Mapping the organization: a bibliometric analysis of nurses' contributions to the literature.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to map an academic hospital's nursing contributions to the literature using bibliometric methods. BACKGROUND: Nurse executives continue to search for ways to share knowledge gained in the clinical setting. Manuscripts from clinical nurses must increase to advance the science of nursing practice and nursing administration. METHODS: A search of electronic databases and curriculum vitae provided bibliographic data for University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) nurses from 1990 to 2012. Bibliometric techniques were used for publication counts and citation analysis. A review of the infrastructure supporting scholarly work was undertaken. RESULTS: A total of 191 journal articles, 9 books, 103 book chapters, 5 manuals, and 46 manual chapters were published by UCH nurses. Author productivity steadily increased. Citation analysis indicated that the works published were used by others. The h-index for UCH authors was 25. The hospital culture, interdisciplinary practice, and the role of the research nurse scientists had an impact on study results.

Peer-to-peer nursing rounds and hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevalence in a surgical intensive care unit: a quality improvement project.

We conducted a quality improvement project in order to evaluate the effect of nurse-to-nurse bedside "rounding" as a strategy to decrease hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU) in a surgical intensive care unit. We instituted weekly peer-to-peer bedside skin rounds in a 17-bed surgical intensive care unit. Two nurses were identified as skin champions and trained by the hospital's certified WOC nurse to conduct skin rounds. The skin champion nurses conducted weekly peer-to-peer rounds that included discussions about key elements of our patients' skin status including current Braden Scale for Pressure Sore Risk score, and implementation of specific interventions related to subscale risk assessment. If a pressure ulcer was present, the current action plan was reevaluated for effectiveness. Quarterly HAPU prevalence studies were conducted from January 2008 to December 2010. Nineteen patients experienced a HAPU: 17 were located on the coccyx and 2 on the heel. Ten ulcers were classified as stage II, 3 PU were stage IV, 5 were deemed unstageable, and 1 was classified as a deep tissue injury. The frequency of preventive interventions rose during our quality improvement project. Specifically, the use of prevention surfaces increased 92%, repositioning increased 30%, nutrition interventions increased 77%, and moisture management increased 100%. Prior to focused nursing rounds, the highest HAPU prevalence rate was 27%. After implementing focused nursing rounds, HAPU rates trended down and were 0% for 3 consecutive quarters.

Stress and Coping Among Family Caregivers of Patients With a Destination Therapy Left Ventricular Assist Device: A Multicenter Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Family caregivers of patients with a destination therapy left ventricular assist device play a central and formalized role in postimplant care. We aimed to characterize longitudinal stress, predictors and correlates of stress, and coping processes among left ventricular assist device caregivers. METHODS: We performed a sequential, exploratory, mixed-methods study from 6 diverse left ventricular assist device programs. The primary outcome for the quantitative analysis was the Perceived Stress Scale-10 at 6 months (0-40). Based on the quantitative findings and guided by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, semistructured interviews explored causes of stress and coping processes. Integration was performed during the qualitative and interpretation phase. RESULTS: A total of 96 caregivers met inclusion criteria for quantitative analysis. Mean (SD) Perceived Stress Scale score was 14.3 (5.5) preimplant and 11.8 (6.9) at 6 months. Preimplant, only decreased preparedness for caregiving was associated with higher Perceived Stress Scale score at 6 months. At 6 months, increased caregiver depressive symptoms, decreased caregiver preparedness for caregiving, and lower patient quality of life were associated with higher Perceived Stress Scale score. Qualitative analysis of 25 caregivers revealed the causes of stress coalesced around 3 themes: (1) lack of preparedness to be a caregiver, (2) uniqueness of stress for the caregiver and patient situation, and (3) caregiving responsibilities physically and emotionally impacting caregivers. To cope with stress, most caregivers employed emotion-focused coping. CONCLUSIONS: In family caregivers of patients with a left ventricular assist device, higher perceived stress was associated with lower caregiver preparedness, higher caregiver depressive symptoms, and lower patient quality of life. Emotion-focused coping strategies were common for caregivers. Future work should better prepare caregivers for this role and support them through the caregiving experience. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02344576.

Mentoring Clinical Nurses to Write for Publication: Strategies for Success.

: Clinical nurses often find writing a challenge, but it's important to disseminate clinical practice initiatives that result in notable patient outcomes. Nurses have a responsibility to share what they do to improve patient care. The increased emphasis on the development and evaluation of evidence-based practice has made it necessary for nurses to share best practices that are associated with improved patient outcomes. We developed a six-month Writing for Publication workshop series designed to teach clinical nurses about the writing process and mentor them through the stages of preparing a manuscript to submit for publication. This successful program helped novice nurse authors become published professionals and had a great impact on our organization.