Multiorganizational Partnerships: A Mechanism for Increasing the Employment of Internationally Educated Nurses.

BACKGROUND: Internationally educated nurses (IENs) face multiple challenges in entering and integrating into the Canadian workforce. These challenges include getting to know the Canadian culture, nursing accountabilities, professional practice requirements and experience or qualifications deemed not equivalent to the Canadian standard. Hamilton Health Sciences' (HHS') IEN Integration Project has been funded by the Ontario and Canadian governments to support IENs in overcoming these challenges and contribute to the healthcare system. AIM: The aim of this article is to describe a multiorganizational project that prepares IENs for employment in Canadian healthcare. STRATEGY: HHS invited partners in education and immigrant support services to co-design the project. A community collaboration employment model (CCEM) was developed to leverage each partner's strengths in targeted interventions to address the needs of IENs, as identified in focus groups. The interventions pertain to professional practice and accountability in the Canadian healthcare setting, workplace language, communication and selected clinical skills. RESULTS: Between project initiation in 2009 and early 2021, 591 IENs obtained employment. CONCLUSION: Multiorganizational partnerships can help build and sustain a strong nursing workforce, and IENs can fill gaps in care. A needs-based approach and the CCEM increased the likelihood of IEN employment. The ability of the CCEM to engage partners makes it relevant for healthcare organizations.

Implementation of a Postpartum Hemorrhage Safety Bundle at an Urban Safety-Net Hospital.

Background Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of preventable maternal morbidity and mortality. Standardized response to obstetric hemorrhage is associated with significant improvement in maternal outcomes, yet implementation can be challenging. Objective The primary objective is to describe the methodology for program implementation of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Safety Bundle on PPH at an urban safety-net hospital. Methods Over an 18-month period, interventions geared toward (1) risk assessment and stratification, (2) hemorrhage identification and management, (3) team communication and simulation, and (4) debriefs and case review were implemented. Hemorrhage risk assessment stratification rates were tracked overtime as an early measure of bundle compliance. Results Hemorrhage risk assessment stratification rates improved to >90% during bundle implementation. Conclusion Keys to implementation included multidisciplinary stakeholder commitment, stepwise and iterative approach, and parallel systems for monitoring and evaluation Implementation of a PPH safety bundle is feasible in a resource-constrained setting.

Investigation of Seed Treatments for Management of Bacterial Leaf Spot of Lettuce.

Chemical seed treatments were evaluated for efficacy of disinfestation of lettuce seed that had been inoculated with Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians. Three concentrations of each chemical were evaluated by treating seed lots for 5 or 15 min. In addition, the effects of each seed treatment on seed germination and early plant growth were examined by observing seed germination rates. Bacteria were not detected when seed were treated with 3 or 5% hydrogen peroxide for 5 or 15 min. Treatment of seed with 0.52% sodium hypochlorite was relatively ineffective at 5 and 15 min. When sodium hypochlorite was used at a 1% concentration for 15 min, the level of bacterial infestation was reduced to 2%. Suspensions of copper hydroxide plus mancozeb also reduced seedborne inoculum to ≤2%. Treatment of seed with copper hydroxide alone, benzoyl peroxide, or calcium peroxide did not reduce seed infestation levels significantly. Seed germination rates were 90% or greater for the majority of seed treatments tested in laboratory assays. Hydrogen peroxide treatments at a concentration of 5% reduced seed germination up to 28% compared with controls. However, no significant differences in germination were observed among control treatments (noninoculated, nontreated seed and inoculated, nontreated seed) and any of the chemical seed treatments when seed were sown in a pasteurized soil mix in the greenhouse.

Epiphytic Populations of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria on Pepper: Relationships to Host-Plant Resistance and Exposure to Copper Sprays.

Epiphytic populations of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria were monitored on leaves and in buds of resistant and susceptible pepper cultivars over five seasons. Epiphytic populations were higher on the susceptible cultivar Jupiter than on the resistant cultivar Boynton Bell in four of the five seasons. In copper-sprayed plots, populations in buds of Jupiter plants were consistently higher than on leaves. In one test, copper sprays reduced X. campestris pv. vesicatoria populations by 99% on leaves, compared with only a 51% reduction in buds. In another test on a commercial pepper farm, no differences were found between populations on resistant and susceptible plants spaced as close as 1.2 m. However, combined data on buds for the three cultivars showed populations were higher than those on leaves on three of four sampling dates. These differences were attributed to the heavy use of copper on this farm.