whole units' experiences of burnout, i.e. emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. Moreover, for both emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, perceived burnout complaints among colleagues was the most important predictor of burnout at the individual and unit levels, even after controlling for the impact of well-known organizational stressors as conceptualized in the demand-control model. Conclusion., Burnout is contagious: it may cross over from one nurse to another. [source] Being an intensive care nurse related to questions of withholding or withdrawing curative treatmentJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 1 2007Reidun Hov MNSc Aims and objectives., The aim of the study was to acquire a deeper understanding of what it is to be an intensive care nurse in situations related to questions of withholding or withdrawing curative treatment. Background., Nurses in intensive care units regularly face critically ill patients. Some patients do not benefit from the treatment and die after days or months of apparent pain and suffering. A general trend is that withdrawal of treatment in intensive care units is increasing. Physicians are responsible for decisions concerning medical treatment, but as nurses must carry out physicians' decisions, they are involved in the consequences. Design and methods., The research design was qualitative, based on interpretative phenomenology. The study was carried out at an adult intensive care unit in Norway. Data were collected by group interviews inspired by focus group methodology. Fourteen female intensive care nurses participated, divided into two groups. Colaizzi's model was used in the process of analysis. Results., The analysis revealed four main themes which captured the nurses' experiences: loneliness in responsibility, alternation between optimism and pessimism, uncertainty , a constant shadow and professional pride despite little formal influence. The essence of being an intensive care nurse in the care of patients when questions were raised concerning curative treatment or not, was understood as ,being a critical interpreter and a dedicated helper.' Conclusions., The findings underpin the important role of intensive care nurses in providing care and treatment to patients related to questions of withholding or withdrawing curative treatment. Relevance to clinical practice., The findings also show the need for physicians, managers and intensive care nurses themselves to recognize the burdens intensive care nurses carry and to appreciate their knowledge as an important contribution in decision making. [source] Experiences of intensive care nurses assessing sedation/agitation in critically ill patientsNURSING IN CRITICAL CARE, Issue 4 2008Stephanie Weir Abstract Background:, Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) will more often than not require sedative and analgesic drugs to enable them to tolerate the invasive procedures and therapies caused as a result of their underlying condition and/or necessary medical interventions. Aim:, This article reports a study exploring the perceptions and experiences of intensive care nurses using a sedation/agitation scoring (SAS) tool to assess and manage sedation and agitation amongst critically ill patients. The principle aims and objectives of this study were as follows: ,,to explore nurse's everyday experiences using a sedation scoring tool; ,,to explore and understand nurse's attitudes and beliefs of the various components of assessing and managing sedation among critically ill patients. Method:, Using a descriptive qualitative approach, semistructured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of eight ICU nurses within a district general hospital ICU. The interviews focused on nurse's own experiences and perceptions of using a sedation scoring tool in clinical practice. Burnard's 14-stage thematic content analysis framework was employed to assist in the data analysis process. Results:, Three key themes emerged that may have implications not only for clinical practice but for further research into the use of the SAS tool. ,,Benefits to patient care as a direct result of using a sedation scoring tool. ,,The concerns of nursing staff. ,,The implications of using such a tool in clinical practice. Conclusion:, This paper reinforces the potential benefits to patients as a direct result of implementing the SAS scoring tool and clinical guidelines. Furthermore, it highlights the reluctance of a number of staff to adhere to such guidelines and discusses the concerns regarding less experienced nurses administering sedative agents. Attention was also drawn to the educational requirements of nursing and medical staff when using the SAS scoring tool. [source] | ||||||||||