Nursing attire: indicators of professionalism?

The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore the effect that current nursing attire has on the image of the nursing profession. A number of nurses and a nonnurse were interviewed to determine how attire affected their perception of today's nurses. The two research questions were as follows: (1) is the changing dress of nurses projecting a negative image to the public? and (2) What components of a nurse's apparel indicate professionalism? Content analysis was performed on transcriptions from the tape-recorded responses of a purposeful sample of health care workers: 12 registered nurses, 1 bachelor of nursing student, and 1 layperson. The responses for the first research question were not directly addressed by the participants. However, one overall theme emerged, which was labeled "I can't tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it." The main theme that emerged for the second research question was labeled "total package," with role identification and competency being related themes. As a result of this research, nursing administrators and other health care professionals could gain an understanding of the importance of nursing attire as an indicator of nursing professionalism. Future research needs to examine the same research questions with health care consumers in a variety of acute and community-based health care settings.

Teaching nursing research. Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods.

In the belief that graduate nursing students should be able to analyze, evaluate, and critique both qualitative and quantitative research methods and should be able to design their own research projects, two faculty members developed a two-course sequence integrating the two methods. The authors, each an expert in one of the methods, describe how they designed and co-taught these innovative courses.

Seeking information: where do pregnant women go?

As part of a larger investigation of health behaviors and beliefs during pregnancy, a sample of 529 women were asked to identify their major sources of information about what they should and should not do during their pregnancies. Health care providers and books were cited as first or second most important by the largest number of respondents. When associations between respondent characteristics and preferred information sources were explored, it was found that women of higher socioeconomic status (SES) relied more on books and less on family than did women of lower SES. In addition, having had a previous pregnancy was associated with greater use of one's self as an information source. Although provider characteristics were not associated with choice of information source, women who perceived more support from their providers viewed them as more important sources of information. A similar effect for family was found. Health locus of control beliefs also were related to the relative importance of selected sources of information, while general social support was not.

Career advancement of nurse executives: planned or accidental?

This exploratory study has examined the effect of selected characteristics on the career advancement patterns of nurse executives in service and educational settings. The findings are not consistently in agreement with those of other researchers. For example, Hall et al. found that nearly two-thirds of nursing deans had planned their careers to attain that position. In this study, however, eighty-three percent of the respondents indicated that they had not planned their career advancement, but had simply taken opportunities that had come their way. The influence of others was important in the career advancement of these administrators. Many individuals, including faculty and nursing service colleagues, nursing directors, deans, and non-nursing administrators supported the respondents' personal and professional development through role modeling, teaching skills, and encouragement. Deliberate career planning and education in administration were, for the most part, lacking. Although the sample is too small to generate general conclusions about the universe of nurse executives, this does suggest that it is not uncommon for deans and service administrators to learn necessary skills on the job.

Caring for older people: a challenge for nurse administrators.

The findings of this exploratory study emphasize the importance of communication between and among nurse administrators in various settings for patient education, staff development and coordination of services to provide continuity of care for older people. The nurse administrator in all settings is in a key position to seek internal and external funding for creative programs and establishing standards for care. This study has merely tapped the surface; much more research needs to be carried out, especially in nursing homes, to understand the complex health problems of older people.