Preparedness assessment for managing disasters among nurses in an international setting: Implications for nurses.

BACKGROUND: The increasing frequency of disastrous incidents emphasizes on the need of an instant and efficient healthcare services. This study assesses the level of preparedness among nurses in Medina regarding the disaster management, with respect to their knowledge. METHODS: Cross-sectional study was conducted among five government hospitals in Medina. A total of 330 (94.3%) full-time nurses participated in this study. Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) was used to collect data. Data was then analyzed through descriptive statistics, Levene's test (an independent sample t-test), and One-way ANOVA. RESULTS: Findings of the study indicated an average level of nurses' preparedness for disaster management (M = 3.37, SD 1.03). The difference found for all the preparedness dimensions with respect to level of nursing education was not significant except for familiarity with ethical issues and triage (p = 0.028), and familiarity with accessing critical resources (p = 0.05). Finally, a statistically significant difference was found in the total mean score of disaster preparedness dimensions between nurses who received training in disaster management and those who did not receive training (p ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the mean score from 10 factors the study concluded that majority of the nurses have an average level of preparedness for managing disaster situations. Therefore, providing proper education with respect to EPIQ dimensions to the nurses is thus suggested to increase their level of preparedness.

Identifying the experiences of new graduate nurses during the transition period to practice as a professional nurse.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of orientation programmes on new graduate nurses' transition periods. BACKGROUND: The transition of graduate nurses from students to the practising professional nurse is often found to be stressful. DESIGN: The study has employed a descriptive correlational design. METHODS: The data were collected from 95 participants who were working as registered nurses in public hospitals in Al-Bahah region. Questionnaire was used for collecting data which was based on the Casey-Fink graduate nurse experience survey. SPSS software was used to analyse the results. The methods of this study are in line with the STROBE checklist. RESULTS: The findings indicated statistically significant relationship between preceptor's support and communication leadership, professional satisfaction and job satisfaction, whereas an insignificant relationship was observed between preceptor's support and organising patient safety. The results also indicated that new graduate nurses were uncomfortable while performing different procedures/skills independently. CONCLUSION: The study implied instigation of the structured orientation programme to overcome the challenges faced by the new graduate nurses in their transition period. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The upsurge in the nurses' demand across Saudi Arabia makes this study highly relevant. It helps in optimising the transition experience of the nurses who are required to provide service in the acute sector.

Assessing Building Blocks for Patient Safety Culture-a Quantitative Assessment of Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The study analyzes staffs' perception of a safety culture and their knowledge of safety measures in the hospitals of Saudi Arabia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by considering six different public hospitals from Arar city, and by recruiting 503 nurses. Building blocks of patient safety culture were measured through survey questions. RESULTS: The highest positive rating (81%) was received by both "people support one another in this unit" and "in this unit, people treat each other with respect." Supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting patient safety was rated neutrally (n = 283; 56%) with an average mean score of 3.17±0.50, which suggested a neutral response by participants. Organizational learning, along with continuous improvement, was positively rated (n = 406; 81%) with an average mean score of 3.93±0.61. CONCLUSION: It demonstrated that participant nurses neither disagree nor agree on the level of patient safety culture prevailing in their hospital setting.