Factors influencing nurses' intention to work in the oncology specialty: multi-institutional cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Nursing care for terminally ill cancer patients is routinely provided by oncology nurses in Saudi Arabia. Shortages and retention of oncology nurses is an important concern for healthcare leaders. OBJECTIVES: To identify and describe predictors of nurses' intention toward working in the oncology specialty amongst three groups: undergraduate nursing students, oncology registered nurses and postgraduate oncology nursing students. In particular, the study sought to analyse association between individual characteristics, job-related factors, palliative care knowledge, attitude toward caring for dying patients, general self-efficacy, job satisfaction and intention to work in oncology. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 477 participants in five major hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing, Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire short form were used for data collection. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors associated with intention to work in oncology. RESULTS: 43.9% (n = 208) of the sample reported an intention to work in oncology. Only one variable was a significant predictor of intention to work in oncology across all three groups studied: a more positive attitude toward caring for dying patients (Odds ratio (OR) = 1.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-1.16]), (OR = 1.08 [95% CI 1.04-1.12]), (OR = 1.078 [95% CI 1.053-1.103] with P ≤ 0.001 for undergraduate, registered and postgraduate groups respectively. At post-graduate level, higher levels of palliative care knowledge and general self-efficacy were significantly associated with increased intention, whilst at undergraduate level, general self-efficacy was a significant predictor. Job satisfaction was a significant predictor of intention amongst registered nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Attitude toward caring for dying patients and general self-efficacy appear to be the most important predictors of intention to work in the oncology nursing specialty. However, the significance of influencing factors varied between the different groups of nurses studied. Perhaps surprisingly, palliative care knowledge was an influential factor amongst the postgraduate group only. The study results provide important insights for nursing leaders and policymakers in Saudi Arabia to inform the future planning of nursing workforce strategies to address shortages and retention of oncology nurses.

Developing a Model of Care for a 4- to 6-Bedded Postanesthetic Recovery Unit: A Delphi Study.

PURPOSE: Recovery units are typically open-plan rooms where all patients can be seen at all times; however, a new hospital has been built with 4- to 6-bed perioperative bays. The purpose of the study was to establish expert consensus regarding problems, benefits, and suggested solutions for the new design across four domains: patient safety, staff satisfaction, organizational efficiency, and maintenance of professional standards. DESIGN: We conducted a Delphi study to inform the development of a model of care for this new design. METHODS: A two-round Delphi study involved 71 recovery unit nurses from 13 countries. Problems, solutions, and any potential benefits of the new design were collected in round 1 and ranked in round 2. FINDINGS: The highest ranked problems were mixing conscious and unconscious patients and need for safe skilled staffing levels. The highest ranked solutions were division of patients, increased safe skilled staffing, and staff education. CONCLUSIONS: Participants identified clear risks and mitigation strategies. Implementing these strategies should allow for a safer environment for both patients and staff. A model of care to ensure safety and quality in 4- to 6-bedded bay postanesthetic recovery units should address mixing of patients, staffing levels and staff education.

Adaptation and validation into Portuguese language of the six-item cognitive impairment test (6CIT).

BACKGROUND: The six-item cognitive impairment test (6CIT) is a brief cognitive screening tool that can be administered to older people in 2-3 min. OBJECTIVE: To adapt the 6CIT for the European Portuguese and determine its psychometric properties based on a sample recruited from several contexts (nursing homes; universities for older people; day centres; primary health care units). METHOD: The original 6CIT was translated into Portuguese and the draft Portuguese version (6CIT-P) was back-translated and piloted. The accuracy of the 6CIT-P was assessed by comparison with the Portuguese Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). A convenience sample of 550 older people from various geographical locations in the north and centre of the country was used. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability coefficient was high (r = 0.95). The 6CIT-P also showed good internal consistency (α = 0.88) and corrected item-total correlations ranged between 0.32 and 0.90. Total 6CIT-P and MMSE scores were strongly correlated. The proposed 6CIT-P threshold for cognitive impairment is ≥10 in the Portuguese population, which gives sensitivity of 82.78% and specificity of 84.84%. The accuracy of 6CIT-P, as measured by area under the ROC curve, was 0.91. CONCLUSION: The 6CIT-P has high reliability and validity and is accurate when used to screen for cognitive impairment.