Institute of Medicine. (2004.) Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses. Washington, DC.: The National Academies Press. Studies have shown that thousands of hospitalized Americans die each year, not because of disease or illness, but because of errors that occur while they are being cared for. This alarmingly statistic has been supported by a 2002 national survey where 42% of the American public reported having experienced an error related to their own care or of a family member. As a result, this issue has gained the attention of a variety of organizations as well as federal and state policy makers, and have encouraged more research on this issue, the dissemination of patient safety information and the support of new information technology to assist with health care delivery.
Shirey M., Ebright P., McDaniel A. (2008.) Sleepless in America: Nurse Managers Cope with Stress and...
J Nurs Adm., 38(3), 125-131. It appears that the performance expectations for nurse managers who practice in acute care hospitals may be unrealistic. In this article, the authors discuss interview data that show that as these expectations become more intense, so does the level of stress felt by the nurse managers. As a result, coping becomes more difficult and the entire well-being of nurse managers and the overall work environment are affected.
Shirey M. (2006.) Stress and Coping in Nurse Managers: Two Decades of Research. Nurs Econ., 24(4), 193-203, 211. The severity of the current nursing shortage is expected to reach as many as 800,000 RNs by 2020, and the implicated source of this decline is stress and overwork. Stress-related illnesses can cause health care and disability costs to rise and therefore it is has become a priority to create a more healthy work environment for nurse managers by…
