Eleanor J. Sullivan

Effective leadership and management in nursing

This text focuses on the principles, strategies, and techniques of nursing management as they apply to health care settings. The text goes beyond more traditional leadership and management theories and seeks to provide assistance for developing important skills such as communication, recruiting, selecting, motivation of staff, budgeting, risk management and managing conflict. Also included in the text is content on critical thinking, nursing care delivery, research, team building and case management. The authors have drawn on diverse expertise of 28 contributors to give a well-rounded perspective on aspects of nursing management.

Drug Use and Disciplinary Actions Among 300 Nurses

A survey of 300 U.S. nurses recovering from alcohol and other drug dependency was conducted to describe the effect of drug use on job performance and related disciplinary actions. Subjects reported experimentation with or dependence on a variety of drug categories. Many visible effects on job performance were reported but only 23% reported disciplinary action against their nursing licenses. Females and older nurses were more often dependent on alcohol, while younger nurses and males reported narcotic dependency with greater frequency. Narcotic use was significantly related to disciplinary action.

Nursing care of clients with substance abuse

Written by the leading expert in the field, this timely reference authoritatively discusses the complete cycle of abuse, treatment and recovery and focuses on both alcohol and drug abuse. Sullivan covers understanding substance abuse, nursing care of clients, and the fields challenges and opportunities.

A changing higher education environment

Radical changes in contemporary society are forcing colleges and universities to alter their time-honored traditions. Economics, demographics, and technology have forever changed the university of the past. The publics demand for accountability is challenging the relevancy of programs, the value of tenure, and the utility of research endeavors. Higher education must focus on serving societys needs to survive in the future. New structures, learning environments, and technologies must be used. To be successful, colleges and universities must be able to respond to opportunities as well as serve as catalysts to create a new vision, have a clear sense of the future, and be organized to energize and support the efforts to carry out the vision. University faculty and administrators must carefully deliberate about higher education--its purpose and its methods--and turn those ideas into action to meet societys needs now and into the next century.

Alcohol and drug abuse in nurses.

In this chapter, the research on alcohol and other drug abuse in nurses is reviewed. Using the (DSM-Hi-R) terminology, the apprqiate diagnostic terms for addictive disorders art psychmctiw substame abuse and psychoactive substmce depe&nce. Alcohol abuse, alcohol ~~, and abuse and dependence of specific drugs and dependence are included in these diaguwes (American Psychialxic Association, 1987). Dependence is dit i d y d e w as impaired control of substance use and continued use despite adverse consequences. A b w is defined as maladaptive patterns of substance use. In this chapter, the terms alcohol ztnd drug &use md dependence am used even though terminology was not always well d e M in the

Enhancing Nursing Competence with Substance Abusing Clients

Alcohol and other drug abuse, major threats to health, pose challenges for nurses in virtually every practice setting. Progress toward increasing nursing competence in the addictions field is being made through the development of practice standards and model curricula and through federal initiatives to increase faculty expertise in this field. The next critical step is to forge creative collaborative links with practice settings, links that assure that requisite learning is reality-based and in step with the future of health care. This article outlines progress toward improving nursing competence in substance abuse and suggests reality-based learning strategies as a future direction for this important goal for nursing education. Two successful models of collaboration between education and practice, designed to augment basic curriculum and improve nursing knowledge, skills and attitudes related to substance abuse, are described.

Faculty development and curriculum change in substance abuse.

What approaches can be used to upgrade nursing education and clinical skills in alcohol and drug abuse? The authors discuss the development of faculty and curricula in three schools of nursing. The programs described are part of a national initiative to ensure that health care professionals have basic knowledge and clinical skills in screening, assessment, intervention, and the appropriate use of referral systems for clients with substance abuse problems.

Associations Between Chemical Dependency and Sexual Problems in Nurses

Nurses recovering from chemical dependency were compared to nondependent nurses on their reports of sexual abuse, negative outcomes of sexual experiences, and homosexuality. A national sample of nurses responded to a mailed questionnaire examining demographic, educational, and professional variables related to chemical dependency. Differences were found between dependent and nondependent subjects regarding gender, family history of alcoholism, sexual trauma, and sexual functioning. This exploratory study raises many questions for future investigative efforts.

Speaking up; speaking out.

Everybody has a story to tell. Sharing your own experience of stress, anxiety, low mood or other mental health problems can be a powerful weapon in smashing stereotypes. This tool is designed to help you think about how to go about doing so in a safe and effective way. “Stories are really important. Stories get people to understand the real impact and see things from a different perspective. Stories give people courage to seek help and speak up. Stories create an environment for change.”