The Seniority Swoop: Young Nurse Burnout, Violence, and Turnover Intention in an 11-Hospital Sample.

We sought to understand whether nurses aged 20 to 29 years burnout and intend to turnover in higher proportions than more senior nurses, and if so, why. Guided by Maslow's hierarchy, we used brief inventories to assess hospital-based bedside nurses at 11 hospitals in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island (n = 3549/9520) prior to the pandemic. In a second study, we compared scheduling policies, bargaining, and Magnet status to see whether these variables predicted worsened burnout rates in young nurses. In a pattern that appears like a swooping line when graphed, nurses aged 20 to 29 years reported higher burnout and intention to leave than more senior nurses. They also reported being punched, bitten, spit on, kicked, or otherwise physically struck more often, worked more long shifts, worked more nights, and reported more dehydration and poorer sleep. Notably, age alone was not a strong predictor of turnover until burnout was added to the model, indicating that there is no inherent millennial trait resulting in higher turnover. Instead, preventing and addressing burnout is key to retention. When comparing hospital characteristics, only scheduling perks for senior nurses predicted the seniority swoop pattern. We offer 9 recommendations to reduce burnout and turnover in young nurses.

The Calm Before the Storm: Using In Situ Simulation to Evaluate for Preparedness of an Alternative Care Hospital During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been identified as an acute respiratory illness leading to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. As the disease spread, demands on health care systems increased, specifically the need to expand hospital capacity. Alternative care hospitals (ACHs) have been used to mitigate these issues; however, establishing an ACH has many challenges. The goal of this session was to perform systems testing, using a simulation-based evaluation to identify areas in need of improvement. METHODS: Four simulation cases were designed to depict common and high acuity situations encountered in the ACH, using a high technology simulator and standardized patient. A multidisciplinary observer group was given debriefing forms listing the objectives, critical actions, and specific areas to focus their attention. These forms were compiled for data collection. RESULTS: Logistical, operational, and patient safety issues were identified during the simulation and compiled into a simulation event report. Proposed solutions and protocol changes were made in response to the identified issues. CONCLUSION: Simulation was successfully used for systems testing, supporting efforts to maximize patient care and provider safety in a rapidly developed ACH. The simulation event report identified operational deficiencies and safety concerns directly resulting in equipment modifications and protocol changes.

Translating an evidence-based protocol for nurse-to-nurse shift handoffs.

PURPOSE: Ineffective communication is the most frequently reported cause of sentinel events in U.S. hospitals. Examining hospital processes and systems of communication, and standardizing communication practices can reduce the risks to patients in the acute care environment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of an innovative, translating-research-into-practice model to generate and test a cost-effective, easy to use, best-practice protocol for nurse-to-nurse shift handoffs in a medium-sized magnet-designated community hospital in the United States. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: Roger's Diffusion of Innovations Theory was used as the overall framework for the translational model with Orlando's theory providing theoretical evidence for the best practice protocol. APPROACH: Using the first three steps of the model, methods included: (1) identifying clinical problems related to shift handoffs; (2) appraising and systematically evaluating the strength of theoretical, empirical, and clinical evidence; and (3) translating this evidence into a best-practice patient-centered, standardized protocol for nurse-to-nurse shift handoffs. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Meaningful clinician participation in the development of a standardized, evidence-based, patient-centered approach to nurses' change-of-shift handoffs was achieved. Using the Collaborative Research Utilization Model can facilitate the integration of new knowledge both in the clinical and academic community.

The unintended consequences of being friendly: a case study.

Baby-friendly certification recognizes hospitals that promote early physical bonding between mother and infant, immediately after birth. Most births can accomplish physical bonding without increased risk to mother or infant. When mother or infant have complications and each have intravenous (i.v.) lines and are receiving medications, the physical bonding post-birth may also inadvertently put the patients at risk. A baby-friendly community hospital in New England found that early bonding put an infant at higher risk for medication error when the two i.v. lines were not properly identified and the infant received a medication intended for the mother. The growing body of literature on i.v. medication safety does not address this particular type of error, and this was an error that technology would not have prevented. The "5 rights" of medication safety are not as effective as physical separation of the two individuals during medication administration. A brief separation does not diminish bonding, and the practice has prevented subsequent errors.

Using public reports of patient satisfaction for hospital quality improvement.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of statewide public reporting of hospital patient satisfaction on hospital quality improvement (QI), using Rhode Island (RI) as a case example. DATA SOURCE: Primary data collected through semi-structured interviews between September 2002 and January 2003. STUDY DESIGN: The design is a retrospective study of hospital executives at all 11 general and two specialty hospitals in RI. Respondents were asked about hospital QI activities at several points throughout the public reporting process, as well as about hospital structure and processes to accomplish QI. Qualitative analysis of the interview data proceeded through an iterative process to identify themes and categories in the data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Data from the standardized statewide patient satisfaction survey process were used by hospitals to identify and target new QI initiatives, evaluate performance, and monitor progress. While all hospitals fully participated in the public reporting process, they varied in the stage of development of their QI activities and adoption of the statewide standardized survey for ongoing monitoring of their QI programs. Most hospitals placed responsibility for QI within each department, with results reported to top management, who were perceived as giving strong support for QI. The external environment facilitated QI efforts. CONCLUSION: Public reporting of comparative data on patient views can enhance and reinforce QI efforts in hospitals. The participation of key stakeholders facilitated successful implementation of statewide public reporting. This experience in RI offers lessons for other states or regions as they move to public reporting of hospital quality data.