Practical nurses' health and safety in nursing homes.

Purpose: Practical nurses (PNs) rated their general and emotional health and their employers' attention to their health and safety. These components were examined in relationship to work setting and intention to leave for the purpose of exploring workforce issues involving these important care providers of frail elders.

Design/methods: A relicensure survey mailed to all PNs in one rural state included the Minimum Data Set for nurse workforce supply plus questions from the Health and Retirement Survey.

An aging nursing workforce necessitates change.

Use the Older Worker Lure Scale to rate your organization's ability to attract and retain older nurses.

Tai Chi for older nurses: a workplace wellness pilot study.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of a Tai Chi workplace wellness program as a cost effective way of improving physical and mental health, reducing work related stress, and improving work productivity among older nurses in a hospital setting Design A randomized control trial of two groups (control and Tai Chi group).

Design: A randomized control trial of two groups (control and Tai Chi group).

Settings: Northeastern academic medical center.

Knowledge and perceptions of quality systems among Vermont laboratorians.

Objectives: This article reports on a survey of medical laboratorians' knowledge of quality systems in their workplace and their perceptions about the effect of job function, education and training, professional credentials, and experience on the overall quality of testing and results.

Methods: The Medical Laboratory Workforce Survey was designed and conducted in Vermont in 2005. Surveys were distributed to all laboratorians working in Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-regulated laboratories throughout Vermont.

Registered nurses' perceptions of health and safety related to their intention to leave.

This study examined perceptions of general and emotional health among a statewide sample of nurses, and their assessment of employers' workplace health and safety initiatives. These variables and demographic data were then used to model predictors of intention to leave their work positions. A survey was mailed to all registered nurses in one state.

Retaining an aging nurse workforce: perceptions of human resource practices.

The expected retirement of the largest cohort of nurses will push the RN workforce below projected need by 2020. The challenges of managing a nursing workforce with the majority of nurses over 45 years of age are now necessitating attention to polices for recruitment and retention of older nurses, particularly in rural areas. This convenience sample study employed a mailed survey to investigate perceptions of nurses in 12 institutions (four hospitals, seven home health agencies, and one nursing home serving a small rural state).

Reported goal setting and benefits of person centred planning for people with intellectual disabilities.

Recent research suggests that person centred planning (PCP) can have a positive impact on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. This article presents data from open-ended comments collected during research on the impact of PCP on the life experiences of 65 people with intellectual disabilities living in England. These comments addressed the goals set prior to and during PCP, and the main benefits of PCP for participants.

Perceptions of an ideal career versus perceptions of six health careers.

Objective: This study was intended to compare and contrast young adults' perceptions of an ideal career versus their perceptions of six health professions: medical laboratory science, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, radiation technology, and respiratory therapy.

Study Design: The study used a survey developed by May et al., which was modified and tested for application to the allied health workforce.

Patient decision-making related to antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis: the importance of patient trust of physician.

Objective: To explore how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) antirheumatic drug-specific knowledge and numeric literacy, patient trust in physician, and demographic and disease-related factors relate to the confidence of patient decision-making related to disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD).

Methods: Data were analyzed from 628 randomly selected patients with RA receiving care in community rheumatology practices, who responded to a multicenter, cross-sectional mail survey. We used multiple regression models to predict patient confidence in DMARD decision-making related to their most recently initiated DMARD.

Does a 'shadow workforce' of inactive nurses exist?

The entire population of inactive nurses in Vermont was surveyed to determine if a "shadow workforce" exists. The notion that large numbers of nurses are available to return to work is not supported by this study. Desirable benefits for those wishing to return are discussed.

Longitudinal analysis of the impact and cost of person-centered planning for people with intellectual disabilities in England.

Person-centered planning is central to United Kingdom policies regarding the support of people with intellectual disabilities. However, little evidence exists on the impact or cost of introducing person-centered planning. We examined the efficacy, effectiveness, and costs of introducing person-centered planning for 93 people with intellectual disabilities over 2 years across four localities in England.

Measuring the nursing workforce: clarifying the definitions.

Numerous articles have addressed the causes and implications of the current nursing shortage. Little has been published, however, about how to measure the nursing workforce. This article presents (1) a review of definitions for common workforce indicators such as vacancy and turnoverrates and the relationship between these indicators and the need for nurses,(2) a review of the calculation of vacancy and turnoverrates in several statewide and national surveys, and (3) the results from the development and pilot test of a health care workforce survey for use in Vermont.

The volunteer potential of inactive nurses for disaster preparedness.

Objectives: Inactive nurses' interest in volunteering for emergency preparedness was examined.

Methods: A mail survey was sent to the entire Vermont Board of Nursing list of in-state inactive and lapsed registered nurses (n = 3,682). A high rate of undeliverable surveys (60%) was found and 611 surveys were returned for a 20% response rate.

Education as a determinant of career retention and job satisfaction among registered nurses.

Purpose: To compare job satisfaction and career retention in two cohorts of RNs, those whose highest degrees were the associate degree (AD) or the bachelor's degree (BS) in nursing.

Design: Survey.

Methods: Instruments included a career satisfaction scale and questions based on the ongoing U.

Changes in rates of beta-blocker use in community hospital patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: To examine changes in the rate of beta-blocker (BB) use at admission, in hospital, and at discharge between 1994 and 1995 (MICH I) and 1997 (MICH II) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Design: Comparison of two prospectively enrolled cohorts.

Setting: Five mid-Michigan community hospitals.