Interpersonal relationships among hospital nurses and the use of communication skills

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Abstract

A qualitative exploratory and descriptive study investigating how the work relationships of nursing professionals are affected by the organizational problems experienced in hospital units and their management. Participants consisted of 21 nurses who worked in a general hospital in the north of Spain, during the period between 2010 and 2012. The study was approved by an ethics research committee and participants signed an informed consent form. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and field records. Using thematic analysis, the results displayed that work disorganization affects interpersonal relationships, generating feelings of impotence and demotivation among participants. Thus, they considered it necessary for a work plan to be established, clearly defining the activities of each professional role and developing the necessary communication skills for expressing problems to managers and coworkers. We believe it would be of great benefit for managers to take into consideration the suggestions for improvement presented in this study.

Translated abstract

Estudio exploratorio-descriptivo, cualitativo, para conocer cómo afectan a las relaciones laborales de los profesionales de enfermería los problemas organizativos vividos en las unidades hospitalarias y la forma de gestionarlos. Los participantes fueron 21 enfermeros que trabajaban en un hospital general del norte de España, en el periodo de 2010-2012, con la aprobación del comité ético y de investigación y la firma del consentimiento informado. Los datos se recolectaron mediante entrevistas en profundidad y diario de campo. A partir del análisis temático, los resultados mostraron que la desorganización del trabajo afecta a las relaciones interpersonales, generando en los participantes sentimientos de impotencia y desmotivación. Por ello, consideran necesario realizar una planificación del trabajo, clarificar las actividades de cada rol profesional y desarrollar las habilidades comunicativas necesarias para transmitir los problemas a gestores y compañeros. Se estima conveniente que los gestores tuvieran en consideración las propuestas de mejora señaladas en el estudio.

Translated abstract

Estudo exploratório-descritivo, qualitativo, para conhecer os problemas organizativos que ocorreram nas unidades hospitalares e a maneira de os gerir nas relações laborais dos profissionais da enfermagem. Os participantes foram 21 enfermeiros que trabalhavam num hospital geral do Norte da Espanha, entre os anos 2010 e 2012. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevistas em profundidade e de diário de campo. A partir da análise temática, os resultados mostraram que a desorganização no trabalho afeta as relações interpessoais, criando nos participantes sentimento de impotência e desmotivação. Por este motivo, consideram necessário realizar uma planificação do trabalho, esclarecer as atividades de cada profissional e desenvolver as capacidades comunicativas necessárias para transmitir os problemas aos gestores e aos colegas de trabalho.

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Nurse forecasting in Europe (RN4CAST): Rationale, design and methodology

Walter Sermeus, Linda Aiken, Koen Van den Heede … (2011)

Background Current human resources planning models in nursing are unreliable and ineffective as they consider volumes, but ignore effects on quality in patient care. The project RN4CAST aims innovative forecasting methods by addressing not only volumes, but quality of nursing staff as well as quality of patient care. Methods/Design A multi-country, multilevel cross-sectional design is used to obtain important unmeasured factors in forecasting models including how features of hospital work environments impact on nurse recruitment, retention and patient outcomes. In each of the 12 participating European countries, at least 30 general acute hospitals were sampled. Data are gathered via four data sources (nurse, patient and organizational surveys and via routinely collected hospital discharge data). All staff nurses of a random selection of medical and surgical units (at least 2 per hospital) were surveyed. The nurse survey has the purpose to measure the experiences of nurses on their job (e.g. job satisfaction, burnout) as well as to allow the creation of aggregated hospital level measures of staffing and working conditions. The patient survey is organized in a sub-sample of countries and hospitals using a one-day census approach to measure the patient experiences with medical and nursing care. In addition to conducting a patient survey, hospital discharge abstract datasets will be used to calculate additional patient outcomes like in-hospital mortality and failure-to-rescue. Via the organizational survey, information about the organizational profile (e.g. bed size, types of technology available, teaching status) is collected to control the analyses for institutional differences. This information will be linked via common identifiers and the relationships between different aspects of the nursing work environment and patient and nurse outcomes will be studied by using multilevel regression type analyses. These results will be used to simulate the impact of changing different aspects of the nursing work environment on quality of care and satisfaction of the nursing workforce. Discussion RN4CAST is one of the largest nurse workforce studies ever conducted in Europe, will add to accuracy of forecasting models and generate new approaches to more effective management of nursing resources in Europe.