Facilitators and barriers to employment among veterans with spinal cord injury receiving 12 months of evidence-based supported employment services.

Background: Return to work is associated with positive rehabilitation outcomes for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, more research is needed on vocational support for persons with disabilities seeking employment.

Objective: The association between facilitators and barriers of employment and employment outcome was examined among Veterans with SCI who participated in an evidence-based supported employment (EBSE) program.

Methods: Using a mixed-methods, nested case-control design, data on facilitators and barriers to employment were extracted from qualitative interviews and quantitative measures administered in person to 34 Veterans with SCI who completed 12 months of an EBSE program.

Starting a national conversation: the Institute of Medicine workshop on the future directions of credentialing research in nursing.

In this month's column, the director of research for the American Nurses Credentialing Center discusses outcomes of the Institute of Medicine Workshop on Credentialing Research in Nursing.

Exploring the effect of at-risk case management compensation on hospital pay-for-performance outcomes: tools for change.

Purpose/objectives: Acute care nurse case managers are charged with compliance oversight, managing throughput, and ensuring safe care transitions. Leveraging the roles of nurse case managers and social workers during care transitions translates into improved fiscal performance under the Affordable Care Act. This article aims to equip leaders in the field of case management with tools to facilitate the alignment of case management systems with hospital pay-for-performance measures.

New graduate nurse transition programs and clinical leadership skills in novice RNs.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine predictors of clinical leadership skill (CLS) for RNs with 24 months of clinical experience or less.

Background: New graduate nurse transition programs (NGNTPs) have been proposed as a strategy to increase CLS. CLS is associated with positive patient outcomes.

The value of RN residency and fellowship programs for Magnet® hospitals.

This article discusses the need for accreditation of orientation transition programs for nurses and how these programs support Magnet criteria.

Funding big research with small money.

This department highlights change management strategies that maybe successful in strategically planning and executing organizational change initiatives.With the goal of presenting practical approaches helpful to nurse leaders advancing organizational change, content includes evidence-based projects, tools,and resources that mobilize and sustain organizational change initiatives.In this article, the guest authors introduce crowd sourcing asa strategy for funding big research with small money.

Credentialing: the need for a national research agenda.

A national research agenda is needed to promote inquiry into the impact of credentialing on health care outcomes for nurses, patients, and organizations. Credentialing is used here to refer to individual credentialing, such as certification for nurses, and organizational credentialing, such as American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet recognition for health care organizations or accreditation of providers of continuing education in nursing. Although it is hypothesized that credentialing leads to a higher quality of care, more uniform practice, and better patient outcomes, the research evidence to validate these views is limited.

Characterising emergency department high-frequency users in a rural hospital.

Objective: Patients who are frequent users (≥4 visits/year) comprise ∼10% of patients, but account for ∼34% of total yearly emergency department (ED) visits. Non-emergent care provided to frequent ED users affects operating costs and usage. The majority of reports characterising frequent ED use are from urban teaching centres.

Structural empowerment and the nursing practice environment in Magnet® organizations.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of shared governance and its relationship with nursing practice environments in Magnet® organizations.

Background: Structural empowerment is a core Magnet model component illustrated through shared governance. A paucity of literature exists describing it and its relationship to the nursing practice environment in Magnet organizations.

Change is good: introducing the 2014 Magnet® Application Manual.

This month's Magnet Perspectives column discusses the changes to the Magnet Recognition Program's® Application Manual.

Creating a culture for advancing nursing research.

In this month's column, the executive director of the American Nurses Credentialing Center provides a perspective on the importance of nursing research and the creation of a supportive culture. Magnet organizations promote a culture of inquiry in leading to new knowledge, innovations, and improvements.

Nurse credentialing research: a huge step forward.

This month, the executive director of the American Nurses Credentialing Center discuses the importance and impact of supporting a national credentialing nursing research agenda.

Developing a skills-based competency course.

Skills-based competency programs evaluate whether participants can demonstrate knowledge, skills, and professional behaviors associated with a skill in a simulated or actual clinical setting. Critical elements for program development include accurate and precise outcome statements that delineate the skill to be performed and valid and reliable evaluation criteria that identify the critical behaviors necessary for safe and competent performance.

Trust: a core value of healthy organizations.

In this month's column, the Director of the Magnet Recognition Program provides an overview of the concept of smart trust. After hearing Stephen M. R.

The evolution of a manual revision.

This month, the director of the Magnet Recognition Program® provides an in-depth overview of the Magnet Recognition Program's Application Manual revision process. The history of the 2005 Manual revision, an evidence-based review of the literature, and revisions to the 2008 Manual are key elements of this article.