Biomedical subjects

S Boblin-Cummings

Publications and source records attributed to S Boblin-Cummings.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Critical elements in the process of decision making: a nursing perspective.

Decision making is a fundamental element of nursing work, one that is essential to understand as organizations explore cost effective ways to deliver quality health care. While the importance of decision making has been well articulated, previous descriptions of nursing work have had difficulty describing completely this cognitive component. This paper identifies critical elements within the process of nursing decision making that have not been addressed adequately within current decision making frameworks. In this exploratory research, nursing personnel described their work; qualitative content analysis was used to categorize components of nursing decision making within these descriptions. Revealed are complex nursing decisions that occur after the selection of nursing intervention, and prior to the implementation of that intervention. These decisions address the complex network of interactions involved with enactment of the nursing role, the repertoire of leadership skills such as collaboration, negotiation, and delegation required to elicit the involvement of other individuals; discretionary decisions made in the allocation of resources; priority setting; and strategizing. These findings have implications for nursing competency and quality of care, cost-effective delivery of health care, and nursing education.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Promoting seniors' health--confronting the issue of incontinence.

Incontinence is a demoralizing and costly problem that severely affects the quality of seniors' lives. With the aging Canadian population expected to double within the next 15 years, the elderly are at the highest risk of developing incontinence. It is now recognised that incontinence can be successfully managed, and in many cases, resolved. A survey was conducted with seniors experiencing problems with incontinence who were receiving home care services. Results showed that incontinence has a significant impact on their lives. Seniors tend to mistakenly see the problem as an inevitable factor in the aging process; consequently many hesitate to seek information. In addition, they face barriers to receiving incontinence care that includes knowledge and access to services and resources. Nurses have the potential to take a leading role in reducing the problem of incontinence and in reducing the impact on the lives of seniors. In order to realize this potential, nurses need to be more aware of their attitudes towards incontinence and more informed about conservative treatment options. Some thought needs to be given to the role of the general nurse, and the role of a specialized nurse such as the nurse continence advisor.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Experiencing nursing governance: developing a post merger nursing committee structure.

In a mid-sized city in south-central Ontario, two hospitals with four physical sites underwent a merger to form one large corporation; this merger was in response to the recommendations of a provincial restructuring commission. Health care delivery within the large corporation was reorganized using a program management structure. An outcome of program management within this corporation was the dissolution of the traditional nursing departments. In recognition of the need for a professional voice, the corporation created a new governance structure, which included the Professional Advisory Committee. Twenty-five disciplines are represented within this committee; each of these disciplines created its own professional committee. Nursing, then, was responsible for developing the Nursing Practice Committee (NPC). The following article describes the process by which front line nursing staff developed the NPC. A nursing structure task force was struck to accomplish this purpose; the task force is described, including membership, mandate, activities, principles and goals. The environmental assessment that was conducted by the task force is described, along with the process by which the NPC structure was designed and implemented. Challenges and successes experienced are presented. Rosabeth Kanter's framework for staff empowerment is used to understand how nursing governance was transformed in the development of the NPC.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Individualized enhancement programs for nurses that promote competency.

Working in a cost-conscious health care environment changes the accessibility to conferences, workshops and other continuing education offerings. Educators, employers and individual nurses are compelled to be innovative in their approach to maintaining competency through continuing education (CE). Greater emphasis must be placed on effectively matching CE programs with carefully targeted learning needs. This article illustrates a four-phase approach to an individualized enhancement program that incorporates job expectations and competencies. The phases are: 1) completing a needs assessment, 2) defining learning objectives, 3) assessing available learning resources, and 4) evaluating the CE experience.

Clinical Competence↗