Nursing students' time management: directing activities toward personal goals

Background: The nursing students should acquire practical and theoretical competence required for the patients' care during their 4 years of education. This involves proper use of time. The purpose of this study was to investigate how nursing students manage their time despite the academic difficulties and obstacles

Methods: This qualitative study was carried out through grounded theory method. The study population consisted of nursing students. Twenty-one nursing students studying at undergraduate level were selected purposefully for participation in this study. The data were collected with semi-structured interview and analyzed through Strauss and Corbin method [2008]. MAXQDA 10 software was employed to organize and process the data

Results: Core variable of this study was "directing activities toward personal goals," representing in 3 behavioral patterns. The behavioral pattern of "retaliation from field" was one of the 3 patterns applied by nursing students. The properties of this pattern included "unknowingly entrance to nursing field," "stress and dissatisfaction with spending time," "nonacceptance of field," "attempt to decrease stress and obtain satisfaction," and "ignoring academic responsibilities". According to this pattern, the students spent most of their time on non-academic responsibilities while trying to overcome the stress

Conclusion: The findings of this study recommend the necessity for revising the admission method of nursing students and informed choice of nursing field by these students

[Frequency and intensity of nurses' confrontation with intra and extra-organizational factors governing burn centers]

Multiple structural factors preside over burn units influence nurses' quality of care and their activities. The complexity and multi-dimensional nature of nursing care in these units, creates many challenges. Understanding the perspectives of people's involved is recommended. This study, with a theory-to-research approach, was conducted to assess the frequency of confronting intra and extra organizational factors preside over burn units, the intensity of its related pressure, and correlations among these variables from nurses' perspectives. In this cross-sectional, correlational study, 98 nurses working in the Shahid Mottahari burn center were recruited by census. Data was collected using the intra and extra organizational factors instrument, provided based on the previous grounded theory study of the researchers. Intra-organizational factors questionnaire consisted of 58 Likert type statements in eight subscales and two dimensions of frequency [alpha=0.94] and intensity [alpha=0.96]. Extraorganizational factors questionnaire consisted of eight Likert type statements [alpha=0.74]. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 14. The results revealed that the frequency of nurses' confrontation with factors related to environment and patients as well as its intensity were more than other factors. Moreover, the intensity of the whole factors was more than its frequency. All the extra- organizational factors were significantly correlated with all intra-organizational factors except for the "absence of employment permission" [P<0.05]. This study explained the importance of intraorganizational factors of a burn center in inducing stress on nurses. In addition to verification of some relationships in the previous mid-range theory, the results of this study also modified some of its aspects. Therefore it added to the existing body of knowledge about organizational factors and job stress in burn units. Moreover, it produced some evidences to use in nursing administration and service, and finally it resulted in some directions to control stress in nurses' job

[Relationship between moral distress and job satisfaction among nurses of Tehran university of medical sciences hospitals]

Moral distress, a major issue in nursing, affects nurses in all healthcare sections. The existence of such distress and its consequent job dissatisfaction may pose a threat to nurses' physical and mental health, as well as their quality of life; and hinder their accomplishment of individual and social goals. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the moral distress and job satisfaction In nurses. This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on 210 nurses employed in the selected healthcare centers of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2009. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting demographic characteristics, the Corley's moral distress scale, and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test, analysis of variance, Wilcoxon test and Pearson's correlation coefficient in the SPSS v.14. According to the findings of the study, the mean of the moral distress was 1.77 out of four; and the mean of the job satisfaction score was 3.17 out of 5; indicating a moderate job satisfaction among the nurses. A significant relationship was observed between the moral distress and nurses' job satisfaction in the present study, indicating that by decreasing moral distress, job satisfaction increases. Although numerous factors govern nurses' job satisfaction, the observed relationship between moral distress and job satisfaction indicates that identifying and limiting factors influencing these distresses can lead to improved job satisfaction for nurses

Concept analysis of professional commitment in Iranian nurses

Professional commitment has been widely discussed during the last decade. There is no comprehensive definition about "professional commitment in Iranian nurses." Hence, this study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the concept of professional commitment in Iranian nurses. Hybrid model was used in three phases. Firstly, in the theoretical phase, data were retrieved from the CINHAl, MEDLINE, PubMed, OVID, Google scholar, and SID databases. The literature search used the keywords "professional commitment" and "nursing." The final sample included 27 papers published in English between 2001 and 2011.Secondly, in the fieldwork phase, deep interviews with five clinical nurses were carried out, and thirdly, in the final analytical phase, the obtained data from theoretical and fieldwork phases were combined and a comprehensive analysis was conducted. Loyalty and tendency to remain in the profession and responsibility to the professional issues were extracted in theoretical phase. Commitment to promote caring abilities, satisfying of being a nurse, and belonging to the nursing profession were obtained in fieldwork phase. Finally, two main themes including "commitment to offering the best nursing care" and "commitment to promotion of the nursing profession" were extracted. Nursing is a humanistic profession; it has some particular characteristics due to the profession's nature. In this paper, a definition composed of two main dimensions of professional commitment in nursing has been introduced.

Perspectives of patients and nurses on caring behaviors of nurses

Although caring is a complex concept with various definitions, there are no agreement on the exact meaning among researchers. The aim of this study was to compare caring behaviors of nurses from patients' and nurses' perspectives. The study was conducted among 150 patients hospitalized in Boushehr hospitals and 50 nurses caring for them. Data were collected using quota sampling method via Caring Behaviors Inventory [CBI]. Findings showed that there were significant differences between patients' and nurses' perspectives on the subscales of the instrument including assurance of human presence and attentiveness to others' experiences. Moreover, there was significant difference in total scale of caring behaviors of nurses between patients and nurses [t=2.559,P=0.011]. Nurses believed that they provide care for patients without making estimations of their expectations. It seems that nurses should attend to standard care to fill the gap

model of patient participation with chronic disease in nursing care

Chronic diseases are one of the greatest challenges that health systems facing with them today. Recently, patient participation is considered as a key element in chronic care models. However, there are few studies about participation of patients with chronic disease in caring activities. The aim of this study was to identify the factors, which are relevant to patient participation and the nature of participation in caring activities. A qualitative approach with a basic theory method was used in this study. 22 persons including 9 patients, 8 nurses, and 5 family members were recruited using purposeful and theoretical sampling in three hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected with semi-structured interview and participant observation. Constant comparison was used for data analysis. Findings of this study indicated that participation of patients with chronic disease in nursing care is a dynamic and interactive concept that occurs between nurse, patient and family member in a care-servicing system. The core theme of this study was [convergence of caring agents] that included four categories: adhering, involving, sharing and true participation. This study suggests a pyramid model for explaining patient participation. Participation occurs in different levels, which depends on the factors related to caring agents

[Perceived social support in hemodialysis patients]

The treatment of renal failure through dialysis imposes considerable stress on patient. The need for long-term medical treatment of renal failure may place substantial demands and limitations on patient's daily function and lifestyles. Perceived social support may facilitate coping with illness and its complications. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to determine perceived social support in hemodialysis patients. This was a descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional study in which 202 hemodialysis patients under treatment in teaching center of Iran University of Medical Sciences was recruited. The subjects were selected by census sampling method. The data were collected using "Personal Resource Questionnaire [PRQ 85-PART 2] and were analyzed by SPSS, version14. Findings confirm that overall patients had a high degree of perceived social support. Statisticall significant relationship was found between perceived social support and gender, material status, physical function, economic status, and educational level, but, there was no statistical significant correlation between perceived social support and other variable. Association between perceived social support and some demographic variables indicates the need for nurses to consider support resources of these patients. The study results demonstrated relationship between some demographic variable and perceived social support and a large amount of variances remained unexpected, so further research are needed about the subject

[ importance of learning needs of CHF patients from patients' and nurses' perspective]

Many of the leading causes of heart failure exacerbation can be prevented by teaching. However, as hospitalization continues to shorten; nurses will be challenged to prioritize educational needs. A critical problem in attending to patient learning needs is identifying which learning needs are important needs are important to be learned. The nurse must be able to make educational decisions based on research findings and not simply personal experience. The aim of this study was to determine the perceived importance of learning needs of patients with heart failure compared with their needs identified needs by nurses. This was a descriptive- comparative study in which 250 heart failure patients were recruited by convenience sampling. One hundred eighty one nurses were also selected by numerations in Tehran Cardiac Hospital of Shahid Rajaee. Data were collected by the [importance] component of CHPLNI and were analyzed using SPSS -11. The patients perceived the subscale of [Medication] and nurses perceived the subscale of [Risk Factors] as the most important titles to learn and were agreed upon the importance of [Diet Information]. Subscales of [Activity], [Anatomy and Physiology] and [Psychological factors] were not so important to learn as perceived by both groups. The nurses perceived all of the 7 subscales and the total scale as having more importance for learning than the patients did [P=0.000]. Female patients [P=0.007], patients with baccalaureate education [P=0.001] and nurses with advanced preparation [P=0.040] perceived the learning needs as more important than others. Giving more important to the learning needs of the patients by nurses and the difference of rating of the importance of learning needs by the two groups proposes the possibility of inattention to important learning needs from the patient perspective. The findings pave the nurses' way in prioritizing the learning needs of hospitalized heart failure patients