Critical Appraisal Of A Quantitative Research Report

The purpose of this paper is to create a concept analysis and identify a nursing concept that is within a nursing theory. A concept analysis is a process where concepts and their characteristics are researched and clarified. The eight steps on conducting a concept analysis include selection of a concept used in a nursing theory, identification of the aims or purposes of the analysis, identification of possible use of the selected concept, determination of defining attributes, identification of model cases, identification of antecedents and consequences, and lastly definition of empirical referents (Walker & Avant, 2011). The nursing concept selected for this paper is “empowerment” within the nursing profession. The nursing theory from which the empowerment concept was obtained is Kanter’s Theory on Structural Empowerment. In order to empower someone, an individual needs the tools and resources to feel powered. According to Laschinger, Gilbert, Smith, & Leslie (2010), Kanter defines power as the ability to mobilize information, resources and support to get things done in an organization. The role of management is to provide employees with power tools that empower them to maximize their ability to accomplish their work in a meaningful way. Kanter goes on to describe two primary empowerment structures in organizations, first being the structure of opportunity and second the structure of power. The structure of opportunity relates to job conditions that provide

Empowerment is a concept we all have heard at one time or another it is utilized in numerous professions and specialties. Analysis of this concept will further understanding of empowerment for nursing professionals in areas from research, theory development or practice. Exploring the attributes, consequences, implications and model cases of empowerment can assist the nursing professional in utilizing empowerment to its fullest potential. Within the scope of nursing, empowerment can be seen not purely as how it relates to the client, or the nurse but also how it relates to both the client and the nurse (Rodwell 1996). The Walker-Avant method was used to analyze this concept, as it was the most commonly seen in nursing literature (McEwen &

Empowering the nursing team allows them to feel important and become vested in the change process. Transformational leaders value employee contributions, promote quality work performance and job satisfaction (Utley, Anderson & Atwell, 2011). Empowering employees allows them to take responsibility and feel that they play an important role in accomplishing the set goal. This increases job enrichment and therefore affects job satisfaction. Another way to empower the nursing staff is to assist them in developing their own leadership skills. “Nurse managers should also consider developing junior staff’s leadership skills, particularly in situations where there are nursing shortages or where nurses are reluctant to undertake leadership roles. Leadership in nursing is critical to ensuring consistent standards across all aspects of care and building an environment for

Workload was described to be heavy, stressful, increase in intensity and overtime hours. As a result 25.8% consider resigning, 20.2% consider retiring and 25.6% consider leaving profession. Another problem that was observed at individual level was poor commitment to care. One of the factors that often limited nurses to provide therapeutic care was the change in nurse to patient ratio. As nurses assignments increase with the increase in the number of patients (i.e. 1 nurse to 6-8 patients) the quality of care provided decreases. Nurses’ ability to maintain safe environment became challenging. As part of caring, nurses also showed decreased amount of time spent with their patient. This eventually led to nurses being less satisfied with their current job. Self – efficacy was often low. Nurses felt that they did not have enough knowledge and skills required for professional practice (Newhouse, Hoffman, & Hairston, 2007). This often led into stressful transition and the ability to care for a patient even harder. New graduate nurses often had difficulty maintaining leadership role. They often felt that they did not have the ability to self advocate and raise their voice to be heard by others. They often feared that they would be over heard and that no one would listen to them (Mooney, 2007).

This study will be done to fullfill requirements for completion of the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Regis University, Denver, CO. The following information is an overview of the project: Can Empowered Nurses Decrease CAUTI rates?

Empowerment of individuals is important when planning care as this is the way in which a health or social care worker will encourage an individual to make decisions and take control of their own life. Empowerment is a process that builds a person's self-esteem and confidence in their ability to make decisions. This can also be linked to promotion of

Empowerment is when individuals are given greater control over decisions and actions that will affect their health. Empowerment is important when working in partnership within health and social care settings, as it can allow honest relationships to develop between service users and

The qualitative article being appraised is by Martin and Woods (2012) using the CASP tool qualitative framework (CASP 2013). These tools have been validated to ensure that studies can be assessed in a consistent way assessing the trustworthiness of the research article (Aveyard, 2014)

The purpose of the study as stated in the abstract was to test Kanter’s theory by examining relationships among structural empowerment, leader-member exchange (LMX) quality and nurses’ participation in personal knowledge transfer activities. The article demonstrates utilization of Kanter’s theory of structural empowerment will enhance morale within the work

For nurses, the workload and patient assignments are the most significant factors in their perception of their ability to provide quality care to their patients. Of course, this is directly related to nursing job satisfaction. Nursing is a career in which patient satisfaction and caregiver satisfaction go hand in hand. When the nurse is happy, he or she provides high quality care to the patient, which in turn makes the patient happy. In addition, when the patient is pleased with the care they are receiving, this makes the nurse happy and improves nurse job satisfaction.

and wherever needed” (IOM, 2010). The IOM report acknowledges the fact that more nurses are

Empowerment is an issue that is imperative to the change process. We touched on the idea of empowerment while exploring power, and politics in the workplace. Empowerment is important in regards to The Heart Of

Belizario, S. (2011, August). Inspiring change. Boosting patient satisfaction scores-and nurses’ morale. Nursing 2011, 41(8), 18-21. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.library.ohiou.edu/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000399591.81228.3e.

By recognizing that burnout is a serious problem that impacts an organization’s viability, an assembly of staff nurses, nursing supervisors, human resource staff, social services, nurse administrators, and a physician champion will be arranged to construct mission, objectives and strategies to help ameliorate the issues at hand. Researching literature on nursing burnout is essential so that the members of the task force has a solid grasp on potential underlying hardships contributing to nursing burnout within the facility as well as the financial effects on the organization. Furthermore, in order to determine a solution, the nurse’s work environment should be assessed (Nedd, 2006) and measured using the 26-item Brisbane Practice Environment Measure (B-PEM) (Flint, Farrugia, Courtney, & Webster, 2010). The B-PEM instrument was developed to measure nursing satisfaction within the work environment and the perceived facilities inadequacies (Flint et al. 2010; Hayes et al., 2014; Nedd, 2006). Next, the Conditions of Work Effectiveness - Questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II) will also be utilized to measure the nurses’ perceived access to the four job related empowerment structures: opportunity, information, support, and resources will be administered (Laschinger et al., 2003). Then nursing burnout will be assessed and analyzed by using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) which is a widely used instrument to assess burnout and is considered the gold standard due to its established

The theory of community empowerment is a middle range theory and was originally designed to improve the health of people in their communities. Like other nursing theories, this theory could easily be adapted to accommodate a different situation from its original intent. The theory contains three essential aspects in its framework: involvement, lay workers, and reciprocal health. This theory is designed to incorporate and empower everyone involved.