Nursefriendly.com: toxic working conditions

Showing posts with label toxic working conditions. Show all posts

Monday, February 21, 2011

On February 23rd blow the whistle on bullying, BC Nurses Union

Wednesday February 23rd is Anti-Bullying Day also known as Pink Shirt Day. The goal is to raise awareness of the harmful impacts of workplace bullying. BCNU members and stewards will be taking action to highlight this important day at worksites throughout the province.

Bullying and horizontal violence in nursing

In 2005 Statistics Canada reported that bullying and horizontal violence affects many Canadian nurses:

Almost 50 percent of nurses report emotional abuse at work

46 percent of nurses report they were exposed to hostility or conflict from co-workers

Bullying is aggressive, persistent and intentional behaviour where any reasonable person should know their behaviour is unwelcome by the victim.

Bullying isn't normal rudeness or properly discharged managerial activities. Bullying is more than normal workplace conflict – it creates toxic workplaces that are often difficult to change. If you believe bullying is an issue at your worksite, contact your BCNU steward.

To make a difference in your workplace, know your "Respect in the Workplace" policy and procedures. To learn more about bullying:

bullyonline.org

workplacebullying.org

bullyinginstitute.org

pinkshirtday.ca

via bcnu.org

Click on the "via" link to read the rest of the article.

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

What's New:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

B.C. nurses to train in gang awareness - British Columbia - CBC News

The health authority in Prince George, B.C., plans to teach nurses how to deal with gang members who arrive at a hospital's emergency ward.

Northern Health Authority spokeswoman Eryn Collins said RCMP members will be invited to speak to staff about gang awareness and other safety issues.

"I couldn't definitively say whether the gang perspective on it has ever been raised before," said Collins. "It would be logical in terms of being aware of who you're dealing with."

via cbc.ca

Click on the "via" link to read more:

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

What's New:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

Are 12-hour shifts safe? Donna Cardillo, MA, RN - American Nurse Today

Are 12-hour shifts safe?

Donna Cardillo, MA, RN

12-hour shifts have become the norm in hospitals and most nurses love them. One can work 3 days and have 4 days off, there is one less major shift change to contend with, and patients have fewer names and faces to get acclimated to in a 24-hour period. It all makes sense on the surface.

But is working 12 consecutive hours in a fast-paced, high stress, physically and mentally demanding environment a good idea? Does it support the clear judgment, quick thinking and reflexes, and life and death decisions that we must make in the acute care setting?

I know a few nurses who do three 12-hour shifts a week, at least two of the shifts on two consecutive days. Some nurses do three consecutive 12s. Factor in commuting time, shift transition (it can sometimes take 1-2 extra hours to actually finish up), time to get ready for work—never mind making time (if at all) for family or self and they’re lucky to get 5-6 hours of sleep if that. Compound that with the fact that many nurses no longer take meal breaks or even short breaks during their shift to rest and refresh because they believe they don’t have the time or they don’t make the time. This is a recipe for disaster.

via americannursetoday.com

Click on the "via" link to read the rest of the article.

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

What's New:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Nurses’ Widespread Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout, And Frustration With Health Benefits Signal Problems For Patient Care — Health Aff

Job dissatisfaction among nurses contributes to costly labor disputes, turnover, and risk to patients. Examining survey data from 95,499 nurses, we found much higher job dissatisfaction and burnout among nurses who were directly caring for patients in hospitals and nursing homes than among nurses working in other jobs or settings, such as the pharmaceutical industry. Strikingly, nurses are particularly dissatisfied with their health benefits, which highlights the need for a benefits review to make nurses’ benefits more comparable to those of other white-collar employees. Patient satisfaction levels are lower in hospitals with more nurses who are dissatisfied or burned out—a finding that signals problems with quality of care. Improving nurses’ working conditions may improve both nurses’ and patients’ satisfaction as well as the quality of care.

via content.healthaffairs.org

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

What's New:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Why Do 18% of New Nurses Quit Their First Jobs? Nurse Recruitment and Retention:

I just learned about the RN Work Project (www.RNWorkProject.org) that will track careers among newly licensed registered nurses.

With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation until 2016, they’ll study RN work careers for 10 years.

To understand the supply of and demand for nurses, it is critical that we understand the needs and challenges of new RNs. This study examines the first work settings of newly licensed registered nurses to learn what influences their first job choice and where they move afterward.

About 18% of newly licensed RNs leave their first nursing job within a year of starting, and 26% leave within 2 years. Of these, about 92% take another nursing job with a different employer.

This study is crucial for nurse recruitment and retention.

Please leave a comment below sharing your thoughts on what can be done to retain nurses.

(Tune in every Monday to LeAnn Thieman's Nurse Recruitment and Retention column the home page.)

About the Author: LeAnn Thieman, Nurse, Author and Speaker Hall of Fame is an expert in nurse recruitment and retention and author of Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul. To have her help hire and inspire your nurses, contact her at www.NurseRecruitmentandRetention.com

via nursetogether.com

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.howtostartanursingagency.com
http://www.jocularity.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com

Mass. aims to cut drug overuse for dementia - The Boston Globe

State regulators and the Massachusetts nursing home industry are launching a campaign today to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications for residents with dementia — a practice that endangers lives and is more common here than in most other states.

Tweet 3 people Tweeted this

Submit to Diggdigg

Yahoo! Buzz ShareThis

During the next year, a team of specialists will identify nursing homes with successful methods for avoiding overuse of antipsychotics and determine which homes need help cutting back. Nursing home staff will be taught how to deal with aggressive and difficult behaviors, often displayed by dementia patients, without resorting to antipsychotics to sedate them.
In 2009, 22 percent of Massachusetts nursing home residents who received antipsychotic medications did not have a diagnosis for which the drugs were recommended — the 12th highest rate of inappropriate antipsychotic use in the nation, the Globe re ported earlier this year.
Twice in the past five years, federal regulators have issued nationwide alerts about troubling and sometimes fatal side effects when antipsychotics are taken by people with dementia, often Alzheimer’s patients.
Specialists say that understaffing sometimes prompts overuse of these medications to help control dementia patients’ behavior, but that inappropriate use can also be traced to lack of training in alternative approaches.
“There is a knowledge gap between the front-line workers — the nurses — and the black-box warnings on these medications,’’ said Laurie Herndon, a geriatric nurse practitioner who is leading the initiative for Massachusetts Senior Care, the trade group representing the state’s 430 nursing homes. A black-box warning is the most serious type of caution used in prescription drug labeling.
“We wanted to avoid talking at them, and instead provide educational material they can use,’’ Herndon said.
Campaign details will be unveiled at the association’s annual meeting today in Worcester, which is expected to draw about 900 people.
Alice Bonner, the state’s top nursing home regulator, said she appointed a task force to study the overuse of antipsychotics in nursing homes and develop alternative approaches after the Globe highlighted the problem in Massachusetts earlier this year. The task force includes nursing home physicians, nurses, social workers, and pharmacists, along with elder advocates, researchers, and state surveyors who monitor the quality of the facilities.
Bonner, director of the Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality in the Department of Public Health, said the state, given its budget problems, does not have new resources to devote to the campaign, but is working with legislators and the Patrick administration to get new funding in the next state budget. The trade association intends to apply for grants from nonprofit groups to fund the initiative.
“No one is going to plunk a whole lot of money in our laps,’’ Herndon said, “but that shouldn’t stop us.’’

Bonner said that the task force has already identified low-cost approaches used by some nursing homes. One approach involves more careful screening of patients when they are admitted, which includes gathering more detailed information from families about the patient’s personality before the onset of illness. This, Bonner said, helps staffers tailor care and activities to each patient.
“They get a good sense of who a person was before they began to suffer with dementia, what kinds of things they like to do, and what kinds of things their family can tell us makes them calm or gets them engaged,’’ Bonner said.
“When you see a nursing home with a low rate of antipsychotics, very often you will see these programs,’’ she said.
Bonner also said that nursing homes that give workers consistent schedules that allow them to work with the same patients have also been successful.
“That helps reduce difficult behaviors with patients with dementia because staff knows the patients so well, they pick up on early signs of trouble and prevent a catastrophic event, so they can intervene early,’’ she said. Consistent schedules have the side benefit of helping nursing homes retain their workers longer, Bonner said. “Once this is in place, it turns out it is less expensive because staff turnover is expensive,’’ she said.
The education campaign will draw on the work of Dr. Susan Wehry, a geriatric psychiatrist and associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Wehry recently concluded an intensive, nine-month pilot project in four Vermont nursing homes that taught all staffers, from housekeepers to medical directors, alternative approaches, such as using music and massage, to manage difficult patient behaviors.
The program, she said, helped identify which alternatives work, which don’t, and how challenging the mission can be.
Wehry is still analyzing the results but said preliminary findings showed that in one of the homes where the administrator made all of the training sessions mandatory for staff, antipsychotic use was dramatically reduced. A third of the patients with dementia had been prescribed antipsychotics before the program, and not one was on them by the end, she said.
“They were much improved in terms of staff-resident interactions and level of alertness,’’ Wehry said. “And they looked happier.’’
Data from another home that did not make all of the training mandatory showed no change in the number of dementia patients given the medications. Wehry said a more troubling trend also emerged there — one of the physicians switched from giving antipsychotics to prescribing antianxiety medications.
“If all we do is shift the burden, then all we have done is create a different set of problems,’’ Wehry said. “Our goal is not to just reduce our reliance on antipsychotics, but to change [patient] behaviors.’’
Kay Lazar can be reached at klazar@globe.com

via boston.com

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

Nursefriendly.com

Monday, February 21, 2011

On February 23rd blow the whistle on bullying, BC Nurses Union

B.C. nurses to train in gang awareness - British Columbia - CBC News

Are 12-hour shifts safe? Donna Cardillo, MA, RN - American Nurse Today

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Nurses’ Widespread Job Dissatisfaction, Burnout, And Frustration With Health Benefits Signal Problems For Patient Care — Health Aff

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Why Do 18% of New Nurses Quit Their First Jobs? Nurse Recruitment and Retention:

Mass. aims to cut drug overuse for dementia - The Boston Globe

Blog Archive

Contact Us

About Andrew Lopez, RN, Nursefriendly.com

Followers