The first year: employment patterns and job perceptions of nursing assistants in a rural setting.

AIM: The aim of this study was to follow rural certified nursing assistants (CNAs) (n=123) in the United States for 1 year post-training to identify retention and turnover issues in the long-term care (LTC) setting by exploring the CNAs' perceptions of the LTC work experience. BACKGROUND: Turnover among CNAs impacts the quality of care, imposes a financial burden on facilities and taxpayers, and creates increased stress and workloads on those who remain. METHOD: A longitudinal survey design was used to track individuals completing CNA training for 1 year. RESULTS: At 1 year post-training, 53.7% of respondents currently worked in LTC, 30.9% worked in LTC and left, and the remaining 15.4% never worked in LTC. CONCLUSION: While the training site does not appear to impact retention, the first 6 months of employment appear critical. The CNAs cited pay as a reason for leaving LTC, but better pay did not characterize the jobs taken by the CNAs who left. Implications for nursing management. This study highlights the importance of the first 6 months of employment to retention and provides practical information for nurse managers evaluating the resource-effectiveness of hosting training programmes. Additionally, the key issues influencing retention were identified and practical suggestions for nurse managers to improve retention are provided.

Where is family in the family nurse practitioner program? Results of a U.S. family nurse practitioner program survey.

Though recent progress in family nursing science can serve the family nurse practitioner (FNP) to intervene in the regulation of family health, whether those advances are taught to FNP students has been unclear. All 266 FNP programs in the United States were invited to participate in a survey to assess the content and clinical application of family nursing theories in the curriculum. The majority of FNP programs frame family as the context of care for the individual. Though FNP students receive a foundation in family nursing theory in core courses, they are not usually expected to use family assessment methods in clinical practicum courses or to plan interventions for the family as the unit of care. The authors challenge educators to consider family nursing science as an essential component of the FNP program as the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) evolves and becomes requisite for entry into advanced practice.

Predictors of daily blood glucose monitoring in Appalachian Ohio.

OBJECTIVE: To determine factors contributing to successful diabetes self-management in Appalachia, as evidenced by daily blood glucose monitoring. METHODS: A telephone survey (N=3841) was conducted to assess health status and health care access. The current investigation is limited to the subset of this sample who report having diabetes (N=529). RESULTS: A multivariate logistic regression model established that having attended a diabetes education class (P<.01) was the most significant predictor of successful diabetes self-management. The inability to pay for care, demographic variables, and health risk indicators were not found to be significantly related to self-management. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies the role of education in successful diabetes self-management for patients in the Appalachian region.

Family inclusion in diabetes education: a nationwide survey of diabetes educators.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions about family inclusion and support in diabetes self-management education. METHODS: Surveys were mailed to certified diabetes educators (CDEs) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with a return of 225 surveys. Descriptive and inferential statistics (eg, t test, analysis of variance, correlation, and chi-square) were used as appropriate. RESULTS: Levels of importance placed on family involvement in diabetes education were significantly related to the emphasis placed on family during CDEs' formal or preprofessional education. CDEs' formal exposure to family theory influenced perceptions of their knowledge about family and the frequency that family support was emphasized in self-management activities but was unrelated to perceptions of their skillfulness in educating family members. Diabetes educators' personal values of family support were significantly related to how frequently family members were asked to participate in formal diabetes education classes. CDEs perceived that they were meeting individuals' self-management needs significantly better than those of families. Regional differences did not appear to be a factor in how CDEs incorporated family in diabetes education. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes educators without formal exposure to family theory may be overestimating how much they emphasize family support in diabetes education. Increasing formal education about the importance of family involvement in self-management behaviors could positively affect individual diabetes self-management outcomes.

Camera perspective bias in videotaped confessions: evidence that visual attention is a mediator.

Several experiments have demonstrated a camera perspective bias in evaluations of videotaped confessions: videotapes with the camera focused on the suspect lead to judgments of greater voluntariness than alternative presentation formats. The present research investigated potential mediators of this bias. Using eye tracking to measure visual attention, Experiment 1 replicated the bias and revealed that changes in camera perspective are accompanied by corresponding changes in duration of fixation on the suspect and interrogator. A path analysis indicated that visual attention partially mediated the bias, with at least one additional factor independently contributing to it. A proposed second factor was changes in available visual content that naturally coincide with alterations in camera perspective. Experiment 2 directly manipulated observers' focus and thus more conclusively established visual attention as one mediator of the camera perspective bias. Together the two experiments provide plausible evidence that differences in visual content may also mediate the bias.