A four-year analysis of US and Canadian academic nurse administrators' job satisfaction and intent to stay.

BACKGROUND: A crisis in vacancies for academic nurse leaders across North American has been recognized. Their role has become increasingly multifaceted, facing rapidly changing responsibilities that must evolve with health care, higher education and leadership. PURPOSE: This retrospective study was conducted to investigate relationships among relevant variables included in the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction survey. METHODS: The sample included survey responses from academic nursing administrators (n = 174). Analysis of variance and multiple linear regression modeling were utilized. DISCUSSION: Clarity in the tenure process (F (6, 92) = 2.92, p = .001), collaboration (p =.000) as well as academic leadership decisions of the dean or division chair (p = .006), and work-life balance (p =.005) were found to be significant. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the factors important to administrators will assist in innovative approaches to attract and retain qualified leaders.

Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty in Canada and the United States.

BACKGROUND: Higher education wants a satisfied workforce to ensure the organization reaches their stated or evolving goals; however, if faculty are dissatisfied, there can be harmful and long-term consequences on productivity and organizational outcome. This study examined nursing faculty's job satisfaction and intent to stay in universities in the United States and Canada. METHOD: This study used a nonexperimental, survey research design with correlational analysis. The sample included 746 U.S. and Canadian nursing faculty. A secondary data source from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education also was used; the data contained responses to an online survey. RESULTS: Job satisfaction demonstrated statistically significant positive relationships with personal and family policies, collaboration, tenure clarity, institutional leadership, shared governance, and engagement. CONCLUSION: Understanding the different factors influencing job satisfaction and intent to stay is one step toward meeting the challenge of a diversified academic nursing workforce. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(11):617-623.].

Race, gender, and ethnicity differences of nursing students' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirosus disease caused physical, mental, and social stress to humans; however, the human impact was not balanced and proportionately distributed to all people; especially nurses. This study explored nursing students' lives affected by the pandemic. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19 and the pandemic on students' experiences across different races, genders, and ethnicities. METHOD: This cross-sectional study sought to investigate significant differences in reported experiences of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic based upon race, gender, and ethnicity classifications. A survey was developed to collect the data. RESULTS: A national sample of 616 student responses was analyzed. Significant differences were found in the pairwise comparisons. The differences found among the diverse student classifications revealed variations in survey responses to classes moved to on-line, interactions with peers, COVID-19 testing, fear/anxiety, and test performance. CONCLUSION: The research adds knowledge about nursing students' experiences during the pandemic; especially unrepresented students from diverse backgrounds. The findings from this study suggested nursing students reacted differently based on race, ethnicity, and gender.

Commitment, job satisfaction and personality: A cross sectional study of generational cohorts in nursing students.

BACKGROUND: The current domestic nursing workforce is the most generational diversity in history with a wide range of life experiences. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate generational differences in organizational commitment, job satisfaction and personality traits in a sample of nursing students preparing for the workforce. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used data collected from pre-licensure final semester nursing students and degree completion students (n = 313) from three different schools about job satisfaction, personality traits and organizational commitment. RESULTS: Findings showed the scores between the generations were not significantly different for job satisfaction (p = 0.86) and organizational commitment (p = 0.40). Significant differences were found between the generations for the personality measures of agreeableness (p = 0.02), conscientiousness (p = 0.01), and emotional stability (p = 0.00). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: Understanding generational differences in nursing students entering the workforce can serve academia and practice partners to focus curriculum and resources appropriately to prepare the next generation of nurses for the challenges in a time of crisis.

A national survey of the impact of COVID-19 on personal, academic, and work environments of nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Nursing students are experiencing life changing events in their personal, academic, and work environments since the onset of the pandemic. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the effects of COVID-19 on personal, workforce, and academic experiences of nursing students (N = 620). METHOD: A 68-item survey with three areas of focus surrounding academic, workforce and personal experiences was distributed to multiple schools across the United States. The analysis compares student responses from the five regions of the US. FINDINGS: Significant differences were found in the pairwise comparisons. The analysis revealed the academic changes were generally viewed as negative. Fear/anxiety and political influences impacted the outcomes of the pandemic. DISCUSSION: Understanding the effects of the pandemic on the personal, work and academic experiences of nursing students will assist academia and healthcare in adapting existing policies to meet student needs in the various regions of the United States.

National Institute of Nursing Research Grant Funding Recipients: Hispanic and Nurses of Color Are Lagging.

INTRODUCTION: National Institute of Health (NIH) stated in their strategic plan that a diverse research workforce is an important goal for the advancement of health care science; however, there is little evidence to show funding goes to National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) minority nurse scientists. The study's aim was to determine NINR grant recipients' race/ethnicity, gender, and licensed nurse status. METHODS: A descriptive research design was used with NIH providing NINR award recipients' names and employing organizations. An online survey with questions about their gender, race, ethnicity, and being a licensed nurse was sent to 619 award recipients. RESULTS: Survey responses were collected from 135 NINR recipients receiving awards. Almost 50% NINR grant recipients were non-nurses. With licensed nurse recipients, White female was the dominate race and gender. Hispanic licensed nurses were 6.8% of the NINR grant recipients over the 3-year period. In addition, Asians and Blacks were the lowest race categories at 4.1% award percentage over the 3-year period. CONCLUSIONS: NIH strategic plan is for a diverse research workforce in order to advance health care science. NINR must lead the efforts to grow a diverse nursing workforce including Hispanic and underrepresented nurses in order to successfully compete in NINR grants and funding.

A national survey of nurse practitioners' patient satisfaction outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The research findings about nurse practitioner (NP) patient experiences (satisfaction) are limited to small sample sizes from local community clinics. No national studies with large sample sizes were found. PURPOSE: To analyze responses from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey and compare the patient experiences from four different provider categories. METHODS: Secondary data analysis was completed on survey responses from 53,885 patients. FINDINGS: In the sample, medical doctor providers were disproportionately represented in greater number than NPs, doctor of osteopathy, or physician assistant. Further analysis comparing patient experiences between providers revealed NP to be rated significantly higher than their colleagues. DISCUSSION: Recognizing the factors associated with patient satisfaction with their providers can lead to improvements in patient-provider interactions that can result in increased quality of care. CONCLUSION: Policy makers should find opportunities to employ NP in primary care settings and achieve greater patient satisfaction that can influence outcomes associated with patient-centered care initiatives.

Nurse practitioners' time on nonbillable activities.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: During the provision of patient care delivery, all providers, including nurse practitioners (NPs), spend some time in activities that are not reimbursable. Understanding these nonbillable activities is crucial to the economic viability and success of existing and projected practice models. This study explored and compared seven nonbillable activities occurring in the practices of NPs in various settings. METHODS: Using a nonexperimental, descriptive design, 509 NPs were surveyed about nonbillable activities encountered in daily practice. Binomial regression analyses and incidence rate ratios were used to interpret relationships between each variable and nonbillable time. CONCLUSIONS: Although not every variable had significance, there were significant differences found in the amount of time spent in certain nonbillable activities depending on workplace setting, number of support staff, and primary care provider role. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The uncertainty of health care reform, including reimbursement, provider shortage, and the expanding roles of NPs, requires a closer look at both billable and nonbillable care activities. Understanding how nonbillable time affects work efficiency, costs, and the value of NPs will allow NPs to influence future health care reimbursement policies and delivery care models.

College nursing faculty job satisfaction and retention: A national perspective.

The need for registered nurses in the United States continues to grow. To meet this need for increased numbers of nurses, recruitment and retention of qualified nurse educators has become a priority. In addition, the factors associated with nursing faculties' intent to stay have emerged as important considerations for administrators. The concepts of job satisfaction and intent to stay become vital to recruiting and retaining nursing faculty. In the past decade few empirical studies have been conducted on a national scale to address job satisfaction and intent to stay in academia. The purpose of this retrospective study is to analyze variables of relationships with nurse faculty job satisfaction and intent to stay from data collected throughout the United States. The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) survey was employed for the purposes of this study. Over 1350 nurse educators were included in the survey. The findings support a variety of modifiable variables that are viewed as important by nursing faculty. The strongest relationship was found to be institutional leadership. The implications can inform academic administrators seeking to retain nursing faculty.

Academic nursing administrators' workplace satisfaction and intent to stay.

BACKGROUND: In nursing education, the academic administrator is critical given the multitude of challenges associated with program delivery (e.g., shortages of faculty, strict and changing regulations for program accreditation, and the sheer demand for more nurses). Unfortunately, with the focus on recruiting and retaining new novice faculty to teach students, academic nursing administrators have been overlooked in recent studies. PURPOSE: As such, this study aims to explore the workplace satisfaction and intent to stay of academic nursing administrators by considering their relation to a variety of demographic and work related variables. METHODS: A secondary data source was used from the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE). One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Fisher's Least Significant Difference tests and t-tests were used in the analysis. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Results indicate that several modifiable work factors positively relate to both job satisfaction and intent to stay.

The Southern states: NPs made an impact in rural and healthcare shortage areas.

PURPOSE: To investigate the distribution of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the U.S. Southern region with a focus on rural and underserved areas. Described in this study are the NP characteristics and their workforce distribution relative to rural and health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). METHOD: A questionnaire was administered to NPs in 12 Southern states. Other data sources included (a) the Health Resources and Services Administration, which identified HPSAs; and (b) data from the U.S. Census Bureau, to distinguish urban and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 72% of NPs worked in HPSAs and less than half of the NPs worked in the rural area. Family NPs were more likely to practice in rural and HPSAs. Employment in primary care was more likely to occur in rural and HPSAs. Racial diversity was almost nonexistent within the NP population. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: This research does demonstrate that NPs are practicing in rural and underserved areas as conceived decades ago, but there is still a great demand and gap to fill. To optimize their effectiveness, NPs need to practice to the full extent of their education. Additionally, more research and strategies to help diversify the workforce is needed.

Minimal changes and missed opportunities: a decade look at nurse practitioners in the lower Mississippi River Delta states.

The U.S. southern region has one of most socioeconomically deprived and poorest health care outcomes in the county. The aims of this study were to determine changes of nurse practitioners (NPs) and their practice in lower Mississippi River Delta over the past decade and to examine differences of NPs' employment in health professional storage areas (HPSAs) and rural areas. A nonexperimental quantitative survey technique was used in the years 2000 and 2010. Other data sources included Health Resources and Services Administration that identified HPSA and the U.S. Census Bureau used to distinguish urban and rural areas. NPs are younger, and more are graduates of master's and doctorate degrees, but they are not reflective of the race they serve. Approximately, 25% of NPs worked in HPSA, and 50% worked in the rural area both in 2000 and in 2010. This proportion has remained blatantly steady during the past decade. Employment in rural health centers and family practice as a specialty declined; however, self-employment was on the rise. Nursing schools and health care institutions should be collaborating to develop plans and implementation strategies to recruit and retain NPs in the Mississippi River Delta rural and HPSAs.

Advanced Practice Nurses' Meaningful use of electronic health records.

AIM: The aim of this study was to better understand electronic health records (EHRs) use among advanced practice nurses (APNs). BACKGROUND: EHRs are becoming an integral part of the U.S. health care system. Federal law was enacted with provisions that offer incentive payments to eligible professionals and hospitals who use EHRs. Little is known about APNs' EHR use. METHODS: A quantitative, non-experimental research design was used. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: Two thirds of the APNs were EHR-user. Statistically significant differences between EHR-users and non-users were found in age categories, practice setting, practice size, and in tasks related to imagery report review and care coordination. EHR use was associated with higher odds of practicing in hospital, and employment longevity, but with decreased odds in the number of patients seen per day. CONCLUSIONS: With one third of the APNs being EHR non-users, more efforts are needed to help guide the adoption and diffusion of EHRs in practice.

Educational strategies to enhance placement and retention of nurse practitioners in rural Arkansas.

PURPOSE: To examine the factors and incentives enhancing nurse practitioners' (NPs') long-term employment in rural areas. DATA SOURCE: The participants were 121 master's prepared or higher educated NPs located in rural Arkansas. A survey about role preparation and employment factors was mailed to the participants. CONCLUSIONS: We found that 10% of all respondents were not currently employed in the role of an NP. The majority of rural-employed NPs had didactic content focusing on rural-practice opportunities and engaged in rural practicums while in graduate school. Rural NPs were much more likely to have graduated from research-intensive universities. Nearly 90% of NPs reported they were somewhat to very well prepared for practice in rural Arkansas. IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION: The shortage of health care providers remains one of the most irresolvable problems in the U.S. health care delivery system. Compounding the shortage is the unequal distribution of health care practitioners in rural areas. Evidence indicates that NP students engaged in rural clinical practicums were more likely to practice in rural areas. In light of this information, nurse educators should expand the NP educational process beyond rurally located practicums to deliver the entire educational process to the NP students' rural homes.

Nurse practitioners providing health care to rural and underserved areas in four Mississippi Delta states.

The aims of the study were to examine the nurse practitioners' (NP) workplace distribution, the relationship between the NPs' racial/ethnic characteristics, and the demographic characteristics of Mississippi Delta counties; and the NPs' practice in communities designated as health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). A total of 453 NPs from Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana returned surveys (42 per cent response rate). More than 50 per cent of the NPs worked in physician private practice or hospital/medical centers. Fifty-nine per cent of the NPs practiced in rural areas whereas 31 per cent practiced in HPSAs. The proportion of NPs practicing in rural settings in each state exceeded the percentage of the population identified as rural in each state; however, there were weak relationships between NPs' practice sites in counties with greater numbers of minorities or poor citizens. NPs had a tendency to work in counties with a higher percentage of poverty, black citizens, and sewers. NPs were less likely to work in counties with better-educated citizens and in counties with larger percentages of Hispanic citizens. African-American NPs tended to practice in counties with higher percentages of African-American citizens.