[Developing and psychometric properties check list of clinical competency in mental health nursing students]

Introduction: One of the challenges in the medicine education system is evaluation of clinical competency of students. Evaluation of students in clinical education courses sometimes is not following a certain principles and also it is not clear that how much they reach to educational objectives at the end of courses. Aim of this study was developing and psychometric properties assessing psychometric properties of check list of clinical competency in mental health nursing students

Methods: This study was methodological approach. Participants were faculty members, head nurses and nurses who work in psychiatric wards and students [undergraduate and master sciences] of Medical Sciences universities of Iran. Based on entry criteria, sampling approach was depending on objective. Domains of tool developed with use of results of first step of research[qualitative part] in addition to study of valid references this filed .After developing primary check list, stages of psychometric properties including determination of validity[content and facial] and reliability[internal consistency and inter-observer correlation] developed. In order to analyze the data descriptive and analytic statistics with SPSS [20th version] were used

Results: Check list of "Clinical Competency of Mental Health Nursing Students" with 73 items was developed. Content validity ratio was. 83 and content validity index was. 98. Measurment of reliability with the use of internal consistency [Cronbach's alpha] was .98 and inter-observer correlation was.70

Conclusion: Check list of "Clinical Competency of Mental Health Nursing Students" in two issues include general and specific competencies with 73 items was developed .It seems for assessment of different dimensions of clinical competencies of mental health nursing students is appropriate tool

[Exploring relevant components to apply nursing care models]

The first step of developing a proper model for delivering nursing care in hospitals will be identifying relevant components to apply a model. The aim of this study was identify relevant components to apply nursing care models in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences training hospitals. This study was a qualitative research which was conducted by using content analysis approach. Participants were 6 faculty members and nurse managers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences selected by purposeful sampling frame. Data gathered via semi-structured interviews and analyzed by thematic analysis. In this study, extracted themes included caring based on client satisfaction, nurses' knowledge and skills, importance of cooperative care, quantity and expertise of nurses, efficient supervision on nurses' performance, and strategies of health system in higher level. These themes were categorized in three dimensions including structure, process and outcome. Findings of this study would be used for developing a nursing care models in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences hospitals in future research

[Developing and standardization of quality evaluation and accreditation indicators for curricula of baccalaureate degree nursing education in Iran]

Curriculum of higher education enjoys the special prominence as transferor of information. Also it provides field for making knowledge and obtaining skills and attitudes. Therefore the quality evaluation of curricula and their updating with regard to standards are considered. Purpose of this research is to develop and standardize the quality evaluation and accreditation indicators for curricula of baccalaureate degree for nursing education. This descriptive- study was performed in three stages during 2010 to 2011. In the first and second stages, criterion and indices drafts were prepared based on the existed sources and strained by nursing and curriculum specialists. In the third stage, in order to standardization and determining the weight of elements, criterion and indicators of 93 faculty members of nursing departments were selected through relative random sampling method. Also their viewpoints toward appropriateness of proposed criterion and indicators were obtained. This study was guided to the proposal of 9 elements, 39 criterion and 143 indicators for the quality evaluation and accreditation curricula of baccalaureate degree nursing education. In this study, criterion and indicators compiled for accreditation of curriculum of baccalaureate degree nursing education have several specifications including the observation of international standards of curriculum of baccalaureate degree nursing education, consideration to all curriculum elements, observation of curriculum rules, standardization and determining the weight of elements, criterion, and indicators

[Basic requirements for implementation of total quality management in centers of emergency medical services in Iran according EFQM model]

Successful implementation of TQM requires a committed leadership, customer - based approaches, process management, efficient communication, knowledge management, empowerment and involvement of staff and an organizational culture for continuous quality improvement. The aim of this study was to assess basic requirements for implementation TQM in Centers of Emergency Medical Services in Iran according EFQM model. In this descriptive study, all of operational and official stations of Medical Emergency services in Ilam, Bushehr, Mazandaran, Ardebil, West Azerbaijan and Yazd province, one half of operational stations in city of Tehran, Sistan-Baluchestan, Khorasan-razavi and Isfahan, were included. All senior managers and personnel of these centers and a random sample of 3246 customers who have received care during the last 6 months were selected. By using a 189 -item's rating scale and 4 questionnaires; leadership style, job and patients satisfaction and state of organizational empowering, according to 5 enabler criteria, from EFQM model was assessed. Validity of instruments by measuring content validity and reliability by internal consistency and test-retest confirmed. Descriptive and inferential statistics used for analyzing data. The overall mean score was 168.4 +/- 34.6 out of 500; therefore, the selected divisions were labeled as drifters organizations which were in early stage of quality improvement road. In comparison, the Tehran, Isfahan and Khorasan-razavi centers with more score labeled as improver's organizations. At the entire, leadership criterion obtained minimum [26.6%] and people criterion obtained maximum [39%] mean scores. Results showed that enabler criteria of the EMS centers in Iran need to reinforcement. It is essential enhancing the knowledge and attitude of managers and personnel about quality improvement principles. Additionally, establishing the management by process, creating customer focused approach and culture of continuous improvement, empowering employees and constituting quality circles are appropriate interventions that should be considered

Performance evaluation of nursing faculty members: a qualitative study

Performance evaluation [PE] of nurse faculty members is complicated and difficult but seems necessary. Deans of the faculties, their educational assistants, and faculty member nurses are responsible for planning, performing, and revising evaluation. Finding their common views in developing PE is of special importance. The aim of this study was to elucidate and describe PE of nurse faculty members. In this qualitative study, the required data was gathered through two methods of semi-structured interview with experts and examining the existing policies, procedures, and evaluation documents. Totally, the contents of 22 individual interviews and 26 series of subject materials went under qualitative content analysis using arbitrary approach. Purposive sampling and census methods were used for selecting the interviewees and evaluation documents, respectively. Participants had a wide-ranging perspective toward the PE of faculty member nurses. Having the analysis done, these perspectives and the content of the existing documents were placed in three major themes: individual qualifications of faculty member, performance process, and practice outcome. The items which were not in the concept of PE but had an effect on it were categorized as organizational factors. Findings of the current study confirms the suggestions of the experts, who agree a combination of individual attributes, behavior, and result-based systems for PE. But, it considers the qualifications of faculty members which are improvable and modifiable instead of individual attributes. Besides, paying attention to some organizational factors which affect PE is a matter of importance

Performance evaluation of the faculty in some universities of the world

Faculty members are the most significant personnel of a university. Evaluation of their performance is an important factor in the organization and the main task of managers in professional development and promotion. Performance evaluation of nursing faculty members is more complex than others, but it is necessary because one of the primary ways to assure mission accomplishment and goal achievement in medical universities is to indicate the role of faculty members in promoting the quality of health system. The purpose of this study was to review evaluation systems of faculty members at some of the major universities and schools around the world. By using available resources, some of the advantages and strengths of the evaluation systems were specifically extracted to be applied for evaluation improvement at Iranian universities. This study showed that in spite of extensive areas of performance, most colleges/universities evaluate three major domains, namely, education, research and services. The quality and quantity of these areas are evaluated by using multiple sources. The effective evaluation is flexible and allows a person to choose their activities in the defined framework. By choosing and weighing criteria along with the missions and strategic goals of universities/colleges, the level of faculty efforts and contributions in accomplishing them is recognized. Using mentoring system for outcome evaluation is an important factor for the promotion of faculty members. The evaluation process can be more feasible if evaluation committee consists of the same disciplinary members

[Nurses' perspectives on quality of nursing care: a qualitative study]

Optimizing the quality of health care is essential for delivery of effective, efficient and cost-benefit professional health services to people and communities. As nurses are the largest groups among health care professionals and are legally liable and morally responsible for their care, so their perspectives on quality of nursing care is very important. The purpose of this qualitative study was to define and describe "quality of nursing care" from the perspective of nurse experts and clinical nurses. In this qualitative study, data were collected in two phases [10 individual interviews and 5 focus group discussions]. Fifty-four nurses and experts participated by purposeful sampling. Data analysis was conducted by latent content analysis to achieve a definition of nursing care quality. After taking into consideration different statements from experts in nursing and clinical nurses' perspectives on quality, we arrived at the final defamation of optimal health care: "delivery of safe care based on nursing standards which eventuates client satisfaction". Also, both participating groups emphasized on collaborating with social workers in health care [teamwork]. Findings revealed that in nurses' perspectives on quality definition, two important aspects that have been taken into consideration were: "standard of care" and "client satisfaction", Also coordinating organizational and socio-cultural workers in delivering quality nursing care was deemed to be important

Organizational commitment and its related factors

Organizational commitment is the connectivity of personnel to their organization showing their loyalty to it. It is a significant variable in understanding the behavior of them. Research shows that it affects on employees' performance and organizational outcomes such as desire to leave, sale, profit and absenteeism. Thus, it influences on organizational proficiency and productivity, amount and quality of services. Many factors can lead to this commitment including personal, occupational, organizational, and supra organizational factors. Nursing managers may enhance nurses' organizational commitment by understanding and cultivating commitment through adopting strategies such as sharing information, decreasing segregation, educating employees and providing job security for them. Despite the importance of this concept, it has not been studied systematically in Iran. Therefore, this article tries to discuss about organizational commitment and its improving ways to make nurses familiar with it

propositional model for head nurses' performance appraisal in university hospitals of Tehran

Paying further attention to the professional performance of head nurses is associated with further hospital success and productivity as well as improving social health status. The present study was conducted to evaluate head-nurses' and matrons' attitude towards the concept of "evaluating head-nurses' performance" and introducing a propositional model for this purpose. For this descriptive-comparative study, the attitude of 34 matrons and 108 head-nurses about the current and ideal head nurses' performance appraisal was evaluated. Data analysis was achieved by t-test, Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney U test, when appropriate. Results have revealed that matrons had more positive attitude towards current head nurses' appraisal when compared with head nurses [p < 0.002]. Totally, 97.1% of matrons and 95.1% of head nurses were agreed completely [mean score of 4-5 from 5] with the necessity of introducing an ideal head nurses' performance appraisal model. Matrons [mean score of 4.81] and head nurses [mean score of 4.75] agreed with suggested features of the way to appraise head nurses. Finally, the propositional model for head nurses' performance appraisal was introduced in 2 major categories of executive and educational-research management. The propositional model requires to be revised for pilot studies, of course, after acquiring agreement of sovereign ministry. Needless to say, appraise head nurses' performance correctly would promote nursing service quality

[Auditing nursing care of CABG patients in an open-heart ICU at a teaching hospital in Mashad, 2004]

Background: Controlling is a managerial function in which performance is measured and corrective action is taken to ensure the accomplishment of organizational goals. An Audit is a systematic and offical examination of a record, process, structure, enviroment or account to evaluate performance

Purpose: This descriptive study was conducted to audit nursing care provided to CABG patients at an open-heart ICU of a teaching hospital in Mashad in 2004

Method: 36 CABG patients were selected by convenient sampling. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire and a checklist of nursing care for CABG patients

Results: Findings showed that nursing care was mostly provided in cardiovascular and respiratory systems [50 - 75]. In addition, the quality of nursing care in urinary system was high [75 - 100] and in nervous system was low [less than 50]

Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that education and training for nurses should be contiued with respect to diseases and care