The effect of ethical work climate on the organizational citizenship behavior of academic nurses.

AIM: This study demonstrates the effect of academic nurses' perceptions of ethical work climate on their organizational citizenship behaviour. BACKGROUND: Establishing healthy relationships in organizations and ensuring organizational effectiveness depend on workers' perception of organizational ethics and voluntary behaviours that improve their organizations. METHODS: This study was conducted with 644 academic nurses working in public institutions of higher education that offer nursing education at the undergraduate level in Turkey. The data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics form, the Ethical Climate Scale and the Organizational Citizenship Behaviour Scale. The data were evaluated using statistical software. Approvals for the study were obtained from the institutions and their ethics committees, and the participants' consent was obtained. RESULTS: This study found there was a significant relationship between academic nurses' perception of ethical work climate and their organizational citizenship behaviour. Ethical work climate based on social responsibility had the most effect on organizational citizenship behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Academic nurses' perceptions of ethical work climate affect their organizational citizenship behaviour. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY: Academic nurses should act in accordance with the laws and both professional and personal moral codes in the work environment, take into account team and institutional interests, be aware of their social responsibilities and be efficient. In this way, they can provide an ethical work environment and be a good organizational citizen based on volunteering and courtesy, thinking about team members, acting with advanced task awareness and supporting the development of the organization.

Nurses' disaster preparedness and core competencies in Turkey: a descriptive correlational design.

AIM: This descriptive correlational study aimed to identify nurses' perceptions of their own disaster preparedness and core competencies. BACKGROUND: As disasters have increased in number and severity in recent years, it is crucial that nurses should be appropriately prepared. There is still limited research on this issue in Turkey. INTRODUCTION: With changes in disaster policies in the last decade, the need to improve the disaster core competencies of nurses has also increased. METHODS: A sample of 406 nurses selected with convenience sampling and working in an 1816-bed capacity university hospital was included in this descriptive correlational study. A single-item visual scale and the 45-item Nurses Perceptions of Disaster Core Competencies Scale were used. RESULTS: 'Technical Skills' scored highest across the subscales of the scale, and 'Critical Thinking Skills' scored lowest. When the total and subscale scores were compared by age group, professional experience, working position and prior disaster experience, there were statistically significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: The Turkish nurses had different levels of disaster core competencies and considered themselves more competent in some areas of disaster preparedness than in others. There are clearly gaps to be filled in disaster preparedness and core competencies in Turkish nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND POLICY: Nurse managers should advocate for increasing disaster preparedness for all nurses. This could be accomplished by offering formal training in disaster preparedness and/or by scheduling regular disaster drills, perhaps using a mix of tabletop exercises with occasional hospital-wide disaster scenarios. In addition, managers should regularly evaluate nurses' disaster core competencies to achieve effective preparation plans and training.

Perceptions of nursing students' parents regarding the profession and their college.

BACKGROUND: To ensure client satisfaction, it is important for all educational institutions to identify the characteristics of their clients and to consider their expectations and demands through quality studies. AIM: The study aims to identify the perceptions of parents of nursing students regarding the nursing profession and the related educational institution. METHODS: The parents of all students attending the nursing school of a public Turkish university were included in the study. Following permission from the university management, questionnaires developed by the researchers in light of the related literature were sent to 474 parents via mail, and 133 completed questionnaires (28% response rate) were analysed statistically. FINDINGS: Mothers of nursing students were mostly ≤45 years of age, primary school graduates and housewives, while fathers were ≥46 years of age, at least secondary school graduates, old-age pensioners or had an independent business. In general, the responding fathers and mothers preferred not to get involved in their children's choice of profession, perceiving nursing as a helpful and sacred profession. Therefore, they also recommended nursing to others and had no problems with the idea of male nurses. CONCLUSION: Study findings demonstrated that the parents had positive attitudes towards the nursing profession and were satisfied with the nursing college.

Organizational culture in nursing schools in Turkey: faculty members' perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Among the benefits of examining an organization's culture are the opportunity to understand the basic mechanisms of the institutional and structural procedures, to determine the need for change and to ensure the development and satisfaction of the faculty members. AIM: To determine the perceptions of faculty members of organizational culture at nursing schools in Turkey and to examine different perceptions in relation to demographic variables. METHOD: The study was conducted with 180 faculty members from seven nursing schools in state universities located in different geographical regions of Turkey that granted permission for the study. All faculty members in these schools with at least 1 year of institutional experience were included in the research. No sampling was required. A demographic information form and an organizational culture scale were used as data collection materials. The organizational culture scale contains 30 items and resolves the organizational culture in three dimensions. The minimum score obtained was 1 and the maximum was 5. FINDINGS: The mean score for faculty members' in total scale was 3.40 (SD = 0.68), while it was 3.26 (SD = 0.77) for the management style dimension, 3.39 (SD = 0.73) for the organizational commitment/relations dimension and 3.68 (SD = 0.73) for the student-oriented dimension. There was no statistical difference between the perception of organizational culture and work experience at the institution, marital status or educational status, but there were differences in age, number of years in the profession and academic titles. CONCLUSION: It was found that strong perceptions have been established in nursing schools in regard to student-oriented practices, and that groups consisting of senior academic personnel and experienced academicians are considered to be better at perceiving the importance of the organizational culture. The administrators are recommended to promote policies to enhance the participation in decision-making processes and regularly monitor the cultural changes in the organization.

FTIR studies of vitamin E-cholesterol-DPPC membrane interactions in CH(2) region.

Binary and ternary mixtures of alpha-tocopherol (alphaT), cholesterol and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in the form of multilamellar liposomes have been investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Investigation of frequencies, bandwidths and band shapes of CH(2) stretching and scissoring bands indicate that the effect of alphaT is dominant in comparison with cholesterol and alphaT decreases the interaction of cholesterol with phospholipid membranes.

IR and turbidity studies of vitamin E-cholesterol-phospholipid membrane interactions.

Binary and tertiary mixture of alpha-tocophenol, cholesterol and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine in the form of multilamellar liposomes were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared and visible spectroscopy. Results of the FTIR and turbidity experiments indicate that alpha T decreases or diminishes the effect of cholesterol on the frequency and the bandwidth of the C-H stretching, CH2 scissoring and C = O stretching bands in FTIR spectra and the turbidity measurements (recorded as absorbance values at 440 nm) in phospholipid model membranes.