Study on Nursing College Students' Subjectivity in Their Attitude Toward Jobs

Kim Yoon Soak,Kim Boon Han Korean Society of Nursing Science 2005 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.35 No.4

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to categorize nursing students' subjectivity in their attitude toward their jobs, and thereby understand the differences among these attitude types. Methods. The study used a Q-method to measure nursing students' attitude toward jobs identity types. In-depth and objective interviews and literature review formed Q sample. The P sample consisted of 25 nursing students. Results. The results of the study show that nursing students can be categorized into three types, depending on their attitudes toward their jobs. The firs type, 'interest-oriented' students, strongly disagree to the follow-ing: giving priority to job over marriage, standing unfair treatment in the workplace, the importance of pro-motion opportunity, irresponsibility, and uncertainty. The 'reward-oriented' students, on the other hand, strongly disagree to the following: indifference to career prospects, employment-related relocation of residence, irresponsibility, standing difficulties, and compromises with others. The third type of nursing students is the possession-oriented students, who strongly disapprove of irresponsibility, refusal to compromise with reality, standing unfair job allocation or promotion and career uncertainty. Conclusions. The study on nursing college students' attitude toward their jobs is meaningful in the following aspects: First, the study clarifies nursing college students' attitudes toward their job by categorizing it. Second, the study confirms the changing attitudes of nursing students toward jobs with the change of times and calls for proper educational programs to foster healthy career attitudes. Third, proper decision-making as regards jobs and job allocation for nurses, or their career attitudes, is beneficial to individuals, the medical industry, and society.

Factors Related to Nurse Staffing Levels in Tertiary and General Hospitals

Kim Yun Mi,June Kyung Ja,Cho Sung-Hyun Korean Society of Nursing Science 2005 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.35 No.8

Background. Adequate staffing is necessary to meet patient care needs and provide safe, quality nursing care. In November 1999, the Korean government implemented a new staffing policy that differentiates nursing fees for inpatients based on nurse-to-bed ratios. The purpose was to prevent hospitals from delegating nursing care to family members of patients or paid caregivers, and ultimately deteriorating the quality of nursing care services. Purpose. To examine nurse staffing levels and related factors including hospital, nursing and medical staff, and financial characteristics. Methods. A cross-sectional design was employed using two administrative databases, Medical Care Institution Database and Medical Claims Data for May 1-31, 2002. Nurse staffing was graded from 1 to 6, based on grading criteria of nurse-to-bed ratios provided by the policy. The study sample consisted of 42 tertiary and 186 general acute care hospitals. Results. None of tertiary or general hospitals gained the highest nurse staffing of Grade 1 (i.e., less than 2 beds per nurse in tertiary hospitals; less than 2.5 beds per nurse in general hospitals). Two thirds of the general hospitals had the lowest staffing of Grade 6 (i.e., 4 or more beds per nurse in tertiary hospitals; 4.5 or more beds per nurse in general hospitals). Tertiary hospitals were better staffed than general hospitals, and private hospitals had higher staffing levels compared to public hospitals. Large-sized general hospitals located in metropolitan areas had higher staffing than other general hospitals. Occupancy rate was positively related to nurse staffing. A negative relationship between nursing assistant and nurse staffing was found in general hospitals. A greater number of physician specialists were associated with better nurse staffing. Conclusions. The staffing policy needs to be evaluated and modified to make it more effective in leading hospitals to increase nurse staffing.

The Theory of Change in Nursing Practice

Gas, Du Korean Society of Nursing Science 1979 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.9 No.2

The topic I have chosen for presentation to you today is entitled, the theory of change in nursing practice or to put it into simpler words. How do new ideas in nursing get started - Where do they come from\ulcorner - How are these ideas spread through the social system of nurses\ulcorner - What makes some Directors of Nursing more ready to accept change than others\ulcorner What factors in-fluence than to introduce change\ulcorner The process of change has been the subject of considerable research in such diverse disciplines and fields as anthropology and rural sociology, marketing and, also, education, for many years. The studies are called“diffusion”studies, or sometimes“adoption”studies, or“adoption of innovation”studies. They deal specifically with the transmission of innovations to members of a social system, and are considered a subset of research in the general field of communication, Although a number of studies have been undertaken in medicine, and, in the past decade, numerous ones in education, there have been few studies on the process of change in nursing. Yet, nursing has undergone tremendous changes in the past 10 years - the nursing process has been introduced, there is the expanded role of the nurse which is rapidly becoming a regular mode of practice - and many, many more changes, We seem to be always running to try. to keep up with changes that have already taken place. Yet little is known about known about the process of change itself - how practitioners learn about new ideas and techniques, or about the factors which influence nurses to accept some changes and reject others. The purpose of the study I am about. to describe was to analyze the process of change as it functioned in regard to nursing innovations in a selected segment of Canadian hospitals, and to relate the analysis to general research and theory about information transmission and the acceptance of change. Three aspects of the process were investigated : 1. The flow of information about changes in nursing practice through a network of hospitals. 2. Factors influencing the adoption of changes in nursing practice. 3. Factors influencing delay in the adoption process, the rejection of changes, or their discontinuance following adoption.

Perception of Nurse Experts on the Contribution of Nursing Interventions to NOC Nursing Outcomes in General Hospitals in Korea

Lee Byoungsook Korean Society of Nursing Science 2005 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.35 No.4

The purpose of this study was to identify the perception of nurse experts on the contribution of nursing interventions to Nursing Outcomes Classification NOC nursing outcomes. A nursing outcome is a nursing-sensitive patient outcome primarily affected by nursing interventions. As one of the standardized language systems of nursing outcomes, the NOC must be examined for applicability before it is used in Korea. Data were collected in February and March 2003 using a 5-point Likert scale. For data collection, 230 quality improvement (QI) or quality assurance (QA) nurses from general hospitals in Korea were asked to rate the extent that nursing interventions contribute to each of the NOC nursing outcomes (2000) in their hospitals. Ninety-six nurses from 63 hospitals responded and the response rate was $41.7\%$. Mean scores for perception of contribution of nursing interventions to each of the NOC nursing outcomes ranged from 2.18 to 4.54. Vital Signs Status had the highest score (M = 4.54), and Abuse Recovery: Financial, the lowest score (M = 2.18). Of the seven NOC domains, the mean score was highest for Physiologic Health (M = 3.91) and lowest for Community Health (M = 2.92). Of the 29 NOC classes, the mean score for perceived contribution was highest for Metabolic Regulation (M = 4.32) and lowest for Community Well-Being (M = 2.92). Participants perceived that nursing interventions in general hospitals in Korea contributed, at least to a certain extent, to most of the NOC nursing outcomes. Based on these results, NOC should have relatively good applicability in Korea.

Development and Evaluation of a PBL-based Continuing Education for Clinical Nurses: A Pilot Study

Kim, Hee-Soon,Hwang, Seon-Young,Oh, Eui-Geum,Lee, Jae-Eun Korean Society of Nursing Science 2006 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.36 No.8

Purpose. The purposes of this study were to develop a PBL program for continuing nurse education and to evaluate the program after its implementation. Methods. The PBL program was developed in the core cardio-pulmonary nursing concepts through a collaborative approach with a nursing school and a hospital. The PBL packages with simulation on ACLS were implemented to 40 clinical nurses. The entire PBL program consisted of six 3-hour weekly classes and was evaluated by the participants' subjective responses. Results. Two PBL packages in cardio-pulmonary system including clinical cases and tutorial guidelines were developed. The 57.5 % of the participants responded positively about the use of PBL as continuing nurse education in terms of self-motivated and cooperative learning, whereas 20.0% of the participants answered that the PBL method was not suitable for clinical nurses. Some modifications were suggested in grouping participants and program contents for PBL. Conclusion. The PBL method could be utilized to promote nurses' clinical competencies as well as self-learning abilities. Further research is needed in the implementation strategies of PBL-based continuing education in order to improve its effectiveness.

Nurses' Perception of Performance and Responsibility of Patient Education

Park Mee-Young Korean Society of Nursing Science 2005 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.35 No.8

Purpose. This paper is derived from a larger study of nurses' perceptions of their role as patient educators. The focus is to examine nurse' performance in patient education in relation to issues of their perceived responsibility and their ability to prioritize patient education. Method. A multiple-method survey design, using a questionnaire and in-depth interviews, is used to produce a comprehensive picture of the research problem examined. Result. The findings suggest that although nurses consider patient education as an integral part of their care, they fail to deliver as much as they desire in the face of work constraints. Nurses' patient education activities are mainly informal and reactional, in which case they can be easily regarded as a low priority when faced with time constraints. Conclusion. The findings suggest that there is a need for systematic approaches that enable the inculcation of patient education into routine daily care.

The Roles of Critical Care Advanced Practice Nurse

Sung, Young-Hee,Yi, Young-Hee,Kwon, In-Gak,Cho, Yang-Ae Korean Society of Nursing Science 2006 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.36 No.8

Purpose. To determine and compare the perception among nurses and doctors of the roles and tasks of critical care advanced practice nurses (APNs) in order to establish standardized and formally agreed role criteria for such critical care APNs. Method. This study measured and analyzed the necessity of each of the roles and tasks of critical care APNs, as perceived by nurses and doctors, through a survey of 121 participants: 71 nurses in 7 intensive care units (ICUs) at a general hospital in Seoul, and 50 doctors who used ICUs. Data collection utilized a questionnaire of 128 questions in the following fields: direct practice (79), leadership and change agent (17), consultation and collaboration (15), education and counseling (11), and research (6). Results. Both the nurses' and the doctors' groups confirmed the necessity of critical care APNs, with doctors who frequently used ICUs indicating a particularly strong need. As for the priority of each role of critical care APNs, the nurses considered direct practice to be the most critical, followed by education and counseling, research, consultation and collaboration, and leadership and change agent. The doctors also considered direct practice to be the most critical, followed by education and counseling, consultation and collaboration, research, and leadership and change agent. There was a statistically significant difference between how the two groups regarded all the roles, except for the consultation and collaboration roles. As for the necessity of each role of critical care APNs, the nurses considered research to be the most necessary, followed by education and counseling, consultation and collaboration, leadership and change agent, and direct practice. The doctors, on the other hand, considered education and counseling to be the most necessary, followed by research, consultation and collaboration, leadership and change agent, and direct practice. The responses of the two groups to all the roles, except for education and counseling roles, were significantly different. Conclusion. Nurses and doctors have different perceptions of the roles and tasks of critical care APNs. Thus, it is necessary for the combined nursing and medical fields to reach an official agreement on a set of criteria to standardize for the roles and tasks of critical care APNs.

Barriers and Attitudes to Research Among Nurses in One Hospital in Korea

Kang Hee Sun,Kim Mi Jong Korean Society of Nursing Science 2005 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.35 No.4

Purpose. Nursing research is recognized as an essential basis for the continuous development of the scientific nursing knowledge and practice. An understanding of the barriers and attitudes to research among nurses is important to improve clinical nursing research activities. Method. Data were collected from nurses at a general hospital, located in D city, using a self-reported questionnaire, from March 15th to April 4th, 2003, and 133 questionnaires were used for the analyses. A 5 point-scale instrument was used to measure barriers and attitudes towards nursing research, with a Cronbach's alpha of .85 and .89, respectively. Results. Nurses had limited experience in research and were not well prepared to conduct it. Lack of experience, training and time were the major barriers for conducting research. However, the nurses had positive attitudes toward research. There was a difference in barriers (t = 2.68, P = .02) and research attitudes (t =- 2.74, P = .00) according to the nurses' position. Also, the nurses' research experience influenced research attitudes (t = -3.27, P = .00). The degree of research preparation (F = 6.98, P = .00) had an effect on the attitudes toward nursing research but not on the barriers. Conclusion. There is an urgent need to promote both the ability and environment for clinical nurses to actively participate in research. As the majority of nurses had little experience and low confidence in research and perceived many barriers, this promotion can be accomplished by enhancing their confidence in research through continuing education and by gradually eliminating the barriers to research.

Cervical Cancer Screening in Korean American Women: Findings from Focus Group Interviews

Kim, Hoo-Ja,Lee, Kyung-Ja,Lee, Sun-Ock,Kim, Sung-Jae Korean Society of Nursing Science 2004 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.34 No.4

Purpose. Korean American women have twice the rate of cervical cancer than white women and demonstrate low rates in participation in cervical cancer screening. This study was to describe the perceptions about cervical cancer and factors related to cervical cancer screening among Korean American women. Method. Focus group methods. Results. Five themes emerged. First, knowledge about cervical cancer; misconceptions about cervical cancer, its causes, reproductive anatomy and the treatment Second, perceived meanings of having cervical cancer; most of the women felt that cervical cancer represented a loss of femininity and existential value of woman-hood. Third, knowledge about cervical cancer screening; regular medical check-ups were necessary for early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. Forth, experiences and perceived meanings of cervical cancer screening; the participants expressed their feelings; embarrassment, fear, shame and shyness. Fifth, practices of cervical cancer screening; various intervals in participating in cervical cancer screening. But they mentioned several deterrents, language, insurance, time constraint, embarrassment, fear of the screening results, misbelief about susceptibility, lack of health prevention behavior, and lack of information written in Korean. Conclusion: Results emphasize the critical need for culturally appropriate health education to encourage participation of Korean American women in cervical cancer screening.

Needs for Home Care Nursing in the Vulnerable Elderly

Lee, Ji-Hyun,Jeong, Youn-Hee,Park, Geum-Ja,Kwon, Sook-Hee Korean Society of Nursing Science 2007 Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Vol.37 No.2

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the subjects' health status according to the needs of visiting health and the function of the family in home care nursing. Sample and Method. The data collection period was from 07/01/04 to 10/31/04 and the subjects were 488 of those above 60 years of age staying at home or living alone who registered at a visiting health service of public health center at an urban area in Korea. This survey was carried out by visiting health nurses and participation was agreed on by the elderly people. Results. The extent of the subjects' total health status to the general characteristics had differences according to the age, sex, monthly income, perceived health status, known functional disorder, and yes-or-no for disease. At all health status domains, visiting health need care in the group I was very lower than one in II, III, or IV groups. Also the severe dysfunctional family was lower than lightly dysfunctional family and normal functional family in all health status domains. Conclusion. Nurses must provide their characteristics considered nursing intervention for the elderly who have high visiting health needs and severe dysfunctional family with vulnerable health care.