• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.81-95
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency and severity of role conflict experienced by nurses in the hospital. Methods: For this survey a self-report questionnaire on nurses' role conflict was used for data collection. Participants were 472 nurses in hospitals with over 500 beds. The questionnaire had 82 items classified into five categories (role activity, relationships between: nurse-nurse, nurse-patient/caregiver, nurse-doctor, and nurse-other department staff). The questionnaire was developed through focus group interviews with nurses according on their work experiences and literature reviews that were validated by the researchers. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for frequency and severity of nurses' role conflict. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ for the questionnaire was .95 (frequency), .97 (severity). Results: Mean score for nurses' role conflict was 1.64. The highest frequency for nurses' role conflict was in the category, relationship between nurse and patients or their families ($2.00{\pm}0.46$). The highest severity for nurses' role conflict was in the category; relationship between nurses and doctors ($1.96{\pm}0.56$). Conflict about nurses' role activity showed both high frequency ($1.99{\pm}0.39$) and severity ($1.95{\pm}0.43$). Conclusion: Results indicate a need to develop programs to improve interpersonal relationship so as to reduce role conflict and encourage nurses' professional satisfaction and achievement.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.271-284
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the process from occurrence of a hospital nurse's suicide to workers' compensation approval, responses of the parties involved, issues debated during approval deliberations, and significant policy changes resulting from the incident. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with involved parties and collected various documents, including newspaper articles, forum proceedings, and the agency report on determination of workers' compensation. Content analysis was performed on the collected data. Results: A Joint Task Force continuously reported its progress and findings through mass media such as newspaper, radio, and TV. These activities exerted pressure on a government agency to conduct an occupational disease review and significantly impacted the workers' compensation approval. The agency recognized associations between the hospital's inadequate nurse training and the suicide but did not confirm the excessive overtime and workplace harassment experienced by the nurse as causes of the suicide. This case's media coverage and impact resulted in a law prohibiting workplace harassment and a hospital system dedicating at least one nurse to training activities. Conclusions: This incident had a significant social impact as the first case of workers' compensation approval for a hospital nurse's suicide. However, the case produced no structural changes in nurses' working conditions such as heavy workloads.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.246-256
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the role of nurse specialist in the general hospital, and to provide basic data for the role management of nurse specialist. Method: The subjects were 38 staff nurses who worked in a medical, surgical, or other department in one general hospital. Survey tools were developed with criteria for a clinical nurse specialist by American Nurses Association(1986), Korean Nurses Association(2001), Kim(2005)'s research, and the nurse specialists' self job description. Validity of the tool was examined by 5 clinical nursing experts and nurse specialists. Data analysis was done by using SPSS Win 12.0 program. Result: The results of domains for the job of nurse specialists were 61.6% for direct clinical practice, 21.7% for education, 5.7% for consultation, 5.2% for management, 5.2% for research, and 1.1% for other domains. The results for the large classifications in nurse specialists domains were 57.6% for direct nursing practice in direct clinical practice domain, 89.1% for patient education in education domain, 57.5% for medical consultation in consultation domain, 57.5% for medical research in research domain, and 39.2% for documentation in management domain. Conclusion: This research revealed that direct clinical practice domain was higher than the other domains of research, education, and management. Discussion and development about the nurse specialist's various roles needs to be addressed on a continual basis.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.195-212
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• 2011

Objectives: This study investigates the relationship between nurse staffing levels and differences in patient outcomes in terms of average length of stay, in-hospital mortality rate and 30-day death rate in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a policy that differentiates fees for inpatients on the basis of nurse-to-bed ratios. Methods: We obtained information on inpatients from health insurance claims data published by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service(HIRA) in 2008, organizational factors(type of hospital, ownership) from the records of the hospital report system in 2008, and nurse staffing levels, which were graded on a scale of 1 to 7, from data compiled between December 15, 2007, and September 20, 2008. The data were segregated according to type of hospital and quarter and finally 3,517 records of 1,182 hospitals were analyzed using multi-level analysis. Results: The average length of stay in grade 1~6 hospitals was lower than that in grade 7 ones, but the difference was much below one day. No significant difference was found among different grades in tertiary hospitals. Further, variations in staffing levels did not result in any significant difference in the in-hospital mortality rate and 30-day death rate. Conclusions: High nurse staffing levels did not result in better patient outcomes compared with low staffing levels. We therefore recommend modifying the above nurse staffing policy so as to make it more effective in improving patient outcomes.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.137-161
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• 1997

This study purports to investigate the determinants of propensity to stay among nursing staff working at Korean hospitals. The independent variables contains three groups of determinants: environmental variables(job opportunity, spouse support, and parent support), psychological variables(met expectations, work involvement, positive affectivity, and negative affectivity), and structural variables(job autonomy, work unit control. routinization, supervisor support, coworker support, role ambiguity, role conflict, workload, resource inadequacy, distributive justice, promotional chances. job security, job hazards, and pay). The sample used in this study consisted of 329 nurses and 175 nurse aides from two university hospitals in Seoul and its surburbs. Data were collected with self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using path analysis. The results of this study indicate that: (1) the following variables, listed in order of size, have significant positive effects on propensity to stay among hospital nursing staff: job satisfaction, met expectations, supervisor support, job security, and positive affectivity, (2) the following variables, listed in order of size, have significant negative total effects on propensity to stay among hospital nursing staff: job opportunity, negative affectivity, and rutinization, (3) the model explains 44.2 percent of the variance in propensity to stay among nursing staff working at two university hospitals, and (4) managerial support for improving the job autonomy, distributive justice, and promotional opportunity for nurse aides are needed.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2004

Korean health insurance has adopted preliminary DRG payment system through 8 DRGs from 1997. But present DRG payment system gives economic incentives for hospitals to hire less nurse. This study was attempted to develope DRG adjust index to differentiate DRG price by nurse staffing level for nursing care quality. Method: We analyzed inpatient care cost by medical institute and developed DRG adjust index to differentiate DRG price by nurse staffing level. Results: Among same medical institute, inpatient care cost are very different according to hospital's nurse staffing level. In the case of casarean section, inpatient care cost of the 1st grade general hospital are more expensive 85,732won than the 6th grade hospital. The cost difference are 8.24% of total casarean section DRG price and 16.48% of DTG variable price. We developed DRG adjust index-a to apply DRG variable price and index-b to apply DRG total price for compensation cost difference of hospitals. Conclusions: DRG price adjust index will give economic incentive for hospitals to hire more nurse and improve nursing care quality.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.49-59
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate in-service education needs in order to develop clinical competence of critical care nurses', and to identify contents which have to include in-service education according to nurses' characteristics. Methods: Data was collected using Critical Care Nurse Job Analysis Tool that was modified by professional team. Collected data was analyzed using the SPSS program. Results: Total 148 critical care nurses, who had worked at adult intensive care unit of one tertiary hospital in Seoul, filled out questionnaire. The results showed the participants highly needed education about cardiological nursing practices such as ECMO, pacemaker, cardiac tamponade. And there were significant correlations among in-service educational needs and ICU careers, preceptors experience, and charge nurse experience. Conclusion: It will be necessary for better nursing to develop in-service education is based on critical care nurse's need and their characteristics. Especially, it is important to develop and provide in-service education programs, which consider ICU nurse's differences for their career ladder and nursing preceptors.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.17-27
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• 2017

Objective: This study was performed to find out the characteristics of nurse administrators and the relationships among their personality types, administrative work appropriateness and job satisfaction. Methods: Participants were 112 nurse administrators who had worked for more than 1 year in a hospital administrative position in Seoul and Gyeonggi area. Data were collected form April 14 to Jun 17, 2016, using questionnaires. For the analysis, SPSS WIN 20.0 program was used. Results: Personality types are related to job satisfaction and administrative work appropriateness. Among big-5 personality types, the neurotic level is negatively related to job satisfaction. However, extroversion is positively related. For the appropriateness of administrative work, the way of transfer and working department show no significant relations but age shows significant relation. The influence of age needs further study. Conclusion: The personalty types are related to nurse administratorsʼ job satisfaction and administrative work appropriateness.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.99-109
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was aimed to examine changes of hospital nurse staffing by hospital characteristics during 2008-2010. Methods: The study sample included 44 tertiary hospitals, 226 general hospitals, and 532 non-general hospitals that were operating during 2008-2010. Grade of nursing management fee was categorized from Grade 1(highest) to 6 (lowest) in tertiary hospitals, l or Grade 7 in general hospitals and non-general hospitals based on the nurse-to-bed ratio. For data analysis, ${\chi}^2$ and GEE were conducted. Results: For three years, the number of tertiary hospitals below Grade 2 were increased from 8 to 12, the number of those above Grade 4 were decreased from 15 to 6. The number of general hospitals above Grade 6 decreased from 123 to 86. Tertiary hospitals and general hospitals had more possibilities to improve nurse staffing grade than general hospital (OR 79.69, 95% CI 50.77~125.09, OR 11.25, 95% CI 8.15~15.53, respectively). Greater likelihood of improvement in grade of nursing management fee was found in university hospital or hospitals with 300 or more beds than other types of hospitals. Conclusion: Differentiating nurse staffing system by hospital type and increasing financial incentives according to the grades are needed to improve hospital nurse staffing.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.80-87
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• 1995

The critical problem of nurse scheduling in the hospital is determining the day-to -day shift assignments for each nurse for the specified period in a way that satisfies the given requirements of the hospital. As nurse scheduling involves many factors and requirements, manual scheduling requires much time and effort to produce an adequate schedule. A PC - based decision support system, developed in Turbo - C/sup ++/, for nurse scheduling was introduced. The system is composed of 4 sub-systems : 1) Entering basic information for each nursing unit : 2) Generation of an appropriate initial schedule and revised schedule for a given period, maximally satisfying each nurse's duty requests : 3) Provision of variety of statistical information, and 4) Help messages for each modular function. Icons and a mouse are used for easier graphic user interface and reducing the need for typing efforts. This system can help nurses develop quick and easy schedule generation and allow more time for the patient care.