To ensure quality patient care hospitals invest in nursing intellectual capital by allocating financial, human and material resources for nurses to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to provide safe patient care. This study’s purpose was to test selected propositions of the middle-range theory of nursing intellectual capital which provides a conceptualization of the influence of nurses’ knowledge, skills and experience (nursing human capital) to patient and organizational outcomes. The theory was systematically developed after a critical review of the literature. It proposes that nursing human capital (registered nurses’ experience, and knowledge and skills acquired from continuing professional development including university courses, conferences, workshops, in-services, specialty certification) is related to variables within the work environment (nurse staffing, employer support for nurse continuing professional development), which in turn, is associated with the quality of patient care (adverse events) and the recruitment and retention of nurses. The theory also proposes that nursing structural capital, nursing knowledge available within practice guidelines, is associated with the quality of patient care. A cross-sectional design was used to test the proposed relationships
Volume Issue IRJMSH online ISSN 2277 – 9809 QUALITY OF PATIENTS’ HEALTHCARE IN NURSING PROFESSION JAMUNA RANI R Abstract To ensure quality patient care hospitals invest in nursing intellectual capital by allocating financial, human and material resources for nurses to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to provide safe patient care This study’s purpose was to test selected propositions of the middle-range theory of nursing intellectual capital which provides a conceptualization of the influence of nurses’ knowledge, skills and experience (nursing human capital) to patient and organizational outcomes The theory was systematically developed after a critical review of the literature It proposes that nursing human capital (registered nurses’ experience, and knowledge and skills acquired from continuing professional development including university courses, conferences, workshops, in-services, specialty certification) is related to variables within the work environment (nurse staffing, employer support for nurse continuing professional development), which in turn, is associated with the quality of patient care (adverse events) and the recruitment and retention of nurses The theory also proposes that nursing structural capital, nursing knowledge available within practice guidelines, is associated with the quality of patient care A cross-sectional design was used to test the proposed relationships INTRODUCTION Hospitals invest in nursing human capital, the knowledge, skills and experience of nurses, by providing resources in the form of continuing professional development (CPD) to encourage nurses to develop their knowledge and skills, ensure good quality patient care, retain a competent workforce and recruit nurses To ensure quality patient care hospitals invest in nursing intellectual capital by allocating financial, human and material resources for nurses to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to provide safe patient care This study’s purpose was to test selected propositions of the middle-range theory of nursing intellectual capital which provides a conceptualization of the influence of nurses’ knowledge, skills and experience (nursing human capital) to patient and organizational outcomes STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The lack of empirical evidence to support the development of nursing human capital through nurse participation in CPD may lead to administrative decisions which further reduce or eliminate educational resources and opportunities for nurses to develop their human capital With limited opportunities to develop their human capital, nurses may not acquire the necessary International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity http:www.irjmsh.com Page 290 IRJMSH Volume Issue online ISSN 2277 – 9809 information required to make the complex decisions needed to provide good quality and safe patient care OBJECTIVE Study about the nursing professions and patients’ care as they in the hospitals, dispensaries etc To increase the academic preparation of their staff, unit managers can adjust their hiring practices to include a greater proportion of baccalaureate prepared RNs, reimburse RNs for the expenses associated with advancing their academic education To determine the relationship between nurses’ knowledge, skills and experience and the quality of patient care Developing a better understanding of how nursing human capital is associated with patient and organizational outcomes provides administrators with evidence to guide their decision making related to the allocation of budgets and the management of human resources for the CPD of nurses PURPOSE OF STUDY The main focus of this study is on examining the contribution of nursing human capital to the quality of patient care HYPOTHESIS Nursing units with high levels of nurse staffing will have high levels of human capital, which in turn, will have high levels of quality of patient care and high recruitment and retention outcomes Nursing units with high levels of employer support for nurse CPD will have high levels of human capital, which in turn, will have high levels of quality of patient care and high RN recruitment and retention SIGNIFICANT OF STUDY This study focuses on the nurses’ contribution for the best quality of patients care After the study of this research thesis we would come to know how nurses may be very helpful in good quality of patients care NEED OF THE STUDY Factors contributing to the need to examine the relationship of nursing human capital (registered nurses’ experience, and knowledge and skills acquired from CPD) to quality of patient care and recruitment and retention outcomes This study is evaluating the nurses’ capital in patients care International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity http:www.irjmsh.com Page 291 Volume Issue IRJMSH online ISSN 2277 – 9809 SCOPE OF STUDY An inexperienced nursing workforce in specialty areas is concerning as nurses in these areas are expected to quickly acquire increasingly complex skills, such as the insertion of arterial catheters and autonomously make difficult clinical decisions such as triaging patients in emergency rooms under stressful working conditions Nurses are not often exposed to these types of clinical situations or able to master complex clinical skills during their basic education Without the benefit of educational resources and decision-making support from more experienced nurses, junior nurses may not be acquiring the necessary human capital required to practice competently and therefore they may be putting patients’ safety at risk Hence this study would enhance the scope of practices for nurses METHODOLOGY The purpose of the study was to empirically test the propositions of the middle-range nursing intellectual capital theory and its ability to determine under what conditions the nurses’ knowledge, skills and experience are associated with the quality of patient care and RN recruitment and retention within acute care hospitals In this chapter the research design including the setting and sample, description of the empirical indicators, procedures for data collection, statistical analysis and protection of human subjects are discussed Design A descriptive-correlation cross-sectional design was used to determine the hypothesized direct and indirect associations of nursing human capital to the quality of patient care and RN recruitment and retention Data were collected from two sources: Hospital databases, and A short survey of unit managers The 23 study variables were assessed for their occurrence at the hospital inpatient unit-level within a fiscal year The study took place at acute care hospitals in South India Thirteen acute care hospitals in the two provinces accessible to the researcher were approached to participate in the study 10 RESULT It was also found that the proportion of RNs with degrees and the proportion of RNs with specialty certification are directly associated with the quality of patient care (hospital-acquired infections) on a unit International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity http:www.irjmsh.com Page 292 IRJMSH Volume Issue online ISSN 2277 – 9809 11 REFERENCES Books with single Author Abruzzese, R.S (1996) Evaluation in nursing staff development Nursing staff development: strategies for success 2nd Ed St Louis: Mosby Year Book Books with Two or more Authors Clarke, S.P., & Donaldson, N.E (2008) Nurse staffing and patient care quality and safety In Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses (AHRQ Publication No 08-0043) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk Journal Articles Baron, R.M., Kenny, D A (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182 Barriball, K.L., While, A.E., & Norman, I.J (1992) Continuing professional education for qualified nurses: A review of the literature Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17(9), 1129-1140 Miscellaneous Articles Blegen, M.A (2006) Patient safety in hospital acute care units Annual Review of Nursing Research, 2, 103-125 Magazine Articles Cohen, D & Prusak, L (2001) In good company: How social capital makes organizations work Boston: Harvard Business School Press Websites American Nurses Association (1999) Principles of Nurse Staffing American Nurses Association Retrieved from www.nursingworld.org International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity http:www.irjmsh.com Page 293