Reframing Burnout: Measuring "Altruistic Execution" to Understand Nurse Burnout.

Background: Many nurses join the profession because they have altruistic intentions, but some nurses experience barriers to acting on altruistic intentions which may be a source of job dissatisfaction or burnout.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate construct validity, internal consistency, and convergence reliability of the Nursing Altruistic Execution Scale (NAES), a novel instrument assessing the perceived ability to help others through work.

Methods: The NAES was developed based upon a literature review examining altruistic behavior as a motivator for nursing work, with expert feedback for instrument refinement.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance or Refusal Among US Nurses: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Nurse turnover has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurse refusal of mandated vaccines contributes to understaffing and affects patient health outcomes. The purposes of this study were to describe (1) nurse reasons for COVID-19 vaccine decisions and (2) the relationship between vaccine status and nurse characteristics.

Existential distress in family caregivers: scoping review of meaning-making interventions.

Objectives: Family and friend caregivers often feel overwhelmed by and ill-prepared for their responsibilities. Many feel helpless living with uncertainty about the outcome of the patient's illness, which leads to existential distress. Supportive care interventions that address existential distress by promoting meaning and purpose buffer the negative effects of caregiver burden and promote resilience and growth.

A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study: Eliciting ICU Experiences and Measuring Outcomes of Family Caregivers of Patients Who Have Undergone Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

The impact of an intensive care unit (ICU) admission on family caregivers of patients who have undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has not been well described. Aims of this study were to determine the feasibility of conducting research with family caregivers of HSCT patients during an ICU admission and generate preliminary data about their experiences and engagement in care. Using a mixed-methods, repeated measures design, we collected data from family caregivers after 48 hr in the ICU (T1) and at 48 hr after transferring out of ICU (T2).

Sprinting in a Marathon: Nursing Staff and Nurse Leaders Make Meaning of Practicing in COVID-19 Devoted Units Pre-Vaccine.

Objective: To describe the lived experience of nursing staff and nurse leaders working in COVID-19 devoted units (intensive care or medical unit) prior to vaccine availability.

Research Design: Qualitative phenomenological design with a focus group approach.

Methods: The study team recruited a convenience sample of nursing staff (nurses, and nursing assistants/nurse technicians) and nurse leaders (managers, assistant nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse educators) at an academic medical center in the midwestern United States.

Symptom Assessment for Mechanically Ventilated Patients: Principles and Priorities: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Mechanically ventilated patients experience many adverse symptoms, such as anxiety, thirst, and dyspnea. However, these common symptoms are not included in practice guideline recommendations for routine assessment of mechanically ventilated patients. An American Thoracic Society-sponsored workshop with researchers and clinicians with expertise in critical care and symptom management was convened for a discussion of symptom assessment in mechanically ventilated patients.

The early impact of COVID-19 on intensive care nurses' personal and professional well-being: A qualitative study.

Objective: To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care nurses personal and professional well-being.

Research Methodology/design: A descriptive, qualitative design was used. Two nurse researchers conducted one-on-one interviews via Zoom or TEAMS using a semi-structured interview guide.

Usability Testing of an iPad Communication Application for Mechanically Ventilated Patients.

Background: Patient communication challenges during mechanical ventilation can negatively impact symptom management and psychological recovery. Alternative communication (AC) aids have the potential to improve mechanically ventilated (MV) patient experiences.

Objectives: This study evaluated the feasibility and usability of a communication application on a tablet (iPad).

Impact of COVID-19 on Intensive Care Unit Nurse Duty of Care and Professional Roles: A Qualitative Content Analysis.

Background: Nurse duty of care, the balance between nursing occupational obligations to provide care, the personal costs for providing such care, and the reward for providing care, has been significantly altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. ICU nurses are increasingly burdened with higher personal costs to fulfill their jobs, but little additional reward for continuing to provide care.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the duty of care balance among ICU nurses who manage COVID-19 patients.

Critical Care Nurse Burnout, Moral Distress, and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A United States Survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to have a tremendous influence on intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' mental health.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the impact of COVID-19 on nurse moral distress, burnout, and mental health.

Methods: Between October 2020 and January 2021 this descriptive study recruited a national sample of nurses who worked in the ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic through American Association of Critical Care Nurses newsletters and social media.

A Scoping Review of the Experiences of Adolescents and Young Adults in the ICU, Their Family Members, and Their Health Care Team.

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) may be cared for in a pediatric or adult ICU. Specific needs of AYAs differ from those of populations typically found in either ICU. This review identifies research focused on experiences of AYAs in ICUs, their family members, and the health care professionals who care for them, revealing limited research about AYAs in ICUs: 10 articles met inclusion criteria and findings revealed that AYAs want to be treated as individuals and need health care professionals to partner with them.

Critical Care Nurses' Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A US National Survey.

Background: Given critical care nurses' high prepandemic levels of moral distress and burnout, the COVID-19 pandemic will most likely have a tremendous influence on intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' mental health and continuation in the ICU workforce.

Objective: To describe the experiences of ICU nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Methods: Nurses who worked in ICUs in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic were recruited to complete a survey from October 2020 through early January 2021 through social media and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Intensive Care Unit Nurse: Could We Call a Palliative Care Consult? Intensive Care Unit Provider: It's Too Early. Palliative Care Integration in the Intensive Care Unit: The Struggle to Translate Evidence Into Practice.

Despite evidence regarding the value of palliative care, there remains a translation-to-practice gap in the intensive care setting. The purpose of this article is to describe challenges and propose solutions to palliative care integration through the presentation and discussion of a critical care patient scenario. We also present recommendations for a collaborative palliative care practice framework that holds the potential to improve quality of life for patients and families.

Patients' experiences of recovery: Beyond the intensive care unit and into the community.

Aims: To understand barriers and facilitators of recovery for critical illness survivors', who are discharged home from the hospital and do not have access to dedicated outpatient care.

Design: Multi-site descriptive study guided by interpretive phenomenology using semi-structured interviews.

Methods: Interviews were conducted between December 2017 -July 2018.

Systematic review of family engagement interventions in neonatal, paediatric, and adult ICUs.

Aims And Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate interventions that have been used to engage families in direct care activities (active family engagement) in adult, paediatric, and neonatal intensive care unit (ICU) settings.

Background: Family engagement is universally advocated across ICU populations and practice settings; however, appraisal of the active family engagement intervention literature remains limited.

Search Strategy: Ovid Medline, PsycArticles & PsycInfo, Scopus, and CINAHL were searched for family interventions that involved direct care of the patient to enhance the psychological, physical, or emotional well-being of the patient or family in neonatal, paediatric, or adult ICUs.

Advance directives and intensity of care delivered to hospitalized older adults at the end-of-life.

Background: Older adults prefer comfort over life-sustaining care. Decreased intensity of care is associated with improved quality of life at the end-of-life (EOL).

Objectives: This study explored the association between advance directives (ADs) and intensity of care in the acute care setting at the EOL for older adults.

Nurses' Attitudes and Practices Related to Sedation: A National Survey.

Background: Nurses are fundamental to the implementation of sedation protocols for patients receiving mechanical ventilation. A 2005 survey showed that nurses' attitudes toward sedation affected their sedation practices. Since then, updated guidelines on managing pain, agitation, and delirium have been published.

"Sedation is tricky": A qualitative content analysis of nurses' perceptions of sedation administration in mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients.

Introduction: Critical care nurses are responsible for administering sedative medications to mechanically ventilated patients. With significant advancements in the understanding of the impact of sedative exposure on physiological and psychological outcomes of ventilated patients, updated practice guidelines for assessment and management of pain, agitation, and delirium in the intensive care unit were released in 2013. The primary aim of this qualitative study was to identify and describe themes derived from critical care nurses' comments regarding sedation administration practices with mechanically ventilated patients.

Quiet time for mechanically ventilated patients in the medical intensive care unit.

Objective: Sleep disruption occurs frequently in critically ill patients. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of quiet time (QT) on patient sedation frequency, sedation and delirium scores; and to determine if consecutive QTs influenced physiologic measures (heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure and respiratory rate).

Method: A prospective study of a quiet time protocol was conducted with 72 adult patients on mechanical ventilation.

Peripheral muscle strength and correlates of muscle weakness in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.

Background: Intensive care unit-acquired weakness is a frequent complication of critical illness because of patients' immobility and prolonged use of mechanical ventilation.

Objectives: To describe daily measurements of peripheral muscle strength in patients receiving mechanical ventilation and explore relationships among factors that influence intensive care unit-acquired weakness.

Methods: Peripheral muscle strength of 120 critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation was measured daily by using a standardized handgrip dynamometry protocol.