Professional Nursing Associations Research Articles

Resources to Support Canadian Nurses to Deliver Virtual Care: Environmental Scan.

Regulatory and professional nursing associations have an important role in ensuring that nurses provide safe, competent, and ethical care and are capable of adapting to emerging phenomena that influence society and population health needs. Telehealth and more recently virtual care are 2 digital health modalities that have gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth refers to telecommunications and digital communication technologies used to deliver health care, support health care provider and patient education, and facilitate self-care. Virtual care facilitates the delivery of health care services via any remote communication between patients and health care providers and among health care providers, either synchronously or asynchronously, through information and communication technologies. Despite nurses' adaptability to delivering virtual care, many have also reported challenges. This study aims to describe resources about virtual care, digital health, and nursing informatics (ie, practice guidelines and fact sheets) available to Canadian nurses through their regulatory and professional associations. An environmental scan was conducted between March and July 2023. The websites of nursing regulatory bodies across 13 Canadian provinces and territories and relevant nursing and a few nonnursing professional associations were searched. Data were extracted from the websites of these organizations to map out educational materials, training opportunities, and guidelines made available for nurses to learn and adapt to the ongoing digitalization of the health care system. Information from each source was summarized and analyzed using an inductive content analysis approach to identify categories and themes. The Virtual Health Competency Framework was applied to support the analysis process. Seven themes were identified: (1) types of resources available about virtual care, (2) terminologies used in virtual care resources, (3) currency of virtual care resources identified, (4) requirements for providing virtual care between provinces, (5) resources through professional nursing associations and other relevant organizations, (6) regulatory guidance versus competency in virtual care, and (7) resources about digital health and nursing informatics. Results also revealed that practice guidance for delivering telehealth existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was further expanded during the pandemic. Differences were noted across available resources with respect to terms used (eg, telenursing, telehealth, or virtual care), types of documents (eg, guideline vs fact sheet), and the depth of information shared. Only 2 associations provided comprehensive telenursing practice guidelines. Resources relative to digital health and nursing informatics exist, but variations between provinces were also noted. The use of telehealth and virtual care services is becoming mainstream in Canadian health care. Despite variations across jurisdictions, the existing nursing practice guidance resources for delivering telehealth and virtual care are substantial and can serve as a beginning step for developing a standardized set of practice requirements or competencies to inform nursing practice and the education of future nurses.

Getting Ours? "Girlbossing" and the Ethics of Nurse Reimbursement Models.

This article politicizes a reimbursement model proposed by some professional nursing associations that aim to better align the price of nursing labor (nurses' pay) to the value of nursing and make nurses' contributions more visible. Using the concept of "missing care," the critique reveals how professionalization directs attention to individual-level interactions between care seekers and practitioners while obscuring from view the harm inflicted by social institutions and structures constitutive of a capitalist political economy and the related carceral state. Direct reimbursement models render practitioners complicit in the harms perpetrated and perpetuated by the health care industrial complex while professionalization processes are deployed to reduce cognitive dissonance (and moral injury) produced by combining harm with nursing's normative principles. We describe and trace the complementary capitalist imperatives of extraction-based profit maximization and efficiency through the health care industrial complex to demonstrate how formative those imperatives are of the health care system, care-seekers' outcomes, nurses' experiences, nonconsensual modes of data collection, and surveillance. The naturalization of racial capitalism and the precarity and violence it entails foreclose the creation of ethical alternatives that prioritize well-being instead of the pursuit of profit that could bring the provision of and payment for care closer to the normative principles held by practitioners.

Lessons from professional nursing associations' policy advocacy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: An interpretive description.

Professional nursing associations across jurisdictions engaged in significant policy advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic to support nurses, the public and health systems. While professional nursing associations have a long history of engaging in policy advocacy, scholars have rarely critically examined this important function. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine how professional nursing associations engage in the process of policy advocacy and (b) to develop knowledge specific to policy advocacy in the context of a global pandemic. This study was conducted using interpretive description. A total of eight individuals from four professional nursing associations (two local, one national and one international) participated. Data sources included semi-structured interviews conducted between October 2021 and December 2021 and internal and external documents produced by organizations. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently. Within-case analysis was conducted prior to cross-case comparisons. Six key themes were developed to illustrate the lessons learned from these organizations including their organization's role in supporting a wide audience (professional nursing associations as a compass); the scope of their policy priorities (bridging the gaps between issues and solutions), the breadth of their advocacy strategies (top down, bottom up and everything in between), the factors influencing their decision-making (looking in and looking out), their evaluation practices (focus on contribution, not attribution) and the importance of capitalizing on windows of opportunity. This study provides insight into the nature of policy advocacy carried out by professional nursing associations. The findings suggest the need for those leading this important function to think critically about their role in supporting a wide range of audiences, the breadth and depth of their policy priorities and advocacy strategies, the factors that influence their decision-making, and the ways in which their policy advocacy work can be evaluated to move towards greater influence and impact.

Chair squat performance as a potential predictor of nurses’ physical capabilities in ergonomic patient transfers

Muscle activation and movements performed during occupational work can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, one of the nursing profession's most significant health hazards. However, physical activity like exercise training tailored to the exposure and physical ability offers health prevention and rehabilitation. Professional nursing associations have advised squat training to promote occupational health because it strengthens lower limb and back muscles. Given that squatting is a fundamental part of many daily activities and various actions in caregiving processes, we hypothesized that chair squat performance is a potential predictor of nurses’ physical capabilities to perform occupational tasks. We conducted kinetic and electromyographic assessments of 289 chair squat repetitions and compared them to ergonomic patient transfer tasks. In this task, nurses transferred a supine patient to a lateral position in a care bed using similar movement characteristics of the squat task. This cross-sectional pilot study provides initial insights into nurses’ kinetic and muscle activation patterns of health-enhancing and compensational strategies. Highly asymmetric movements corresponded to distinct extremes in lower limb and spine muscle activity data—e.g., increased activity of the rectus femoris indicates increased hip flexion, including postural sway and, therefore, high torsional forces affecting the sacroiliac joints. The potential of the chair squat performance as a predictor of nurses’ physical capabilities in ergonomic patient transfers was quantified by a 2 × 2 contingency table resulting in an accuracy rate of 73%.

Pediatric Specialty Nursing Associations and their Role in Leadership Development.

Professional organizations have a long and rich history of promoting leadership development since the late 1800s. Professional nursing organizations and associations advocate for the profession of nursing and nurses, develop health care policies and standards that ensure the highest level of patient care quality, assure the highest level of education, provide professional development and continuing education, and offer research, networking, and career advancement opportunities for their members. Currently there are 10 nationally based pediatric nursing specialty organizations and associations, most of which also have regional or local chapters. To use a scoping review to identify and summarize contributions of pediatric nursing organizations and associations in the United States to leadership development in pediatric nursing practice. Although there are leadership programs sponsored by professional nursing organizations and mentions of leadership in their mission and "about us" statements, there is very little empirical evidence of the contributions that pediatric nursing specialty bodies make to the development of leaders. Membership in a professional nursing organization provides nurses with professional development; continuing education including journal subscription and conference attendance; networking; opportunities for specialty certification, career advancement, and leadership development; and research-based clinical standards and guidelines that promote best practice. The relationship between membership in pediatric professional organizations and leadership is clear in mission statements and strategic plans. Nurse leaders play a key role in advancing the organization's mission and goals. Nursing faculty, practice executives, and professional organizations and associations have an obligation to demonstrate value of membership in advancing the profession and developing future leaders. Future research is needed to describe the contributions of pediatric nursing professional organizations to leadership development of nurses.

Capacity building among nursing and midwifery professional associations in East Africa

ABSTRACT Background Despite improvements in educational opportunities, policy changes, and pay raises in the nursing and midwifery professions in East Africa, poor working conditions, few professional development opportunities, and a general lack of respect for these professions predominate. These issues contribute to a low quality of care among a population with a high burden of communicable diseases. Health professional associations may help to address these challenges by providing a voice for nurses and midwives. Objective This study evaluated the impact of a 5-year programme focused on strengthening nurses’ and midwives’ professional associations in East Africa. Methods This study used a mixed methods design. Quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive data were captured via surveys (n = 1,266) distributed to association members. In-depth interviews (n = 65) were used to obtain qualitative data and complement the survey responses. Quantitative and qualitative data collection occurred concurrently. The results were compared to assess the impact of the programme across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Results The programme successfully built capacity in four of five organisational capacity areas: resource mobilisation, financial management, strategy, and monitoring and evaluation. Marketing and communications, the fifth targeted area, did not show improvement. Capacity in both research and service delivery was also improved, despite the programme not providing training in these areas. In addition, collaboration among associations and their members was improved. Conclusion These results support existing evidence on the impact of capacity building among professional nursing associations and coincide with the World Health Organization’s objectives for nursing. Future capacity building programmes should consider replicating the successful activities from this programme and investigate ways to reach more rural branches and provide tailored content. This study contributes to a small but growing body of knowledge that supports capacity building among the African health workforce.

Legal Regulations and the Anticipation of Moral Distress of Prospective Nurses: A Comparison of Selected Undergraduate Nursing Education Programmes.

Moral distress is commonly experienced by nurses in all settings. This bears the risk of a reduced quality of care, burnout and withdrawal from the profession. One approach to the prevention and management of moral distress is ethical competence development in undergraduate nursing education. Profession-specific legal regulations function as a foundation for the decision on the educational content within these programmes. This theoretical article presents the extent to which legal regulations may open framework conditions that allow for the comprehensive preparation of prospective nurses to manage moral distress. The legal frameworks and the immediate responsibilities regarding their realisation in the context of undergraduate nursing education vary slightly for the three chosen examples of Switzerland, Austria and Germany. While an increased awareness of ethics’ education is represented within the nursing laws, no definite presumption can be made regarding whether undergraduate nursing students will be taught the ethical competencies required to manage moral distress. It remains up to the curriculum design, the schools of nursing and instructors to create an environment that allows for the realisation of corresponding learning content. For the future, the establishment of professional nursing associations may help to emphasise acutely relevant topics, including moral distress, in undergraduate nursing education.

Nursing the Nation: Building the Nurse Labor Force by Jean C. Whelan (review).

Reviewed by: Nursing the Nation: Building the Nurse Labor Force by Jean C. Whelan Dominique Tobbell Jean C. Whelan. Nursing the Nation: Building the Nurse Labor Force. Critical Issues in Health and Medicine. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2021. xiv + 222 pp. $29.95 (978-8135-8598-7). In Nursing the Nation, Jean Whelan describes and analyzes the history of the nursing labor market in the United States from 1890 through 1950, focusing on the working lives of professional nurses and the mechanisms by which nursing labor was distributed within the American health care system. Published posthumously, this book makes a much-needed contribution to the history of the American health care system and provides critical historical perspective on the perennial nursing shortages—and attendant crises—that have characterized the American health system throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Whelan’s analysis draws upon a wide range of primary sources, including the personal papers of nurses, the records of school of nursing alumnae associations and professional nursing associations, contemporaneous studies of the nurse workforce, the published nursing and hospital administration literature, and data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Superbly written and convincingly argued, Nursing the Nation makes three key interventions into the history [End Page 461] of American health care. First, Whelan argues that working nurses have had considerable agency and power in determining the conditions of their employment and the infrastructure of nursing care delivery. From the 1890s through 1950s, when hospitals relied on student nurses to deliver nursing care, private duty nursing served as the primary source of employment for graduate nurses. In this model, patients and physicians hired nurses to attend to patient’s nursing care needs, twenty-four hours a day for the duration of the patient’s illness. During these decades, private duty registries—agencies that systematically connected patients with nurses—“served as the main employment structure through which nurses found work” (p. 32). Some registries were physician or hospital controlled, but most important were those that were nurse operated (referred to as central registries). Central registries, Whelan shows, “allowed nurses to negotiate with hospitals over fees, working hours, employment conditions, and a miscellany of other factors relevant to their working lives” (p. 148). Registries that enrolled large numbers of nurses proved to be powerful advocates on behalf of working nurses because they brought to their negotiations the power of a critical mass of nurses (as well as the support of local physicians). Although they weren’t always successful in their negotiations, registries nevertheless proved “difficult for hospitals to ignore” (p. 104). The private duty registry system was thus a “nurse-run, woman-run business enterprise” that achieved a degree of success in delivering nursing services to the public (p. 149). To be sure, “the private duty/student system of care delivery was an inefficient, expensive, and poor distributor of nursing services” (p. 68), and Whelan’s second intervention is to locate the origins of ongoing problems in nurse supply in the early nurse labor market. During the Great Depression and World War II, for example, as nurse supply continually failed to meet the growing demand for nurses, nurse leaders, health care institutions, and policy-making organizations focused on increasing the supply of student nurses and creating new types of nurse workers through reform and expansion of nursing education. In so doing, they ignored the workforce issues that deterred women from remaining in (or even entering) the nursing profession, including discriminatory hiring practices, low wages, and poor working conditions. “Concentrating on the supply of nurses,” Whelan argues, “failed to solve the shortage issue and created significant tensions within the market” (p. 123). These tensions persisted even after the nurse workforce underwent a major restructuring after World War II, when staff nursing became the standard model for nursing care delivery, concomitant with the demise of central registries. Although the employment of a permanent hospital nursing staff solved many problems the private duty system had failed to address—such as, providing hospitals with a more reliable and controllable labor force—it created others by solidifying hospital’s “control over nurses’ conditions of work” (p. 147). “In...

A national survey of skin health in nursing personnel.

Hand dermatitis is a well-established occupational risk in nursing staff. To explore skin health in nursing staff and to develop resources and recommendations to promote good skincare at work. Cross-sectional survey. We analysed data from 1,545 surveys. Forty-six percent reported 'poor' skin health and the majority (93%) experienced at least one skin problem over the previous 12 months, with only 22% seeking help from their employer. Only 2% took time off work due to skin problems, with many expressing concerns that taking sick leave would be viewed negatively by others. Over half (53%) had reduced or stopped using antibacterial rubs and soap, and 18% had reduced the use of gloves. Most respondents used hand cream and over half used products they had purchased themselves. Only 42% received skin health care information from employers, with fewer (26%) receiving training on how to identify early signs of skin disease. Only 16% had access to skin surveillance in line with regulatory requirements. Only 26% of respondents were aware of the support offered by their professional nursing association. Suggestions for improving skin health included increasing publicity concerning the importance of skin health in healthcare settings, improving access to hand creams, better quality products, enhanced education and training and more involvement from Occupational Health (OH). Results confirm that poor skin health remains a persistent problem for nurses. Employers could do more to promote skin health and nurses need to be made more aware of the support and guidance offered by professional bodies.

Exposure, access and interaction: A global analysis of sponsorship of nursing professional associations.

To analyse the nature and extent of sponsorship of nursing professional associations and their major scientific conferences. Cross-sectional content analysis. Data were extracted from the websites and conference documents of 156 national and international professional nursing associations in 2019 to identify sponsors. Sponsorship prospectuses were analysed to estimate the value and describe the nature of sponsorship arrangements. We analysed sponsorship patterns using social network analysis. Most associations (84/156, 54%) did not report any sponsors. Sponsorship was concentrated among specialty nursing associations in high-income countries. Half of identified sponsors promoted products used in clinical care (50%; 981/1969); the majority represented the medical device industry (69%; 681/981). Top sponsors generally favoured opportunities that promoted interaction with conference attendees. Globally, commercial sponsorship of nursing associations is a common, but not the dominant source of support for these activities. Half of sponsors were commercial entities that manufactured or distributed products used during clinical care, which presents a risk of commercial influence over education and ultimately, clinical practice. Sponsors favoured opportunities to interact directly with nurses, determine educational content, or foster continued interaction.

Investigating the work–life experiences of nursing faculty in Canadian academic settings and the factors that influence their retention: protocol for a mixed-method study

IntroductionWhile all research-oriented faculty face the pressures of academia, female faculty in fields including science, engineering, medicine and nursing, are especially susceptible to burnout. Nursing is unique in that it...

Looking Into Perioperative Nurses’ Other Roles

Looking Into Perioperative Nurses’ Other Roles

Associativism in nursing, public communication, and interaction with the media.

To describe the processes of producing messages and interacting with the media by professional nursing associations. Qualitative, descriptive study based on semi-structured interviews with managers of five professional nursing associations in Portugal. The data were subjected to thematic content analysis. Regulatory and union associations use public relations services and refer more strategies for interacting with journalists. Professional specialization associations interact less frequently and prefer social media for publishing their messages. Voluntary work and the reduced professionalization of the communication of specialized associations favors a nursing retraction stance towards the media. Organizational and cultural factors may help to explain nursing's limited access to the media. The use of renewal, cooperation, and education strategies will help overcome some of the limitations experienced by these associations.

The historical influence of nursing organisations on the development of the nursing profession in South Africa

Guided by critical realism philosophical principles, this historical inquiry describes the factors that influenced the professional nature of South African nursing organisations. It further describes the professional, educational and political functions of nursing organisations over the past century (1914–2014) and illustrates how these organisations influenced the professional development of nursing in South Africa. Data rich primary and secondary literature sources were analysed, and the findings were recorded in narrative form. The researchers concluded that over time, a social class system, religion, political ideology and economic needs reshaped South Africa’s nursing organisations and consequently the profession. Determined to create the female professional image, status and educational exclusivity, the nurse leaders of the 20th century opted to establish the first South African professional nursing association. The result was a recognised, respected and trained nursing corps. By the end of the 20th century, however, South African nurse leaders accepted that nurses needed their socio-economic welfare to be prioritised; and a professional organisation with a trade unionist stance was established. The result was a trained, politicised nursing corps struggling to find its collective professional voice. Socio-economic and political status became more important than professional development and the professional image. It is recommended that nurses use their political voices to collectively communicate South African nursing’s philosophical principles and values to members of the profession and the society at large. South African nurses should develop a position paper that clarifies the extent to which party-political interests will be allowed to impact decisions about nursing matters.

Birth in the Emergency Department

The use of high-fidelity simulation increases emergency department (ED) staff preparedness in high-risk, low-volume obstetric emergencies. ED staff will be better prepared and more confident in providing appropriate standards of care to the obstetric and newborn populations. A variety of evidence was used, including professional nursing association position statements, evidence-based procedures, nationally recognized care guideline, well-designed case control and cohort studies, and single descriptive studies. Two obstetric/ED simulation scenarios for an unexpected, precipitous birth were developed using high-fidelity simulation manikins. Eighty-five ED staff completed the simulation and debrief session. All survey questions addressing staff confidence and preparedness saw large increases in staff feeling prepared and confident. In addition, for knowledge-based questions, there was an 80% increase in correct answers. The obstetric–newborn population in the ED saw a 90% decrease in incident reports after the simulation sessions. The results suggest that simulation-based educational interventions have a strong effect on nurse confidence, knowledge and preparedness when preparing for the low volume, high risk OB/newborn patient population.

Original Research: Suicide Among RNs: An Analysis of 2015 Data from the National Violent Death Reporting System.

Suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide rates for health care providers are thought to be higher than for people in other occupations because of job strain and burnout. Despite the National Academy of Medicine's Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience, which focuses on reducing stress and preventing suicide, a shortage of data limits our understanding of nurse suicide. Neither employers nor professional nursing associations track suicide data. To determine the number of suicides and estimated rate of suicide among RNs, using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). We extracted data from the NVDRS, which is based on death certificates, coroner reports, and law enforcement reports, for the year 2015. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Industry and Occupation Computerized Coding System was used to code the data. Industry and occupation coding experts reviewed the coding for accuracy. Analysis of 2015 NVDRS data from 17 states showed that among civilian employed nurses ages 16 to 64 years, the estimated suicide rates for female and male nurses (11.4 and 29.3 per 100,000 nurses, respectively) were each higher than the rates for the comparable total population (8.2 and 26.1 per 100,000 people, respectively). Our findings indicate that RNs may die by suicide at higher rates than the total employed population in the 16-to-64-year age range. Implementation of evidence-based approaches to prevent suicide are warranted.

Professional values of the nursing students’ Perspective in Jahrom University of medical sciences, 2017

Background and Aim: The main goal of nursing is to promote the value of human beings and the dignity of all those who need care. Nursing should not only include scientific knowledge and technical skills, but also a professionin which professional values are acknowledged. The aim of this study was to determine the professional values from the viewpoint of nursing students in Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: In this descriptiveanalytical study, 120 students of Jahrom Nursing and Midwifery Faculty were selected through census sampling. A two-part questionnaire was used to assess the students’ viewpoints toward professional values: Part I: Social-demographic characteristics and Part Two: Nurses professional values scale - Revised survey tool, which consists of 26 items from professional ethics codes of the American Nursing Association and includes the following items: care (9 items), activity (5 items), trust (5 items), professionalization (4 items) and justice (3 items). The options are expressed on the basis of a five-option Likert scale, so that the option with the least importance gets score 1 and the option with the most importance gets the score 5. The range of grades will be from 26 to 130, and a higher score indicates that they are more familiar with professional values. Results: 120 nursing students participated in the present study. Mean scores of dimensions of care, pragmatism, trust, professionalism, and justice were 3.50, 3.20, 3.65, 3.45, and 3.75, respectively. Maintaining competency in the clinical setting (dimension of trust) was the most important componentand activities in professional nursing and research affairs associations (pragmatic dimension). Conclusion: In order to promote the professional development and transformation of today’s students into future capable nurses, it is imperative to develop planning and teaching methods tailored to the existing conditions and facilities, as well as to consider areas of strength and weakness in the area of professional value.
 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.19(3) 2020 p.427-432

Stress Mitigation Strategies for Trauma Nurses: A Case Study.

Trauma nurses encounter multiple intense stressors on a regular basis. These nurses not only treat the injured patient following a traumatic event but then interact with family members who are also impacted by the event. Repeated experiences with significant trauma can have cumulative effects and negatively impact these nurses and the entire trauma team. Professional nursing associations make recommendations promoting wellness, and health care organizations implement wellness programs that foster and support mind, body, and spirit health. Individuals cope with and respond to stress in different ways, dependent on their unique backgrounds, beliefs, and support systems. Because of these differences, it is important for organizations to offer various ways for nurses and team members to process their reactions and use effective strategies to effectively manage stress. The organization highlighted in this case study offers several stress mitigation programs and techniques designed to support the overall health of trauma nurses and restore their emotional well-being, so that they are best able to care for their injured patients.

Three Decades of Professional Nursing Leadership: The Impact of the Community Health Nurses of Canada.

In 1987, six Canadian community health nursing leaders recognized the need for a national body to represent and advocate for the diverse practice of community health nursing and the health of communities. Their vision and action three decades ago resulted in the formation of the Community Health Nurses of Canada (CHNC), a national professional nursing association. This paper will describe the development of CHNC from an early vision to a recognized centre of excellence for community health nursing in Canada. Significant milestones described include developing structures to advance excellence in practice, creating and acting on a vision, advancing leadership capacity, supporting professional development and promoting best practice, advancing community health nursing in undergraduate education and advocating for health policy.

Association Development and Professional Transformation model for nurse leaders.

This pilot study evaluated an Association Development and Professional Transformation (ADAPT) model for nursing leadership development and assessed satisfaction with the ADAPT workshop. Nurses often lack self-confidence and self-efficacy in leadership roles. There is a need for nurses to take leadership opportunities that serve to advance the nursing profession. A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design was used. The sampling method selected professional nursing association (PNA) members. Novice participants completed a pre-assessment and post-assessment Leadership Practice Inventory-Self (LPI-S) survey and attended the ADAPT workshop. Experienced nurse leaders participated as mentors. Both groups completed a satisfaction survey after the workshop. Awareness of nursing leadership behaviours increased. Total mean scores for each subscale on the LPI-S increased but this was not statistically significant. All participants reported satisfaction with the ADAPT workshop. This study offers evidence that the ADAPT model influences leadership behaviours. The ADAPT workshop provided a method to gain a leadership perspective and to encourage nurses to fulfil a leadership role within professional nursing associations. Organisations and professional nursing associations that support the leadership potential of nurses must invest in providing leadership development opportunities.