Jane M. Georges

Moral distress, compassion fatigue, and perceptions about medication errors in certified critical care nurses.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the previously untested relationships between moral distress, compassion fatigue, perceptions about medication errors, and nurse characteristics in a national sample of 205 certified critical care nurses. In addition, this study included a qualitative exploration of the phenomenon of medication errors in a smaller subset of certified critical care nurses. Results revealed statistically significant correlations between moral distress, compassion fatigue, and perceptions about medication errors in this group. Implications for critical care nurses seeking to create work environments conducive to the reduction of medication errors are explored.

Work-related burnout, job satisfaction, intent to leave, and nurse-assessed quality of care among travel nurses.

Objective: This research study examines work-related burnout, job satisfaction, nurse-assessed quality of care, and intent to leave in travel nurses, a population that has not been studied previously. Background: Travel nurses are frequently used to supplement nursing staff in acute care hospitals, especially in times of shortage-understanding their satisfaction with the job may further illuminate the problem of nurse job dissatisfaction in general. Methods: Ordinary least-squares regression analyses were used to examine the influence of nurse and workplace characteristics on work-related burnout, job satisfaction, intent to leave, and perceived quality of care. Results: Quality of care and job satisfaction were significantly influenced by whether a hospital held Magnet® designation. As the number of patients cared for increases, there was a significant increase in work-related burnout. Work-related burnout was also significantly lower for nurses working in California. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that different workplace characteristics influence the perceptions of quality of care provided at a hospital facility and the degree to which a nurse is either burned out or satisfied with his/her job.

Evidence of the unspeakable: biopower, compassion, and nursing.

This philosophical article utilizes the concept of “the Unspeakable,” referring to the creation of biopolitical spaces for nursing in which compassion is rendered severely diminished to impossible. The effect of the Unspeakable in shaping nursing practice is explored in contemporary health care. Local, autobiographical narratives are used to illustrate the effect of the Unspeakable on nursing in both the academic and clinical settings. Alternative strategies for resisting the Unspeakable and promoting compassion as an essential element of effective nursing practice are proposed.

Hospital nurse force theory: a perspective of nurse fatigue and patient harm.

This article is focused on the primary finding of the 2010 Institute of Medicine report asserting that nurses practice to the full extent of their education and training. An evolving theoretical perspective for hospital nursing practice is proposed as a basis for reaching this goal. This article describes the background and current factors influencing professional hospital nursing practice, presents a theoretical model for future research designed to optimize the power of hospital nursing practice, using a newly evolved concept of “nurse force,” and discusses the implications of nurse force theory on perspectives of hospital nurse fatigue and patient harm.

An ethics of testimony: prisoner nurses at Auschwitz.

This historical research report presents and analyzes 2 recently identified narratives of women who underwent sterilization experiments at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. A description of the historical and contextual background is presented in which involvement of the prisoner nurse occurred in the sterilization experiments. Using a critical feminist perspective, the ethics of nursing involvement are discussed in these experiments, with an emphasis on the political dimension. Salient implications are explored for contemporary nursing.

Research in conflict zones: implications for nurse researchers.

Using the example of a doctoral research study conducted in the Palestinian West Bank during December 2008 to January 2009, the implications for nurse researchers conducting research within armed conflict zones are described and analyzed. The philosophical implications for nurse researchers who are members of a displaced population being studied under conditions of violence are discussed. Instrumental and affective methodological implications are explored, with the identification of potential barriers and solutions for conducting research in this context.

An Emancipatory Theory of Compassion for Nursing

The purpose of this article was to critique and synthesize the trajectory of the work of Dr Jane Georges in Advances in Nursing Science over the past decade in the development of an emancipatory theory of compassion, with implications for contemporary nursing. Specifically, this article (1) summarizes and critiques the work in each stage of its development, describing missing elements at each stage and subsequent development of ideas built upon previous work, and (2) proposes future directions for the work, including the proposal of a theory of compassion within the emancipatory paradigm to guide further scholarly inquiry in nursing.

Correlates of Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Among Culturally Diverse Women with Depressive Symptomatology

Abstract Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important and often neglected comorbidity of pregnancy; left untreated, it can lead to serious health complications for the mother and developing fetus. Structured interviews were conducted to identify risk factors of PTSD among culturally diverse women with depressive symptomatology receiving perinatal services at community obstetric/gynecologic clinics. Women abused as adults, with two or more instances of trauma, greater trauma severity, insomnia, and low social support were more likely to present perinatal PTSD symptoms. Perinatal PTSD is prevalent and has the potential for chronicity. It is imperative healthcare providers recognize salient risk factors and integrate culturally sensitive screening, appropriate referral, and treatment services for perinatal PTSD.

Adjusting Bowel Regimens When Prescribing Opioids in Women Receiving Palliative Care in the Acute Care Setting

In palliative medicine, constipation is the third most common symptom after pain and anorexia, causing some patients to discontinue opioid therapy. Women experience higher incidence of constipation than men. The prevalence of infrequent bowel movements (<3 times/wk) and adherence to an established bowel regimen among women receiving opioids were studied. Referral to the palliative care team decreased the prevalence of infrequent bowel movements from 72% to 45%, and algorithm adherence increased from 38% to 78%. Education of oncology nurses decreased the prevalence of infrequent bowel movements among patients with cancer from 71% to 60%, and algorithm adherence increased from 0% to 10%. Patients benefit from stool softeners and stimulants when receiving opioids.