The Job Performance of Nursing Graduates: A Program Evaluation

Abstract

The study was designed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the nursing education preparation of associate degree nursing graduates as reflected in their job performance. The predictive relationships of measures of scholastic success such as G.P.A. and State Board Examination Scores with graduate job performance were also investigated. A rating scale of 62 items was designed to measure the following dimensions of nursing performance: (a) planning for nursing care, (b) implementing nursing care, (c) interpersonal relationships and communication, (d) leadership and group procedures, (e) evaluating and reporting nursing care, (f) professional involvement, and (g) other. Sources for the rating scale included curriculum objectives and a field survey of performance criteria. Graduates were rated by a nurse and a physician who function in close supervision of their job. Graduates completed a similar rating scale in which they were asked to rate the adequacy of their educational preparation for various job requirements. Ratings were obtained from a sample of 153 graduates of the associate degree nursing program at Delta College, University Center, Michigan. Results indicated a stated need for additional clinical experience requiring total involvement of nursing students, advanced course work in pharmacology, anatomy, physiology, and nutrition, and planned leadership preparation. Findings demonstrated no significant relationship between various indices of G.P.A. and State Board Examination Scores with job rated performance. It is projected that rated job performance is influenced by a number of personality variables. Physicians perceive the performance of nurses from different perspectives than do supervising nurses.     

Preferences of Training Performance Measurement: A Comparative Study of Training Professionals and Non‐training Managers

ABSTRACT This survey‐based study addressed a perceived gap between training performance evaluation practice and decision‐making criteria required in business. Training professionals and non‐training managers in North Carolina were surveyed. The study found that the groups differ in the performance measures that motivate them to act on training issues. Non‐training managers preferred measurements of productivity, organizational climate, product quality, cost, and customer service reports. Training professionals preferred measures of opinions of the trainee's supervisor, end‐of‐training exam scores, progress/work performance reports, and opinions of the trainee. The study concluded that (1) training professionals and non‐training managers react to different training performance measures; (2) training professionals are more likely to react to job/individual‐level performance measures; (3) non‐training managers are more likely to rely on organizational‐level measures; (4) non‐training managers are not primarily concerned with converting training benefits to dollar figures; (5) on‐the‐job tests and customer service reports are valued by both the training profession and business and industry; and (6) the low response suggests a potential lack of interest for the strategic position of the training function.     

身份之困:高校“非编”青年教职工心理状态的实证研究

采用职业倦怠问卷、压力感知量表和工作效能感量表测量了188名高校青年教职工,探讨压力感知和工作效能感在身份类别和职业倦怠之间的作用。结果表明:高校“非编”青年教职工职业倦怠、压力感知水平显著高于在编青年教职工,工作效能感水平显著低于在编教青年职工;除直接影响外,身份类别还通过压力感知、工作效能感的多重中介效应间接影响高校青年教职工职业倦怠水平。提出如下建议:寻找编制身份之外的替代性方案,警惕稳定带来的“逆淘汰”机制,重视青年教职工的人文关怀与心理建设。     

浅谈中师并入师专后教师的素质培养与提高问题

本文通过对崇左校区教师学历、职称、年龄结构特点以及并入师专后的心态特点进行分析。提出提高校区教师师德修养和教学业务素质所采取的措施，     

人性化护理管理态度及质量改进探析

护理管理工作的对象包括护士和护理对象两个群体,应将"人性化"理念运用于护理管理工作中,提高服务质量和管理效益。当前人性化护理管理存在人文教育观念不足、忽视护士和患者需求、制度不完善等问题,应采取加强医院卫生和素质文化建设、尊重与理解、宽容与沟通、激励与信任等方法,以推进医院的人性化护理管理。     

浅议菲律宾国际护理教育对涉外护理专业开展教学改革的启示

菲律宾开展国际护理教育已有数十年历史,经验丰富,培养的护理人员深受欧美各国的欢迎,每年对外输出大量护士。通过对比中菲护校的教材、课程设置以及教学法,从中吸取经验,以期我国的职业院校涉外护理专业教学能满足国际市场的需求,培养出高素质、具有全球化眼光的国际护理人才。     

同伴教育在围手术期结肠造口患者心理护理中的应用研究

探讨同伴教育对围手术期结肠造口患者心理的影响。首先选取8例行造口术后多年并有丰富经验的患者,经培训合格后成为同伴教育者。抽取行结肠造口术的患者共40例分别放在对照组和试验组。对照组由病区护理人员给予心理护理及健康指导。试验组在常规护理基础上再选择同伴教育。出院前,评估两组患者的社会心理适应水平。试验组社会心理适应水平高于对照组(P<0.01),差异显著,有统计学意义。实施同伴教育可为围手术期结肠造口患者提供心理支持,提高其社会心理适应水平。     

Effects of performance visualization on employment interviews

Two studies were undertaken to assess the value of exposing people to performance visualization in order to help them cope with communication apprehension (CA) in employment interviews. The first study, which took place in a laboratory, employed a pre/post‐test experimental design. Seniors who were preparing to enter the job market took part in mock interviews, completed a state communication apprehension (CA) measure, a trait CA measure, and a scale designed to measure negative thinking. Participants were then assigned to performance visualization, placebo, or control conditions. After exposure to the requisite treatment, they participated in another mock interview and completed the same battery of measures. The second study took place in the field. In this study, participants, who were about to undergo a screening interview for a job, completed state and trait CA measures, were exposed to performance visualization, and completed the state and trait CA measures the second time. These studies indicated that exposure to performance visualization related negatively to CA and negative thoughts, as well as positively to being offered a job. It showed no relationship to being asked back for a second interview. The implications of these findings are discussed in the conclusion of this report.     

音乐表演实践、表演效果与表演者的情绪状态

音乐表演实践、表演效果与表演者的情绪状态之间有着紧密联系,它们是相互作用、相互影响的。一次成功的音乐表演,不仅在于大量的舞台实践、技能技巧改进,而且也在于表演者情绪状态的调节和改善。反过来,表演者良好的情绪状态,又对技术发挥、角色塑造起着促进作用,从而使表演取得良好效果。     

The Effects of Background Music on Primary School Pupils' Task Performance

Research on the effects of background music has a long history. Early work was not embedded within a theoretical framework, was often poorly conceptualised and produced equivocal findings. This paper reports two studies exploring the effects of music, perceived to be calming and relaxing, on performance in arithmetic and on a memory task in children aged 10-12. The calming music led to better performance on both tasks when compared with a no-music condition. Music perceived as arousing, aggressive and unpleasant disrupted performance on the memory task and led to a lower level of reported altruistic behaviour by the children. This suggests that the effects of music on task performance are mediated by arousal and mood rather than affecting cognition directly. The findings are discussed in relation to possible practical applications in the primary school and the home.     

The effects of a short-term death training program on nursing home nursing staff

This study examines the effects on nursing home nurses of a two-day training program concerned with nurses and their response to the dying patient. Utilizing the Solomon four-group design, the study investigates whether exposure to information on death and dying (a) results in the acquisition of greater knowledge about death and dying, (b) is accompanied by a more positive attitude toward the elderly, and (c) is accompanied by a change in anxiety about death. Based on t tests and one-way analyses of covariance, the results point up the mixed nature of short-term training programs. It was found that there was a significant increase in the nurses' knowledge about death and dying, there was no change in their attitudes toward the elderly, and there was a significant increase among the nurses in the death anxiety experienced. This is not to suggest that training programs of this sort should not be conducted with nursing home staff. On the one hand such programs provide information useful for job performance. On the other hand they create some sensitization to death, which at the very least could give nurses greater insights into the concerns of the patients and perhaps stimulate empathetic responses.     

Registered nurses' constructed meaning of concepts of solution and their use in clinical practice

Since the introduction of nursing into tertiary institutions in Australia in 1975, there has been increasing interest in the teaching of physical science to nurses. Various courses in physical science for nurse students have been developed. They vary in length and content but there is agreement that concepts taught should be closely related to nursing applications. The choice of relevant concepts tends to be made by individual curriculum developers. This paper reports an examination of the use of physical science concepts and their relevance from the perspective of registered nurses practising in general ward areas. Inherent in this study is the premise that for registered nurses to have ideas of the physical science underlying their practice they must have constructed meaning first for these concepts. Specific chemical concepts related to solutions are discussed in these terms. Specializations: phenomenology, thinking, caring, euthanasia and palliative care, curriculum development for nurses. Specializations: thinking, science curricula for nurses, isotope geochemistry, mass spectrometry.     

How do we learn in a negative mood? Effects of a negative mood on transfer and learning

Findings show that both positive and negative mood may hinder or promote information processing. In two experiments, we show that negative mood impairs transfer effects and learning. In the first experiment, N = 54 participants drawn from a training course for the Swiss Corps of Fortification Guards first learned to solve the three- and four-disk Tower of Hanoi (ToH) problem to mastery level. After mood induction, they were asked to solve one proximal (five-disk ToH) and two distal transfer tasks (the Missionary and Cannibal Problem and the Katona Card Problem). Participants in a negative mood solved the transfer tasks less efficiently. In the second experiment, this result was replicated with a sample of N = 80 participants drawn from a training course for nurses. Additionally, mood affected performance if it was induced before the learning phase; participants in a negative mood needed more repetitions to reach the mastery level and also performed worse in the transfer tasks, although there were no greater mood differences in this problem-solving phase. The implications for the design of learning settings are discussed.     

人口老龄化及高职院校专业服务人才培养的对策思考——以杭州市为例

人口年龄结构变化和家庭结构变化必然对相关人才的需求产生影响。目前杭州市的人口老龄化程度居于全国水平前列,老龄化开辟了劳动力需求的新领域。如何建设高质有效的养老服务人才体系成为当前重大迫切问题。通过调研了解了杭州人口老龄化的基本特点。老龄化对相关服务人才的需求及其从业人员的现状,在此基础上结合相关政策导向,科学预测并提出了高职院校在当前及未来一段时期内面向老年服务的专业服务人才培养及专业设置的对策。     

Comparisons of Self‐Efficacy,Mood, Effort,and Hope Between Students with Learning Disabilities and Their Non‐LD‐Matched Peers

The goals of this study were to compare self‐perceptions of self‐efficacy, mood, effort, and hope between 123 adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) and a group of 123 Non‐LD peers, who were matched for their level of academic performance and gender, and to explore the relations between measures of self‐perception and achievement. The results showed that students with LD reported lower academic self‐efficacy and lower social self‐efficacy. They also rated their mood as more negative and reported lower levels of hope and less investment of effort in their academic work. At the same time, no significant differences were found for emotional self‐efficacy in comparison to the Non‐LD peer group. In addition, among students with LD who were successful in their studies, a subgroup continued to report low levels of hope. The results demonstrated that even when the academic performance of students with LD is similar to their Non‐LD peers, their specific and global self‐perceptions continue to reflect their distress. It is not clear if these results represent past difficulties, day‐to‐day struggles, and/or future worries. Resilience models are proposed and research limitations are specified.     

Construct Validity and Reliability of the Finnish Version of the Demand-Control Questionnaire in Two Samples of 1028 Teachers and 630 Nurses

The job demand-control (JDC) model has dominated research into occupational stress for the last 20 years. Two concepts lie at the core of the demand-control model: job demands and job control. Control is also referred to as decision latitude and the concept has two facets: decision authority and skill discretion. The purpose of the current study was to conduct an empirically correct specification of the key concepts of the JDC model. The Scandinavian version of an instrument assessing the key concepts of the model was used and the objective of the study was to test the validity and reliability of the Finnish version of the job content questionnaire (JCQ) among teachers and nurses. Altogether 1028 teachers and 630 nurses participated. Exploratory factor and confirmatory analyses were employed to assess the factorial structure of the Finnish version of the JCQ and to evaluate which factorial model fitted the data best. Analyses indicated a factor solution with two factors: job demands and decision authority. The confirmatory factor analyses supported the results from the exploratory factor analyses. The model which fitted the data best was the model with two oblique factors with the items measuring skill discretion removed. Based on the results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses it seems reasonable to measure job demands and control in this sample with two factors: demand and decision authority.     

基于全面二孩政策的儿科护士职业倦怠成因及对策的探讨

目的:探讨在全面二孩政策下儿科护士职业倦怠原因,并提出相应措施。方法:对鲁北地区8所二甲以上医院125名儿科护士进行调查,探讨其职业倦怠的成因,并提出相应措施。结果:儿科护士工作倦怠评分为153.31±15.24分,其职业倦怠的生理、心理症状等与年龄相关。结论:儿科护士的职业倦怠发生率较高,应从儿科护士的心理干预、教育培训、社会支持等方面进行改善,提高儿科护士抵御职业倦怠的能力。     

Profiles of Organizational Culture and Effective Schools∗

This study intends to investigate how school organizational culture is related to important organizational characteristics and observe how the profiles of strong culture‐effective schools are different from those of weak culture‐ineffective schools in terms of organizational variables (such as principal's leadership, organizational structure, and teachers’ social interactions), teachers’ job attitudes, and school effectiveness criteria. It is a cross‐sectional survey research involving 54 randomly sampled Hong Kong secondary schools and 588 teachers. The unit of analysis is the school.

Organizational ideology index was found to be substantially correlated with schools’ perceived organizational effectiveness. Among the 10 measures of these organizational variables, teachers’ esprit and principal's charismatic leadership can contribute substantially to the prediction of school's strength of organizational culture. The organizational profile of perceived strong culture‐effective schools is contrastingly different from that of perceived weak culture‐ineffective schools. The findings suggest that difference in organizational culture can be reflected at least in three overt levels: 1. organizational level in terms of principal's leadership behaviors, organizational formalization and participation, and teachers’ social norms; 2. teachers’ attitudinal level in terms of organizational commitment, social job satisfaction, intrinsic job satisfaction, and influence job satisfaction; and 3. school effectiveness level in terms of perceived overall organizational effectiveness and academic achievements in public examinations.

The findings reinforce the importance of organizational culture to the ongoing effort and discussion of school improvement and school effectiveness.

     

提高优质护理病房护士综合素质的实践与体会

目的：探讨提高优质护理病房护士综合素质的方法。方法：选取我院2010年9月至2011年2月及2011年3月到2011年8月期间两种不同床位包干护理模式下的护士及患者做研究对象,采用我院自行设计的优质护理服务质量评价表和出院患者满意度调查问卷收集资料,就护士业务能力等进行对比分析。结果：新法护理模式护理质量（P=0.478）与病人对包床责任护士服务的满意度（P=0.979）与旧法差异均无统计学意义,新法包床护理病人满意度高于旧法（P=0.022）,新法包床护士护理技术操作（P=0.042）及理论考核成绩（P〈0.001）均优于旧法。结论：新法床位包干、小组负责的护理模式,有利于提高护士的综合素质,提升优质护理服务的内涵,值得临床推广。     

Workplace Stress and Ethical Challenges Experienced by Nursing Staff in a Nursing Home

This research explores the workplace stress and ethical challenges reported by healthcare staff in a nursing home. A brief self-report survey was administered to 44 members of the nursing staff in a not-for-profit nursing home. The survey included items that elicited identification of specific workplace stressors and ethical challenges and global assessments of job-satisfaction, psychological stress, and perceived pressures that may affect provision of care. There were also items dealing with the perceived benefit of prospective in-service training programs. Content analyses indicated interactions with residents as the most frequent source of stress and ethical challenges encountered by nursing staff. Further, results of correlational analyses suggested psychological stress to be associated with job satisfaction and pressure to take shortcuts in the provision of care. Continuing education via in-service training that addresses workplace stress and ethical challenges in nursing care is discussed.