Qualitative Findings for Supporting Newly Graduated Nurse and Teacher Sleep During Their First Year.

BACKGROUND: New graduate role transition for nurses and teachers is stressful. Poor adaptation may manifest as insomnia, which has implications for the new professionals, their employers, and the public served. This study examines factors that impact new graduate sleep, with the aim of identifying perceived helps and hindrances to sleep-during-transition. METHODS: Targeted content analysis of transcripts from a larger longitudinal mixed methods study comparing new graduate sleep during their first year of practice. Study participants (N = 21) answered questions in the final interview regarding the most positive and negative impact(s) on sleep during the transition year. Transcripts were analyzed and compared based on the new graduate sleep typology (i.e., Got Better, Got Worse, Stayed Varied) which emerged from the parent study. FINDINGS: Most participants, regardless of sleep type, identified a person/group as most positively impacting sleep. They identified work thoughts, stress/anxiety, people, work hours/sleep schedules, and environmental factors as negatively impacting sleep. Work thoughts and stress/anxiety were mentioned together and most frequently by participants in all three sleep types. CONCLUSION/APPLICATIONS TO PRACTICE: This study provided insight into new graduate nurse and teacher sleep during transition. Support persons and/or groups may be essential regardless of sleep type. Thought management/stress mitigation strategies and good sleep hygiene may also improve the sleep experiences of these new professionals. Occupational health nurses can support sleep-during-transition among new nurses and teachers by acting as sleep advocates. They may also identify a need for medical intervention and/or sleep specialists and should promote fatigue risk mitigating policies.

Work-related injuries within a large urban public school system in the Mid-Western United States.

BACKGROUND: More than 13 million employees are working in the public education sector which includes more than just teachers in the United States. This industry sector also employs custodians, maintenance, and administration. To date, there is very limited information about the type and frequency of injuries for these employees. OBJECTIVE: To identify injury trends related to frequency and severity for different occupational injuries in a large urban school district. METHODS: Between 2014-2015, school district employees reported a total of 598 occupational injuries. Initial analysis of the data provided the frequency of injuries overall and for individual occupational categories. The Severity Index provides a score for job category and injury type based on severity and frequency. RESULTS: Overall, the Slip, Trip and Fall category had the highest frequency, followed by Combative Situations, and Over-exertion. Teacher and Para-professional workers experienced the greatest number of injuries with violence being the most frequent cause. Based on the Severity Index, Over-exertion was identified as the primary exposure concern for Custodians, while Slip, Trip and Fall category had the greatest impact on Building Engineers. CONCLUSIONS: With the diversity of negative outcomes, the administration will need targeted interventions for the various professions represented in the school systems. The injury severity profile indicates non-teachers should be a high priority for interventions with over-exertion and slips, trips and falls leading the risk.

Transition within a graduate nurse residency program.

As evidence of the effectiveness of these programs grows, nurse leaders feel the pressure to establish high-quality, yet cost-effective graduate nurse transition programs. In 2009, the authors developed an innovative program by incorporating transition theory, research results, stakeholder involvement, and the recommendations of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. The graduate nurse residency program yielded positive outcomes, including stakeholder satisfaction and high retention rates.