Building a Caring Arts Program with Oncology Patients: From Inception to Impact.

A Caring Arts Program (CAP) was inspired and carried out by the vision of an in-resident nurse-artist and the chief nursing officer in a private, not-for-profit health system. Together they envisioned a program that would impact family, patients, and staff while improving patient/family care practices. The impact of the CAP was evaluated through mixed methods which included stories, fieldnotes, comments, and the Listen360 which rates patient satisfaction scores.

Implementation and Evaluation of Self-Scheduling in a Hospital System.

Inflexible work schedules affect job satisfaction and influence nurse turnover. Job satisfaction is a significant predictor of nurse retention. Acute care hospitals report that job satisfaction is influenced by autonomy and educational opportunity.

Expanding an academic-practice partnership.

This article describes an example of an academic-practice partnership between a university-based school of nursing and a multihospital health system that is based on our common past and has grown significantly as we have embraced opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Our primary goals were to enhance the education of students and staff and, ultimately, improve patient care outcomes. These goals were closely aligned with the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's taskforce on the Future of Nursing for seamless academic progression and improved practice environments.