Checking the Pulse of Holistic and Culturally Competent Nursing Practice in Pennsylvania.

Traditionally, underrepresented racial and ethnic groups experience marginalization, leading to inequities and disparities in health and health care. A holistic approach to care delivery can help providers meet a culturally diverse patient population's unique healing needs. A systematic assessment of nurses' cultural competency practice was conducted in Pennsylvania to reveal opportunities and provide direction for holistic, culturally competent health care services. This exploratory cross-sectional descriptive study used the Cultural Competence Education and Awareness Survey (CCEAS) to examine cultural competence practices of registered nurses employed in the state of Pennsylvania. A total of 1246 registered nurses completed the survey. Respondents expressed a strong desire for cultural competency. Education and organizational infrastructure to facilitate cultural competency could be improved. Health care leaders and policy makers at all levels should explore opportunities to strengthen nurses' culturally competent practices through ongoing professional-development activities and enhanced organizational infrastructure.

Utilizing a scope and span of control tool to measure workload and determine supporting resources for nurse managers.

The scope and span of control of the nurse manager directly impact turnover, succession planning, and satisfaction. Measuring and benchmarking scope and span of control remain a challenge. An interprofessional team across an integrated health delivery system developed and implemented such a tool, which was used to determine the amount of operational and clerical support for managers. Since implementation, there has been a decrease in turnover and time to fill nurse manager positions.