Critique of Nursing Administration Journals and Current Trends

Critique of Nursing Administration Journals and Current Trends

Nursing administrators are expected to know how and where to find the answers to be effective leaders and to assist with their staff's needs. Having a well organized list of resources enables the administrator to find the answers when they are needed instead of having to search for an extended period of time. The following contains, in a chart format, pre-sought out resources that contain up to date, peer reviewed literature sources important for all nurse administrators to have accessible. An example of a current trend in nursing is violence in the workplace. This trend was found among a sample of the resources and will explain the importance of why a nurse administrator should stay current with the extensive information readily available.

Nursing Administration Journals

Nurse administrators need to stay current on the information available for their success as a leader. Table A list provides a list of five current journals specifically for the nurse administrator. These are widely known, peer reviewed journals available either in print an on-line format.

Current Trends in Nursing Administration Journals

Abusive and intimidating behaviors can be seen in the workplace and are a current topic throughout the nursing administrative literature. The terms used to describe this behavior in the workplace include lateral or horizontal violence, workplace incivility, workplace violence, bullying, aggression and even hazing. This type of behavior can be attributed to increased organizational cost, job dissatisfaction, loss of productivity and increased staff turnover. The following article summations are an example of how prominent this behavior is and the impact the authors found as they studied this negative behavior.

In Nursing Economics, Gates, Gillespie and Succop (2011) looked at how workplace violence affects nurses physically, mentally and their ability to care for patients. The authors cite several statistics that nursing administrators need to be aware of including that 1.7 million workers are injured annually in work related violence; in the emergency department 67% of the nurses surveyed had been assaulted by a patient within the last six months and the cost to the facility related to the assault was $31, 643 per nurse per event (Gates, Gillespie & Succop, 2011). These staggering statistics should be on a nursing administrator's mind. Violence in the workplace affects the person who is violated as well as their colleagues and the consequences can continue after the event, affecting the nurse's quality of life. Another concerning statistic is that about 12% of these nurses are battling the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and another 20% of the nurses have some symptoms of PTSD (Gates, Gillespie & Succop, 2011). Considering the issues related to staff turnover, absenteeism, mental and physical care of the assaulted nurse, this can negatively affect patient care.

Gates, Gillespie and Succop (2011) found other concerning information in their study related to the nurses cognitive demands following an episode of violence. The nurses reported being able to go back to work, however, they described having difficulty maintaining an emotional and cognitive focus after the event. The authors described these nurses as having difficulty communicating with their other patients and visitors following an incident as well as difficulty providing emotional support. Communication and emotional support are expected from a nurse.

The nurse administrator needs to be acutely aware of how the nurses are feeling and need to assess whether they are fit to care for others. Being able to debrief after a violent incident is crucial and yet few emergency department nurses report having participated in such an event (Gates, Gillespie & Succop, 2011). Debriefing events are a way for nurse leaders to be able to assess how their nurses are coping after a violent incident.

In the Journal of Nursing Administration, Lewis and Malecha (2011) investigated the impact of workplace incivility (WPI) on staff nurses related to cost and productivity. Their finding state that lost productivity related to WPI is $11,581 or on average about 20% of an annual salary per nurse and that most of the workplace incivility takes place with nurse leaders not aware of it happening (Lewis & Malecha, 2011). When an administrator takes into account that 20% of productivity is being lost related to a negative work environment, it should become a focus.

Important statistical information found in this study includes 84.8% of the nurses reported having experienced WPI and 36.7% indicated that they had instigated it toward another person in the last year (Lewis & Malecha, 2011). The authors suggest that nurse administrators should set an expectation and positive tone for the unit so WPI will decrease. Supportive and healthy environments are noted to have less incivility as the staff works together for the benefit of the patients. This is vital information for nursing leadership as "healthy work environments are linked to patient safety and quality" (Lewis & Malecha, 2011, p. 41).

In Nursing Administration Quarterly, Mahon and Nicotera (2011) explored how work place conflict leads to poor communication. They stated

...