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Research about the economic impact of nurse turnover has been compromised by a lack of consistent definitions and measurement. This article describes a study that was designed to refine a methodology to examine the costs associated with nurse turnover. Nursing unit managers responded to a survey that contained items relating to budgeted full-time equivalents, new hires, and turnover, as well as direct and indirect costs. The highest mean direct cost was incurred through temporary replacements, whereas the highest indirect cost was decreased initial productivity of the new hire. The study allowed the identification of the availability of data and where further refinement of data definition of variables is needed. The results provided significant evidence to justify increased emphasis on nurse retention strategies and the creation of healthy work environments for nurses.

Nurse managers did not challenge flexible staffing practices and high turnover rates. Information on turnover and costs is needed to develop strategies that retain nurses as knowledge-based workers.

Background: Decentralisation aims to bring services closer to the community and has been advocated in the health sector to improve quality, access and equity, and to empower local agencies, increase innovation and efficiency and bring healthcare and decision-making as close as possible to where people live and work. Fiji has attempted two approaches to decentralisation. The current approach reflects a model of deconcentration of outpatient services from the tertiary level hospital to the peripheral health centres in the Suva subdivision. Methods: Using a modified decision space approach developed by Bossert, this study measures decision space created in five broad categories (finance, service organisation, human resources, access rules, and governance rules) within the decentralised services. Results: Fiji's centrally managed historical-based allocation of financial resources and management of human resources resulted in no decision space for decentralised agents. Narrow decision space was created in the service organisation category where, with limited decision space created over access rules, Fiji has seen greater usage of its decentralised health centres. There remains limited decision space in governance. Conclusion:The current wave of decentralisation reveals that, whilst the workload has shifted from the tertiary hospital to the peripheral health centres, it has been accompanied by limited transfer of administrative authority, suggesting that Fiji's deconcentration reflects the transfer of workload only with decision-making in the five functional areas remaining largely centralised. As such, the benefits of decentralisation for users and providers are likely to be limited.

Drawn from a larger study, this article reports the experiences of a group of male nurses regarding the use of intimate physical touch. Using discourse analysis, interview data from 18 male nurses were analyzed and related to existing text on men as nurses. The analysis reveals that although touch is important in nursing care, it is problematic for men because discourses have normalized women's use of touch as a caring behavior and have sexualized men's touch. Participants described their vulnerability, how they protected themselves from risk, and the resulting stress. The complicity of nurses in sexualizing men's touch and the neglect of educators in preparing men for providing intimate care are revealed. A paradox emerged whereby the very measures employed to protect both patients and men as nurses exacerbate the perceived risk posed by men carrying out intimate care. Deconstructing and reframing prevailing discourses around nursing, gender, and caring involving touch can help to legitimize men's involvement in physical caring.

Drawn from a larger study, this article reports the experiences of a group of male nurses regarding the use of intimate physical touch. Using discourse analysis, interview data from 18 male nurses were analyzed and related to existing text on men as nurses. The analysis reveals that although touch is important in nursing care, it is problematic for men because discourses have normalized women's use of touch as a caring behavior and have sexualized men's touch. Participants described their vulnerability, how they protected themselves from risk, and the resulting stress. The complicity of nurses in sexualizing men's touch and the neglect of educators in preparing men for providing intimate care are revealed. A paradox emerged whereby the very measures employed to protect both patients and men as nurses exacerbate the perceived risk posed by men carrying out intimate care. Deconstructing and reframing prevailing discourses around nursing, gender, and caring involving touch can help to legitimize men's involvement in physical caring.

Rather than an initial euphoric period followed by a mental health crisis, the results indicated poor mental health status in the first two years irrespective of employment status. Thereafter, mental health slightly improved as did employment rates. A surprising result was that although the South Africans had the highest employment rate, there were neither substantial mental health differences among the three groups nor was there a significant improvement during the course of the longitudinal study.