RNews CAPSULES

Nurses want to leave due to “moral distress”
A study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has found that 25 percent of practicing nurses and social workers experience “moral distress,” causing them to want to leave their current positions. In one of the first studies to investigate the relationship between ethics and nurses’ intent to leave the profession, Connie Ulrich, RN, PhD, assistant professor of nursing at UPenn, found that desire to leave is in part fueled by “ethical stress,” an inadequate level of institutional support for dealing with ethical decisions, and the perception that there is little respect for the nursing profession. According to the study, “moral distress” led to feelings of powerlessness (32.5 percent), being overwhelmed (34.7 percent), frustration (52.8 percent) and fatigue (40 percent). The study’s findings were published in Social Science and Medicine.

Issues causing moral distress include protecting patients’ rights, supporting them through difficult decisions at the end of life and fairly distributing resources. “Nurses reported feeling that they cannot adequately protect patients’ rights or the informed decisions of patients, and must balance these and other conflicting issues with a hospital’s bottom line,” Ulrich said. 

Lack of respect and trust also had a strong influence on nurses’ and social workers’ intent to leave. “Only 58.3 percent reported that members of ‘my profession and physicians respect each other,’ and only 55.4 percent indicated there was trust among nurses and social workers and physicians,” according to the report.

Nearly two-thirds of the sample reported facing ethical issues over which they have no control, with nearly 25 percent reporting having received no ethics training. “With the plethora of career options available today, young nurses and social workers may leave a profession if they feel stress, disrespect and dissatisfaction,” said Ulrich. “This is why a positive ethical environment is so critical.”

The study surveyed 1,215 nurses and social workers from California, Maryland, Massachusetts and Ohio, and was funded by the bioethics and social work departments at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.

Methodist Hospital System among best places to work in United States
The Methodist Hospital System in Houston is ranked No. 10 among FORTUNE magazine's 2008 “100 Best Companies to Work For” in the United States, the third year in a row it has made the prestigious list. When compared to other health care organizations on the same criteria, it ranked highest in the country. It is also the highest ranked company in Texas.

The hospital system, which includes a flagship teaching hospital, three community hospitals and a research institute, was awarded the high ranking for providing an exemplary workplace for employees. Selection was based primarily on a confidential survey sent to randomly selected employees, who were asked questions about the level of trust, pride and camaraderie within their workplace. Methodist also submitted documentation about its work environment, from benefits to corporate policies to employee demographics.

“To be recognized by FORTUNE for three consecutive years is an extraordinary accomplishment,” said Ron Girotto, president and CEO of The Methodist Hospital System. “This honor was earned by our employees and physicians; it is a tribute to their hard work and dedication.”

The Methodist Hospital System, with more than 10,000 employees, is made up of The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, Methodist Willowbrook Hospital, San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute. Methodist is affiliated with Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital.

RWJF launches program to bolster nursing faculties
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has announced a program to develop the next generation of nurse leaders in academia and boost the stature of junior faculty in nursing schools. The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program will provide $28 million over the next five years to outstanding junior nursing faculty to help them advance in their fields and seek faculty positions earlier in their careers by providing mentorship, leadership training, salary and research support.

Despite a rise in applicants, nursing schools in the United States turn away thousands of prospective students from baccalaureate and master's programs because of an acute shortage of faculty and clinical preceptors, training sites, space and funding constraints. Since the stature of nursing schools and the promotion of nursing faculty are dependent on the quality of the nursing faculty’s scholarly and/or research pursuits, the Nurse Faculty Scholars program will work to strengthen the link between institutional reputation and faculty success by providing career development and other opportunities for outstanding junior faculty.

Scholars will be given opportunities to develop a research program and other scholarly activities; work closely with institutional and national mentors; participate in leadership training; and network with scholars, experts and colleagues in their field and other related fields. Scholars also will be able to gain much-needed protected time to get the critical skills needed for a successful career in academic nursing.  

There are also not enough nurses lined up to fill positions that will be vacated by retiring faculty, and the Nurse Faculty Scholars program will aim to encourage junior nurse faculty to continue on in their roles as educators.
 
“Our intent is to retain the most talented junior faculty we have and create outstanding role models, so that more nurses might choose nursing academia as a career,” said RWJF Senior Program Officer Susan Hassmiller, RN, PhD, FAAN.

The program will be run out of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Jacquelyn C. Campbell, RN, PhD, FAAN, Anna D. Wolf Chair and Professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, will direct the five-year program.

The program will award up to $350,000 for three years to each RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar; up to 15 scholars will be selected each year. Applicants must be junior faculty members with at least two but no more than five years of experience in a faculty role. Candidates who completed their doctoral degree within 10 years of receiving their initial nursing degree are encouraged to apply.

The Nurse Faculty Scholars Call for Applications is available online at the RWJF Web site, www.rwjf.org. The deadline for applicant registration is April 1, 2008. Potential applicants should visit www.rwjfnursefacultyscholars.org for more information.

AACN honors 17 hospitals with Beacon Award
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has announced that 21 units in 17 hospitals located in 13 states recently received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence. The award recognizes the nation’s top hospital critical-care units.

“The commitment to high-quality standards and dedication to exceptional care of patients and their families have brought clear, valuable recognition to these units and institutions,” said AACN President Dave Hanson, RN, MSN, CCRN, CNS. “Earning a Beacon Award sends a clear message that these units are providing exceptional care and that their commitment to evidence-based practice is unwavering. They have set examples that serve as beacons for other hospitals and health care facilities to use in navigating the rough waters of acute and critical care nursing.”

To date, 101 units in 30 states have been recognized since the award program began. Hospitals and units that achieved Beacon Award status in November 2007 are as follows: 1) Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut, Bliss71-SICU; 2) Munroe Regional Medical Center, Ocala, Florida, ICU (two-time recipient); 3) St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida, 3N Intensive Care Unit (3500 ICU); 4) The University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas, Medical Intensive Care Unit 65; 5) Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine, Special Care Unit; 6) Chelsea Community Hospital, Chelsea, Michigan, ICCU; 7) Billings Clinic, Billings, Montana, ICU; 8) Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, New Jersey, Intensive Care Unit (two-time recipient); 9) St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Syracuse, New York, Medical Intensive Care Unit; 10) Aultman Hospital, Canton, Ohio, CVSICU (two-time recipient); 11) Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, Intensive Care Unit; 12) University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, Medical Intensive Care Unit (three-time recipient) and Surgical Intensive Care Unit; 13) Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cardio Thoracic Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Neuro Trauma Surgical Intensive Care Unit and Rhoads 5 Surgical Intensive Care Unit (two-time recipient); 14) PinnacleHealth System Harrisburg Hospital, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, MSICU (two-time recipient); 15) Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia, Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit and Trauma Intensive Care Unit; 16) Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU); and 17) Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Wausau, Wisconsin, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

As Beacon Award recipients, these units have demonstrated quantitative success when measured against evidence-based national criteria in the following areas that impact patient care: recruitment and retention; education, training and mentoring; research and evidence-based practice; patient outcomes; leadership and organizational ethics; and healing environment. Applicants are not required to be a member of AACN to receive a Beacon Award. Application information and requirements are available at https://www.aacn.org/AACN/ICURecog.nsf/vwdoc/MainPage