A healthy nurse work environment is a workplace that is safe, empowering, and satisfying. Many research studies were conducted on nurse work environments in the last decade; however, it lacks an overview of these research studies. The purpose of this review is to identify, evaluate, and summarize the major foci of studies about nurse work environments in the United States published between January 2005 and December 2017 and provide strategies to improve nurse work environments. Databases searched included MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Nursing and Allied Health, and the Cochrane Library. The literature search followed the PRISMA guideline. Fifty-four articles were reviewed. Five major themes emerged: 1) Impacts of healthy work environments on nurses' outcomes such as psychological health, emotional strains, job satisfaction, and retention; 2) Associations between healthy work environments and nurse interpersonal relationships at workplaces, job performance, and productivity; 3) Effects of healthy work environments on patient care quality; 4) Influences of healthy work environments on hospital accidental safety; and 5) Relationships between nurse leadership and healthy work environments. This review shows that nurses, as frontline patient care providers, are the foundation for patient safety and care quality. Promoting nurse empowerment, engagement, and interpersonal relationships at work is rudimental to achieve a healthy work environment and quality patient care. Healthier work environments lead to more satisfied nurses who will result in better job performance and higher quality of patient care, which will subsequently improve healthcare organizations' financial viability. Fostering a healthy work environment is a continuous effort.
Infiltration and phlebitis are common complications associated with peripherally inserted vascular (PIV) therapy. This performance improvement plan included a pretest, a competency-based training module, and a posttest to determine whether nursing knowledge of infiltration and phlebitis improved. The postintervention data revealed a 50% reduction in infiltration and phlebitis. Annual education requirements combined with competency skills for assessing PIV catheter sites will provide nursing staff with the knowledge and tools to change current practice.
Background:
Effective communication and teamwork is essential to improve the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. Quality Olympics, a competitive, educational intervention, was designed to offer nursing and medical students the opportunity to apply new knowledge on safety quality and cost in an interprofessional environment.
Method:
Nursing (
N
= 220) and medical students (
N
= 163) participated in Quality Olympics. Student perceptions of teamwork were analyzed using the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R).
Results:
In years one and two, significance was found for nursing students on all survey items. Medical student responses reached significance on four items in year two.
Conclusion:
The contrast in findings between these professions suggests that students would benefit from early, additional opportunities to link patient safety and outcomes to interprofessional collaboration. In doing so, educators may ensure that future providers have the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to impact individualized care and transform health care systems.
[
J Nurs Educ
. 2020;59(10):589–593.]
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