NHSRU’s newsletter is published twice a year and is available on the NHSRU website or by subscription. To unsubscribe to the newsletter, select the link “unsubscribe now” at the bottom of the email alert sent to your mailbox.

We’d Like To Hear From You

For bulletin suggestions or inquiries about our research, please leave us a comment or email us at noonant@mcmaster.ca and marianne.koh@utoronto.ca.

Under The Microscope

McMaster University Site

Nursing Graduate Guarantee Initiative

In 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) created the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG) Initiative as a financial incentive for employers to stimulate full time (FT) employment for Ontario new nursing graduates. The funding supports up to six months of employment and includes an extended orientation and mentorship program. Dr. Andrea Baumann and her research team have been evaluating the NGG Initiative since 2007. A mixed methods design was used including surveys of employers, new nursing graduates and union representatives, focus groups with employers and interviews with new nursing graduates. Over 18% of all healthcare employers (n=1198) in Ontario have participated in the NGG Initiative since its inception.  A total of 11,700 new nursing graduates obtained temporary FT orientation positions through the NGG Initiative. Survey results indicated that employers used the NGG Initiative as a recruitment strategy to hire new nursing graduates and support workforce planning within their organizations. Interview findings revealed that the extended orientation and mentorship supported new nursing graduate transition from school to work. The NGG Initiative offers one model of best practice in workforce integration of new nursing graduates. A study will be conducted on retention of new nursing graduates following the NGG Initiative.

Research Trends in Nurse Workforce Integration

A study was recently completed of a class of 281 nursing students who graduated from a university in the Canadian border community in south western Ontario in 2011.The purpose was to describe the pre-employment profile, employment goals, and intent to migrate of these new graduates. The response rate to the survey was 40.9 per cent (n = 115).  Preliminary results are described. The mean age of the participants was 25.7 years (Mdn 23; Min = 21; max = 53) and females composed 80.4 per cent (n= 86) of the sample. As would be expected in an undergraduate nursing program, the majority were single (72 per cent; n= 77) and had no children (84.1 per cent; n= 90).  The majority of graduates preferred to work in Canada (86 per cent; n= 98) although two thirds (66.1 per cent; n= 76) identified that they were considering migrating for work outside of Canada.  Lower value-expectancy scores for the migrant group, suggests that there is an increased probability that they would leave Canada to have their economic, professional, healthy work environment and autonomy job values met.

Internationally Educated Nurses: an Employer’s Guide

Dr. Andrea Baumann presenting at the IEN think tank.

The new web-based resource, Internationally Educated Nurses: an Employer’s Guide was launched earlier this month. With an aging workforce and the threat of nursing shortages, effective management of the recruitment, retention and integration of Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) has become every employer’s priority. Find sections on:

• The obstacles and advantages IENs represent in the workplace
• Case studies of organizational successes and leading practices
• A comprehensive literature review of policies, structure and strategies to create a harmonious workforce while optimizing the skills and experience of all
• Links to useful resources, including video clips of interviews with a number of healthcare organizations

This web-guide was produced in partnership by The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and the Nursing Health Services Research Unit (NHSRU), McMaster site and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. The research leads for the initiative are Dr. Andrea Baumann, Scientific Director, NHSRU and Dr. Jennifer Blythe, Senior Researcher, NHSRU.

The Changing Nature of Health Professionals’ Work: The Impact of Infectious Disease

Little is known about the impact of infectious disease on the changing nature of work for frontline nurses, healthcare executives, laboratory staff and infection control practitioners (ICPs) in community hospitals.  With an increase in the incidence of infectious disease in Ontario in the last decade, there has been implementation of new infection control policies and practices. This study explores the impact of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) on the changing nature of work of frontline nurses, healthcare executives, laboratory staff and infection control practitioners. The findings demonstrate work has changed for all health professionals because of (1) the continued increase in infectious diseases, (2) the proliferation of infection control policies and practices, (3) the increase in data management and data-based decisions, and (4) increased communication and connectivity required across disciplines. Watch for an e-mail alert for the Research in Action summary coming soon.

University of Toronto site:

Maintaining Ontario’s Nursing Workforce: Evaluating the Impact of Ontario’s Late Career Nurse Initiative (LCNI)

Since 2010, the NHSRU has led an evaluation of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) Late Career Nurse Initiative (LCNI).  Collaborating with over 60 healthcare organizations across Ontario, the NHSRU is collecting data from career nurses, nurse managers, and LCNI coordinators via interviews and surveys.

Over 3,000 surveys assessing nurse practice environment, organizational commitment, burnout and job satisfaction have been distributed to late career nurses across Ontario.  Early survey results point to trends in increasing participation in the LCNI, with 86% of past participants indicating they would recommend participation to other nurses. Interviews with nurse managers revealed concerns related to the MOHLTC’s proposal development and funding timelines, and similarly provided valuable insight on potential organizational benefits and areas for improvement in retention strategies. Descriptive analysis will be conducted on emerging areas of interest, such as nurse involvement in hospital affairs and a supervisory staff that is supportive of nurses. The NHSRU will continue to evaluate survey and interview results to determine the characteristics of successful LCNI projects and retention efforts.

Evaluate Nurse Staffing Changes, Quality Work Environments and Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care (HOBIC)

This study has been developed to collect the expert opinions of nurse executives and leaders across Canada on workplace interventions that effectively promote healthy work environments and positive nurse outcomes. The evaluation builds on the systematic literature review conducted by Doran, Almost and Mildon (2010) and applies a Delphi methodology to facilitate the development of consensus among the expert panel on the specific strategies believed to be most effective and most feasible in healthcare settings. Round 1 data collection of the online survey is complete and the responses are currently being used to develop a second round of surveys. The final results will provide consensus-driven recommendations on the best interventions for improving working conditions and maintaining healthy workplace environments for nurses.

Transition Patterns of Nurses Across Health Sectors (Specialist Nursing)

Specialist nursing roles may provide a career pathway suitable for retaining nurses who wish to pursue career advancement opportunities while maintaining a clinical practice focus. Utilizing the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) Registration Database, the study is exploring the types and characteristics of specialist nurses throughout Ontario, and the transition patterns of specialist nurses across health care sectors, including exit rates by sector and demography. The project will determine whether exit rates vary for nurses who identify within a specialist role compared to nurses who identify as general registered nurses.

Primary data is currently being collected from specialist and non-specialist nurses registered with both the Canadian Nurses Association and the CNO to explore issues influencing professional development, job satisfaction, and intention to remain in nursing across the two groups. This research is expected to have policy implications with regard to specialist nursing roles as a career pathway and strategies for retaining nurses in clinical practice roles within Ontario’s healthcare system.

The Scope of Practice for Nurses Working in Correctional Facilities in Ontario: A Pilot Study of an Educational Intervention to Optimize Practice

A two-year project is underway to examine the scope of practice and practice needs of nurses working in Ontario correctional facilities, and to tailor an educational intervention for practice development to the realities of this work environment.  The previous MOHLTC-funded study “Exploring Worklife Issues in Provincial Correctional Settings” generated significant interest and led to some revised processes for nurses working in correctional settings. In the current study, nurses and managers from three correctional facilities are being interviewed and surveyed about nurses’ scope of practice,  practice needs and factors that influence their ability to practice to their full scope. Based on the priorities identified by the nurses, an educational program will be developed and pilot tested at three correctional facilities.  Sites with access to a telemedicine network were selected as the initial focus of this project so that e-learning strategies could be used if appropriate. This study will generate information and innovative solutions to addressing practice and learning needs specific to correctional nurses.

New Publications

Latest Fact Sheets/Research in Action

McMaster University site:

Research in Action: Current Projects

Workforce Integration of New Nurses: Exploring Employment Goals, Expectations, and Intent to Migrate of Nursing Graduates in a Canadian Border City

Evidence Note on Workforce Integration

University of Toronto Site:

Research in Action: Completed Projects

Integration of Biophysiological Information with a Point-of-Care Decision Support System for Safer Patient Care

Latest Reports

Environmental Scan: Stakeholder Preferences for Dissemination

McMaster University Site:

Internationally Educated Nurses: An Employer’s Guide

Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today: Investing in Capacity Building for Nursing Health Services Research. Evaluation of the Undergraduate Student Research Internship Program at McMaster University

University of Toronto Site:

Home Care Nursing Health Human Resources: Building and Sustaining a Quality Nursing Workforce in Home and Community Care – Progress Report

Journal Articles

McMaster University site

Baumann, A., Hunsberger, M., & Crea-Arsenio, M. (In Press). Workforce Integration of New Graduate Nurses: Evaluation of a Health Human Resource Employment Policy. Healthcare Policy.

Freeman, M., Baumann, A., Blythe, J., Fisher, A., & Akhtar-Danesh, N. (In Press). Migration: A concept analysis from a nursing perspective. Journal of Advanced Nursing.

University of Toronto site:

Newman, K. & Doran, D. (in press). Critical care nurses’ information-seeking behaviour during an unfamiliar patient care task. Dynamics: The Official Journal of Critical Care Nurses.

Clarke, S.P. (2011, in press). The future of nursing workforce research [Guest Editorial]. Journal of Research in Nursing.

Doran, D.M., Mildon, B. & Clarke, S. (2011). Toward a national report card in nursing: a knowledge synthesis. Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership, 24(2), 38-57.

Meyer, R. M., & Clarke, S. P. (2011). Shifts with nurse understaffing and high patient churn linked to heightened inpatient mortality risk in a single site study. Commentary on: Needleman, J., Buerhaus, P., Pankratz, V.S., Leibson, C.L., Stevens, S.R., & Harris, M. (2011). Nurse staffing and inpatient hospital mortality. New England Journal of Medicine, 64(11), 1037-1045. Evidence Based Nursing. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1136/ebn.2011.100052.

What’s New?

Social Media Alert

The NHSRU has a twitter account as @NHSRU, sign-up as a follower and we will update you when our latest research is posted on www.nhsru.com

MOHLTC Showcase December 1, 2011

The NHSRU participated in the 2011 Health Research Showcase on December 1, 2011. The showcase is a learning and knowledge exchange opportunity for Ontario’s research community to explore leading-edge health research innovations and advance quality across the health care system. The audience for the event included senior ministry staff, senior staff from other areas of the Ontario Public Service, representatives from Local Health Integration Networks, research institutions and members of the broader Ontario health sector.

McMaster University site:

Investment in Health Research: A Strategy for Building Nursing Research Capacity in Ontario

The NHSRU McMaster site held an educational showcase and dialogue on Investment in Health Research: A Strategy for Building Nursing Research Capacity in Ontario on November 3, 2011.  The McMaster site of the Nursing Health Services Research Unit (NHSRU) did an evaluation on its unique undergraduate student intern model for research capacity building. Debra Bournes, Provincial Chief Nursing Officer was the keynote speaker.  Several of the past student interns participated on a panel to share how their experience as a student intern with the NHSRU influenced their career path.

Expo exhibit

The NHSRU McMaster site hosted an exhibit on the Internationally Educated Nurses Employer’s Guide, at Leading Healthcare Quality Summit & Innovations Expo on November 9th.  This year’s event focus was showcasing leadership in quality improvement in Ontario.

University of Toronto site:

Mobile Health Symposium: Imagine the Possibility of M-Health Technologies

Dr. Irmajean Bajnok giving a demonstration of the RNAO Best Practice Guidelines at the Mobile Health Technology Cafe.

Dr. Frank Knoefel and Dr. Rafik Goubran from Carleton University demonstrate their model of real-time transfer analysis from a sensor mat data on a BlackBerry device.

Dr. Diane Doran and the NHSRU hosted a one-day symposium on mobile health technologies on October 17, 2011. This event featured an interactive Technology Café for industry partners, health care providers and researchers to exchange information about mobile health innovations. Topics on mobile health addressed through a panel discussion and presentations included

• Development of intelligent home systems for elder care and health wellness
• Innovative technologies that enhance health and dignity of people with disabilities and their caregivers
• Adaptive tools for nurses and clinical applications

For full event recap and PowerPoint Presentations, visit the Mobile Health Symposium webpage.

The Canadian National Nursing Quality Report Initiative

The Canadian National Nursing Quality Report initiative is envisioned as a selected minimum set of input, process, and output indicators that can be collected nationally across the continuum of care. The indicators will be available through dashboard applications in healthcare institutions, and be benchmarked and used to influence policy directions for nursing to improve client outcomes in all care settings. In the fall of 2010, the Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses (ACEN) Leadership/Policy Committee made the decision to focus on nurse sensitive indicators to make explicit the contribution of nursing to quality health outcomes, as well as to envision a report card that could be used to formulate policy and examine the delivery of nursing services and the outcomes achieved by those services.

To date, funding proposals have been submitted for: 1) a project to apply a consensus building methodology on a set of nursing quality indicators for the National Nursing Quality Report in Canada, and to develop a dashboard template based on the indicators that achieved consensus; and 2) implement a national dashboard of nurse sensitive indicators and evaluate the use of these indicators to impact selected quality outcomes, with the ultimate goal of launching a National Nursing Quality Report in Canada that is cross sectoral.

Health Care Trends and Priorities Discussion Group

The NHSRU, under the lead of Deputy Director Dr. Sean Clarke, has initiated a health care trends and priorities discussion group to actively scan the environment to understand the future of Nursing Health Services Research. The group, consisting of fellow researchers and graduate students, meet periodically to share details on major publications or events attended that address the state of health care delivery and the health care workforce. This informal, high level discussion is expected to help inform the planning of new research projects and the dissemination of existing ones.

The NHSRU held a discussion group this November in conjunction with a site visit from the Provincial Chief Nursing Officer, Dr. Debra Bournes, and partner investigators from Queen’s University, the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto.

On The Road (presentations, webcasts, podcasts)

McMaster University site:

November 1, 2011. Andrea Baumann. Environment of Work and Care, Canada’s Virtual Forum on Patient Safety and Quality Improvement. Edmonton, Alberta.

November 17, 2011. The Changing Nature of Nursing Work:  Implications for Quality Care, Andrea Baumann is the Marion Woodward Lecturer, UBC, and School of Nursing

Dec. 15, 2011. Research to Policy Dialogues, Andrea Baumann will present Getting new nurses into the workforce in Ontario: Strategies for effective integration and  Diane Doran will present Health care delivered to your door: Investing in home care nursing to create a sustainable healthcare system.

University of Toronto site:

May 29- June 1, 2011. A Formative Evaluation of a Clinical Information System for Community Nursing. E-Health Conference. Toronto, Ontario.

June, 2011. Safety at Home: A Pan Canadian Home Care Safety Study. Canadian Patient Safety Institute. Presentation to Knowledge to Action Steering Committee. Ottawa, Ontario.

October, 2011. Social capital and relational coordination in outpatient clinics. International Nursing Administration Research Conference. Denver, CO

NHSRU’s newsletter is published twice a year and is available on the NHSRU website or by subscription. To unsubscribe to the newsletter, select the link “unsubscribe now” at the bottom of the email alert sent to your mailbox.

We’d Like To Hear From You

For bulletin suggestions or inquiries about our research, please leave us a comment or email us at noonant@mcmaster.ca and marianne.koh@utoronto.ca.

Under The Microscope

McMaster University site

Sustaining the Nursing Workforce in Northeastern Ontario

This study will describe the types of physical and psychosocial workplace stressors among registered nurses at Sudbury Regional Hospital (nurses received cross training), North Bay General Hospital, Sault Ste. Marie General Hospital and Timmins & District Hospital. The quality of work life and job stress experienced by nurses working in labour, delivery, and post-partum in selected Northeastern Ontario cities will be examined. Study findings will be used to inform stakeholders interested in improving the working conditions of health professionals in Northeastern urban areas. Watch for an announcement and e-mail alert about an upcoming NHSRU webcast on this topic and other emerging research evidence.

Research Trends in Nurse Workforce Integration

Findings from this study will describe the pre-employment profile, employment goals, and intent to migrate of a class of nursing students graduating in 2011 from a university in a Canadian border community. This study will contribute to an understanding of the intent of the individual nurse to migrate and how he/she arrives at this decision by weighing employment goals against the expectation of meeting them. The findings will contribute to an understanding of how successfully this group of new graduate nurses will be integrated (and retained) in the Canadian workforce.

Internationally Educated Nurses

Researchers at the NHSRU McMaster site are working on four projects aimed at having an impact on policy in Ontario. These include: A Framework for Integrating Internationally Educated Nurses into the Health Care Workforce initiative; Internationally Educated Nurses (IEN) and English as a Second Language (ESL), Nurse Integration Project Evaluation; Identifying the Characteristics of Effective Bridging Programs for Internationally Educated Nurses and Perceptions on Workforce Integration and the Experience of Internationally-Educated Nurses from the Philippines.

The first project will enhance the effective integration of internationally educated nurses (IENs) into the health care workforce through the creation, implementation, and evaluation of a leading practice guide for employers. The second, three year project is the integration of internationally educated nurses (IENS) and English as a Second Language (ESL) nurses into Hamilton Health Sciences by enhancing their communication, clinical and cultural competencies. The NHSRU McMaster Site is conducting the evaluation of the project. For the third project, the NHSRU collaborated with the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) to identify the Characteristics of Effective Bridging Programs for Internationally Educated Nurses. The recent funding to NHSRU will align with the larger Health Canada project by providing CASN with a systematic review of existing literature on bridging programs and a comprehensive inventory of these programs. Dr. Andrea Baumann is also working with student investigator Alvin Keng on his project on Internationally Educated Nurses from the Philippines in Ontario. Initial findings may aid organizations that work with IENs from the Philippines to transition and succeed in the Ontario healthcare system.

The 2010 Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (RPNAO) Study of Retention Factors and the Registered Practical Nurse (RPN)

Andrea Baumann is collaborating on the RPNAO study of retention factors and the RPN with Principal Investigator Dianne Martin and Co-Investigator Annette Weeres. This study looks at the factors that affect the retention of RPNs in the workplace and their ability to provide high quality care. It consists of three phases: survey, focus groups and nurse leader strategies to achieve recommendations. Six recommendations were developed to enhance collaboration and communication and to support a respectful culture that values nurses equally. Recommendations were presented in March 2011 at a nursing leadership conference, where a networking cafe provided the opportunity for nurse leaders to participate in the development of meaningful strategies to achieve the recommendations. All outcomes are currently under development for a final report.

University of Toronto site

Maintaining Ontario’s Nursing Workforce: Evaluating the Impact of Ontario’s Late Career Nurse Initiative (LCNI)

The NHSRU is currently leading a study to evaluate the Late Career Nurse Initiative (LCNI). This initiative, introduced by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) in 2004, includes the provision of funding to individual organizations that proposed a workable plan to implement .20 FTE to engage late career nurses in enriching employment opportunities that are less physically demanding than providing direct patient care in less demanding and more enriching employment activities. This research study will explore how participation in the Initiative influences late career nurse job satisfaction and feelings of organizational commitment, it will also look at the secondary benefits of the Initiative such as capacity building and improved patient care. Selected nurse managers across Ontario have been interviewed about their experiences managing the Initiative, highlighting successful proposal-writing strategies, perceived organizational benefits to participating in the LCNI, and areas for improvement in retention strategies. The next phase of this study includes surveying and interviewing late career nurses on their own experiences with the Initiative. It will explore characteristics of successful projects and retention efforts from a front-line perspective.

Home Care Nursing Health Human Resources: Building and Sustaining a Quality Nursing Workforce in Home and Community Care

This MOHLTC Applied Research Project in home care nursing is being conducted to inform policy decisions about effective strategies for attracting, retaining, and optimizing the utilization of RNs and RPNs in community practice settings. The study, comprised of two inter-related projects will generate information on priority issues within the nursing profession with a particular emphasis on innovations and development of healthy work environments specific to home care nurses. Project 1 focuses on the appropriate utilization and skill mix of community nursing resources for chronic disease populations. Project 2 is focused on promoting recruitment and retention of home health care nurses. The research findings will provide input into the development of an RN/RPN Utilization Toolkit for Home Care, evaluate the unique challenges of attracting and retaining early, mid, and late career nurses to the Home Care sector, and describe factors or policy initiatives that may be instrumental in attracting new graduates to community nursing as an employment choice. To date, researchers have completed the detailed demography of visiting Home Care nurses working in Ontario. Interviews with a sample of home care decision-makers are being conducted, and administration of surveys to a stratified sample of early, mid, and late career nurses is in progress.

Safety at Home: A Pan-Canadian Home Care Safety Study

While problems of patient safety are well documented in acute care settings, only limited data exist for patient safety issues among home care (HC) clients. This pan-Canadian study will involve a large national population-based sample. The study is comprised of 5 inter-related sub-projects that will collectively provide valid estimates of safety problems among HC clients and help develop new methodology. Research findings will describe the prevalence, magnitude, and types of adverse events in home, determine risk factors, and identify policies, practices, and tools that can reduce avoidable adverse events in home care. Sub-project one will include an integrative study of the international literature. Sub-project two will examine the prevalence and incidence of adverse events among the general home care (HC) population including the mental health and addiction population, the congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and Aboriginal sub-populations. Sub-project three will involve chart review and analysis of incident reports, while sub-project four will conduct root cause analysis. Care recipient and provider interviews will be undertaken in sub-project five. All sub-projects are currently underway.

New Publications

Latest Fact Sheet/ Research in Action

McMaster University site

Research In Action: Completed Projects Summary
Employment Integration of Nursing Graduates: Evaluation of a Provincial Policy Strategy, Nursing Graduate Guarantee 2009-2010.

Research In Action: Completed Projects Summary
A Q-Method Study of Effective Retention Strategies for Mid-Career Critical Care Nurses.

University of Toronto site

Research in Action: Current Projects
Maintaining Ontario’s Nursing Workforce: Evaluating the Impact of Ontario’s Late Career Nurse Initiative

Research in Action: Completed Projects
Linking BPGs Use and HOBIC Outcomes in the Community

Latest Reports

McMaster Site

Health Human Resource Series Number 28, Ergonomic Program Implementation Continuum (EPIC): Integration of Health and Safety – A Process Evaluation

University of Toronto Site

Increasing the Utilization of Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care
Toward a National Report Card in Nursing: A Knowledge Synthesis
Maintaining Ontario’s Nursing Workforce: Evaluating the Impact of Ontario’s Late Career Nurse Initiative

Journal Articles

McMaster University site

Akhtar-Danesh, N., Baumann, A., Kolotylo, C., Lawlor, Y., Tompkins, C. & Lee, R. (In Press). Perceptions of professionalism among nursing faculty and nursing students. Western Journal of Nursing Research.

Cameron, S., Armstrong-Stassen, M., Rajacich, D., & Freeman, M. (2010). Working in Canada or the United States: Perceptions of Canadian nurses living in a border community. Nursing Leadership, 23(3), 30-45.

Freeman, M., Baumann, A., Fisher, A., Blythe, J., & Akhtar-Danesh, N. (in press). An integrative review of the use of case study methodology in nurse migration. Applied Nursing Research.

Koren, I., Mian, O., & Rukholm, E. (2010). Integration of nurse practitioners into Ontario’s primary health care system: Variations across practice settings. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 42(2), 48-69.

Valaitis, R., Akhtar-Danesh, N., Brooks, F., Binks, S., & Semogas, D. (2011). Online communities of practice as a communication resource for community health nurses working with homeless persons. Journal of Advanced Nursing (June 2011), 67(6), pp. 1273-1284.

University of Toronto site

Aiken, L.H., Sloane, D.M., Clarke, S., Poghosyan, L., Cho, E., You, L., Finlayson, M., Kanai-Pak, M., Aungsuroch, Y. (In Press). Importance of work environments on hospital outcomes in 9 countries. International Journal of Quality in Health Care. [Accepted April 10, 2011]

Moreno-Casbas, T., Funtelsaz-Gallego, C., Gil de Miguel, A., González-María, E., Clarke, S.P. (In Press). Spanish nurses’ attitudes towards research and perceived barriers and facilitators of research utilization: A comparative survey of nurses with and without experience as principal investigators. Journal of Clinical Nursing. [Accepted November 2010.]

Meyer, R. M., O’Brien-Pallas, L., Doran, D., Streiner, D., Ferguson-Paré, M., & Duffield, C. (In Press). Front-line managers as boundary spanners: Effects of span and time on nurse supervision satisfaction. Journal of Nursing Management.

Trus, M., Suominen, T., Doran, D., Razbadauskas, A. (In Press). Nurses’ perceived work-related empowerment in Lithuanian context. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences.

Suominen, T., Harkonen, E., Rankinen, S., Kuokkanen, L., Kukkurainen, M., & Doran, D. (2011). Perceived organizational change and its connection to the work-related empowerment. Nursing Science, 99, 31(1), 4–9.

What’s New?

Environmental Scan

An environmental scan of NHSRU stakeholders will be used as a launching pad to engage users of evidence in the program of research. The scan identifies audience specific questions about NHSRU research and highlights dissemination vehicle preferences. A 15 question on-line stakeholder survey as well as interviews with seven nursing leaders was conducted in early 2011. All invited decision makers who participated in the interviews said they use NHSRU research evidence frequently to form policy agenda, support decisions, and inform membership. A full report including a summary of the on-line survey, interviews, and an inventory of priority nursing areas of interest, will be available soon.

Think Tank on the Effective Workforce Integration of Internationally Educated Nurses

Healthcare organization will learn how to successfully integrate Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) into the Health Care Workforce by attending a Think Tank this fall. A new, comprehensive guide about leading practices and policies has been developed. Participants are encouraged to discover the principles and strategies for leading practice learn about successful case studies and increase awareness of provincial and national resources available to employers and IENs. The following four sessions have been scheduled:

• London Session: Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 10:00am to 1:00pm EST
• Northern Ontario Webinar: Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 12:00pm to 2:00pm EST
• Toronto Session: Friday, September 23, 2011, 10:00am to 1:00pm EST
• Ottawa Session: Monday, September 26, 2011, 10:00am to 1:00pm EST

Ergonomic Program Implementation Continuum (EPIC): Integration of Health and Safety – A Process Evaluation

The Public Service Health and Safety Association (PSHSA), formerly the Ontario Safety Association for Community & Healthcare (OSACH), recently developed a unique approach to the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and slips, trips, and falls (STF) for staff, clients, and the public. The Ergonomic Program Implementation Continuum (EPIC) is the first of its kind in Ontario and provides vital information and guidance to employers and employees. The Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF) and PSHSA conducted a pilot project to evaluate EPIC as a “best practice in the health and community care sector.” It is hoped that findings from the process evaluation will enhance program implementation, as well as strengthen the ONF’s support of best practice interventions that will reduce the incidence of MSD and STF province wide. The outcome of the evaluation is to improve employee comfort and enhance the overall culture of safety and wellness in health and community organizations. EPIC was piloted in six sites across Ontario and evaluated over a 12-month period by investigators from the NHSRU McMaster site. The process evaluation examined the effectiveness of the program, which uses a participatory ergonomic framework.

Evidence on Tap – Expedited Knowledge Synthesis – Strategic Initiative Sub Grant – Change Towards Outcome-Based Performance Management funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Andrea Baumann is a co-investigator on this project led by Raisa Deber that identifies the use of change management strategies, including quality improvement tools that are needed to support the introduction of outcome-based performance management systems in jurisdictions comparable to Ontario. The research team was asked to look at the use of strategies in both public health sectors and larger health care delivery sectors (e.g., regional health authorities, hospital reform exercises, etc.) to see what has been tried, what works, and where the thinking is going. Representatives of our decision-making partner, the Public Health Practice Branch of the MOHLTC, have been briefed throughout the process of developing the knowledge synthesis plan, collecting information, and developing the report. They joined the research team twice in discussions held during 2010 at the University of Toronto. Their input was extremely valuable in ensuring that the report was responsive to their concerns. This project has also been discussed in the course of meetings about the linked research project on Approaches to Accountability in Public Health.

During the official launch of this study in November 2010, representatives of MOHLTC, Peel Public Health, and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) held a meeting and discussed performance measurement and management as an essential component of accountability. Emerging results from this knowledge synthesis were also shared in the course of informational interviews with seven senior key informants from two ministries, OAHPP and Public Health Units. On Friday, November 19, 2010, lead investigator Raisa Deber presented findings from this study at the monthly rounds of the Strategic Training Program in Public Health Policy. The audience included policy makers, practitioners, faculty and students. Deber was invited to provide advice to a working group on allocation of resources to public health units, during which they presented emerging findings. The final report: Change Towards Outcome Based Performance management An Expedited Synthesis, was recently submitted to CIHR. This report synthesizes what was learned about the introduction and use of outcome based performance management systems for public health organizations. The systematic literature review focused on characterizing outcome based performance management systems introduced and implemented in other jurisdictions for public health, and for other publicly financed health care programs.

The Pan-Canadian Health Human Resource Network (CHHRN)

Andrea Baumann presented ‘Human Resource Database Issues Across Disciplines and Sectors’, at the Pan-Canadian Health Human Resource Network (CHHRN) Kick Off event in Halifax on May 9, 2011. The CHHRN is comprised of national experts, researchers, and policy makers involved/interested in health human resource research, policy, and/or planning. The goal of the network is to gather, share, exchange and build capacity in high-quality health human resource research and to connect experts, researchers, and policy/decision makers in order to better coordinate research and support the development and implementation of high quality, evidence-based, HHR policies and best practices. Dr. Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, CIHR/Health Canada Research Chair in Health Human Resource Policy is Lead Coordinator of the newly established CHHRN. The kick off event included a series of short panel presentations with speakers presenting on some of the latest tools and innovations. Visit the CHHRN website to view the post consultation report and to join our online post-consultation discussion.

2011 Annual Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) Conference

Renewing Federalism, Improving Health Care: Can This Marriage Be Saved was the title of the 2011 Annual Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) Conference, May 9-12, 2011, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The NHSRU presented three posters including: Forecasting Nursing Turnover in Critical Care, Ergonomic Program Implementation Continuum (EPIC), and Integration of Health and Safety: A Process Evaluation and a Critical Care Nursing Workforce Profile 2007/2008. Andrea Baumann and her research team at the NHSRU McMaster Site also presented: The influence of a government stimulus package to increase nurse employment: Examining employer response.

University of Toronto site

Mobile Health Symposium: Imagine the Possibility of M-Health Technologies

Diane Doran and the NHSRU will be hosting a one-day symposium around mobile health technologies on October 17, 2011, at the University of Toronto’s Chestnut Residence and Conference Centre (89 Chestnut Street, Toronto). This event will feature guest speakers including health care clinicians and researchers from nursing, medicine, engineering, human geography, and computer science to explore the relevance of mobile health care solutions for promoting safer patient care. The symposium will also feature an interactive Technology Café to engage our current industry partners, researchers, and health care providers in knowledge exchange about the possibilities of mobile health innovations.

Visit the M-Health Symposium website for more event and registration information.

Toward a National Report Card in Nursing

The Academy of Canadian Executive Nurses (ACEN) is leading a new initiative to develop a national nursing report card with the Canadian Nurses Association and Canada Health Infoway, with funding from Health Canada. The NHSRU prepared a knowledge synthesis on the state of nursing sensitive indicators and nursing report cards. The knowledge synthesis was pre-circulated to all participants who attended the Think Tank “Toward a National Report Card”, held before the Nursing Leadership Conference in Montreal on February 13, 2011. Dr. Diane Doran also presented this knowledge synthesis to the Think Tank, which was attended by approximately 50 nurse leaders, policy makers, and researchers. As an outcome of the Montreal meeting, Dr. Doran and Dr. Karima Velji from Baycrest are co-leading a project to develop a critical pathway to advance the framework for national nursing quality indicators. The project team has developed a draft set of nursing sensitive indicators mapped to existing data sources in Canada. Currently a prospectus is being created to define the vision, goals, and framework of the nursing report card and identify potential funding sources to move the initiative forward.

Nancy Donaldson Guest Presentation: The Evolution of CALNOC: Nursing Indicator Data Leading the Quest for Patient Care Excellence

Nancy Donaldson (centre) with NHSRU University of Toronto site scientific director Diane Doran (right) and deputy director Sean Clark (left)

The NHSRU sponsored an educational event on March 23, 2011 featuring guest speaker Nancy Donaldson RN, DNSc, FAAN, Clinical Professor and Founding Director, Center for Nursing Research & Innovation, University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing. Dr. Donaldson served as the co-principal investigator for the Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes project (CALNOC). CALNOC is a nursing quality measurement research and development initiative that involves 300 hospitals, multiple states, and international partners. CALNOC has led the field in providing its member hospitals with customizable benchmarking reports for specific units. Dr. Donaldson’s presentation at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, outlined the history, mission, vision, measurement and reporting capacity of CALNOC, as well as future directions for the project. Implications for similar initiatives internationally were also discussed.

The NHSRU organized the CALNOC presentation to garner more information about nursing data systems and keep momentum toward developing a national nursing report card moving forward. NHSRU Deputy Director Sean Clarke introduced Donaldson to the more than 40 attendees, including Sandra McDonald Rencz, Executive Director of the Office of Nursing Policy, Health Policy Branch for Health Canada, and Nora Hammell, Director of Nursing Policy for the Canadian Nurses Association.

Symposium on the Contributions of Registered Nurses to Long-Term Care

NHSRU co-investigator Dr. Kathy McGilton organized an invitational two-day symposium on February 3 -4, 2011 in Toronto to discuss the contributions a registered nurse (RN) brings to long-term care (LTC). The symposium was co-hosted by the Toronto Rehabilitation and Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and funded by the MOHLTC. The symposium brought together 40 international, national, and local stakeholders to highlight the value of RNs in LTC and to develop strategies to develop sustainable roles in LTC nursing homes. Although stakeholders were from six different countries, they identified several similar key concerns, which were summarized into two major themes: (1) greater role clarification and delineation, and (2) enhanced gerontological and leadership nursing expertise. Outcomes based on residents’ needs sensitive to RN care were identified. Next steps include the development of evaluation criteria for these outcomes, and an international research project to test the framework. These recommendations will determine the infrastructure support and best care delivery models required to realize of the full scope of the RN role in LTC. Dr. McGilton is currently part of a LTC innovation expert panel for the Ontario Long-Term Care Association working to promote internal innovation, sector collaboration and system integration and transformation.

NHSRU Correctional Study Draws Attention

University of Toronto site Scientific Director Diane Doran and Joan Almost collaborated with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services to study the role and work environment of provincial correctional nurses in Ontario. The MOHLTC-funded study titled “Exploring Worklife Issues in Provincial Correctional Settings” examined nursing workplace environmental concerns and the impact of this work environment on nurse outcomes, and generate evidence about strategies for recruiting and retaining nurses in this unique sector. Practice changes resulting from this study include the revision of exit interview discussion points for nurses leaving correctional settings, and the creation of several working groups to explore themes identified in this study. The “U of T research shows workplace relationships are challenging for nurses working in prisons” news release distributed by the NHSRU University of Toronto site resulted in three original articles appearing in over 30 national media sites, including the National Post, MacLean, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, CBC and Montreal Gazette. Check out the “In the News” section of our redesigned website for media coverage of NHSRU research!

Mapping the Field: Nursing Scholarship in Health Human Resources

In honour of Dr. Linda O’Brien-Pallas’ retirement, the Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing is publishing a festschrift composed as a tribute to her many accomplishments in the field of nursing human resources. In 1990, O’Brien-Pallas co-founded the NHSRU with co-director Dr. Andrea Bauman. Mapping the field: Nursing scholarship in health human resources is an edited collection of papers from the spring 2010 festschrift in honour of O’Brien-Pallas that brings together the perspectives of leading scholars from around the world, including NHSRU directors Drs. Andrea Bauman, Diane Doran, and Sean Clarke. Click here to download a copy of this publication.

Nurse to Know

NHSRU, University of Toronto site, Scientific Director Dr. Diane Doran is featured as the “Nurse to Know” in the May issue of the Canadian Nurse magazine by the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). Be sure to check out this up close and personal profile of Diane.

On The Road
(presentations, webcasts, podcasts)

McMaster University site

February 9, 2011, A Framework for Integrating Internationally Educated Nurses into the Health Care Workforce, Ontario Hospital Association, Project Advisory Committee, Toronto.

March 25, 2011, It Takes a Village: Harnessing the power of community collaboration and in-house volunteers to bolster immigrant nurse recruitment and retention. Nursing Leadership Network Conference, Toronto March 24-25, 2011.

April 27-29, 2011, Workforce Integration of Internationally Educated Nurses: The Role of Bridging Programs, IEN National Conference for Educators and Supporters, Novotel Hotel in North York.

May 6, 2011, Ergonomic Program Implementation Continuum (EPIC): Integration of Health & Safety, A Process Evaluation, International Council of Nurses Conference, May 2-8, 2011 Lan Valeta, Malta.

University of Toronto site

January, 2011. Client Safety: The Home Care Context, Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand Brant CCA.

February 16, 2011. Trends, Evidence and Controversies in Nurse Staffing Models, Canadian Council for Practical Nurse Regulators Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC.

February, 2011. Towards a National Report Card in Nursing: A Knowledge Synthesis, Think Tank towards a National Report Card in Nursing, Nursing Leadership Conference, Montreal, QC.

March, 2011. Using nursing intelligencer enabled by technology to inform a quality report card on key nursing sensitive indicators, Panel discussion at the Nursing Leader eHealth Exchange, Toronto, ON.

April 5, 2011. Doing Well and Changing for the Better: Characteristics of Organizations That Improve, Safer Healthcare Now! Acute MI National Session. April 8, 2011. It’s Complicated: Truth and Myths in Nurse Staffing Research, 2011 Spring Conference, College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta, Calgary, AB.

April, 2011. Supporting Evidence-Based Practice through Information Technologies, Knowledge Translation Canada, Toronto, ON.

NHSRU’s newsletter is published twice a year and is available on the NHSRU website or by subscription. To unsubcribe to the newsletter, select the link “unsubscribe now” at the bottom of the email alert sent to your mailbox.

Under The Microscope

Program of Research

The Nursing Secretariat and Research Unit of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) are funding the new three year program of research entitled “Building and Sustaining the Nursing Workforce for Better Patient Outcomes”. Drs. Andrea Baumann and Diane Doran are the Scientific Directors of the new program of research which began October 1, 2009. The research program builds on the studies conducted by the Nursing Health Services Research Unit (NHSRU) and will consist of a core team of researchers at McMaster University and the University of Toronto. Funded by the Nursing Research Fund, the focus of the research program is the understanding that an effective workforce is essential for excellent patient care. The purpose of the program is to generate evidence through rigorous research to support decisions on how to best build and sustain the nursing workforce for better patient outcomes.

McMaster University site:

A Framework for Integrating Internationally Educated Nurses in to the Health Care Workforce

Andrea Baumann and her team at the McMaster site are partnering with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) to help foreign trained nurses integrate into the workforce. A research grant from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration is supporting the development of ‘A Framework for Integrating Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) into the Health Care workforce’. The guide will include best practice guidelines for healthcare employers of IENs.

Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG)

A three year evaluation of the provincial policy entitled the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG) demonstrates the effectiveness in integrating new graduates into the health care system (Baumann et al., 2008, 2009, 2010). The research demonstrated a continuous upward trend in full time (FT) employment for new graduates since the introduction of the NGG in 2007. The 2009-2010 new graduate survey data (Baumann, et al, 2010) was validated by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) annual membership statistics. The new member data showed a 71 per cent FT employment rate for the Registered Nurse (RN) category and a 36 per cent FT employment rate for the Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) category (CNO, 2010). In early 2010, the preliminary results of the new graduate survey indicated that FT employment for new graduate RNs was on a similar upward trend. (Baumann et al., 2010). However the results demonstrate that the full time employment for the RPNs has not been as consistent as the RN category. In summary, there is an upward trend in FT employment. A number of factors are considered when examining employment trends and workforce integration of new graduate nurses. The existing labour market conditions are key as well as the supply of graduating RNs and RPNs in any given year. There are 1198 potential health care employers in the province of Ontario, but there is considerable variation in the ability to participate in the employment initiative.

Longitudinal Employment Patterns and Trends that Impact on Workforce Planning

As patient care needs increase and the supply of workers shrinks, employers use a wide range of strategies to keep their work force viable and efficient. These approaches vary across sectors and affect the nature of workforce planning. Andrea Baumann and her team of researchers at the NHSRU McMaster site are collecting data to describe employment patterns and trends, identifying variability across sectors and geographic regions to analyze their impact on workforce planning.

University of Toronto site:

Home Care Nursing Health Human Resources: Building and Sustaining a Quality Nursing Workforce in Home and Community Care

This MOHLTC Applied Research project has been developed to generate evidence about effective strategies for recruiting and retaining home care nurses and sustaining home care nursing capacity in order to meet the health needs of Ontario’s diverse population. Findings from this study will assist with developing solutions for attracting nurses to under-resourced areas by improving the prospects for rewarding, long-term employment for home care nurses. The study, comprised of two inter-related projects will generate information on priority issues identified by both the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and individuals working within the nursing profession, with a particular emphasis on innovations and development of healthy work environments specific to home care nurses. The first project in this study explores the utilization and skill mix of community nursing resources for home care patients managing complex medical concerns such as diabetes, mental health, congestive heart failure, and Alzheimers while the second project will add knowledge about factors related to work life, supportive work environments, and innovative work arrangements in recruiting new graduates and retaining early, mid- career, and late career home care nurses.

The Relationship between Nurse Utilization Patterns and Health and Safety Outcomes for Chronic Disease Populations

Currently underway at the University of Toronto, this study is exploring the processes that impact patient safety outcomes in home care settings and inpatient mental health by investigating the relationship between nurse utilization and patient safety outcomes in these two environments. Researchers at the NHSRU have recently completed a detailed demography of the nurses working in inpatient psychiatry and over the next year will be building on this data with analyses that will provide much needed information on the relationship between established measures of nurse utilization and patient safety outcomes for individuals suffering from chronic illness and receiving inpatient psychiatry and home care nursing services. Findings from this study will move researchers and policy makers towards an understanding how treatment settings form an important bridge for a patient’s ultimate recovery or ability to return to a more independent level of functioning. Outcomes of this study also include the development of a database of nursing workforce and patient safety outcome variables that will allow for future investigations on these factors both longitudinally and across sectors.

Maintaining Ontario’s Nursing Workforce: Evaluating the Impact of Ontario’s Late Career Nursing Initiative (LCNI)

In 2004 the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term care introduced the Late Career Nurse Initiative (LCNI) to assist healthcare organizations stem the loss of Ontario’s late career nurses. This initiative involved the provision of funding to individual organizations that proposed a workable plan to implement a .20 FTE to engage the nurses in less demanding and more enriching employment activities. To determine the success of the LCNI towards meeting its objectives, the NHSRU is now systematically evaluating the impact of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care LCNI on the retention of late career nurses in Ontario, as well as exploring the degree to which it is impacting nurses’ job satisfaction and feelings of organizational commitment. In addition to evaluating hard indicators of success (e.g., retention rates), the study is exploring the secondary benefits of the initiative, such as capacity building and its impact on patient care.

Career Transitions among Specialist Nursing Roles

There is little known about the number of nurse specialists currently working in Ontario, their qualifications, the characteristics of their roles, and the impact that specialist nursing practice roles have on nurses’ job satisfaction and retention. Specialist nursing roles may be a career pathway alternative for retaining nurses who are seeking an opportunity to pursue a rewarding career while maintaining a clinical practice focus. The outcomes of this current study include describing the transition patterns of specialist nurses working across the different healthcare sectors and in/out of the nursing profession. In addition to describing the transition patterns, the project will provide evidence for whether exit patterns and retention rates vary between specialist nurses and general class nurses. This study is expected to have policy implications with regard to specialist nursing roles as a career pathway and strategies for retaining nurses in clinical practice roles within Ontario health care system.

Increasing the Utilization of Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care

Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care (HOBIC), funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, is an initiative to measure outcomes relevant to the practice of nursing across sectors. Among other benefits, HOBIC information can be used by nurses to monitor the impact of care and ensure that patients are prepared for discharge. Dr. Diane Doran is currently leading a project to investigate factors that contribute to variation in HOBIC adoption and utilization, and to identifying strategies to improve utilization of HOBIC information for clinical care planning and health system improvement. Examination of the current evidence and consultation with experts will inform evidence-based practice change and facilitate HOBIC use in Ontario healthcare organizations.

New Publications

Latest Fact Sheets/Research in Action

McMaster site:

• Public Health Nurses in Ontario
• Home Health Nurses in Ontario: 1999-2010

University of Toronto site:

• Exploring Worklife Issues in Provincial Correctional Settings (5)
• Integration of Biophysiological Information with Point-of-Care Decision Support System for Safer Patient Care (1)
• The Emerging Role of PDAs in Evidence Based Practice: An Evaluation among Front Line Nurses (1)

Latest Reports

McMaster Site:

• Health Human Resources Series #27 Employment Integration of Nursing Graduates: Evaluation of a Provincial Policy Strategy, Nursing Graduate Guarantee 2009-2010

University of Toronto site:

• PDA Evalution, Phase 2: The Emerging Role of PDAs in Evidence Based Practice: An Evaluation Among Front Line Nurses
• Exploring Worklife Issues in Provincial Correctional Settings

Journal Articles

McMaster University site:

• Akhtar-Danesh, N., Valaitis, R., Baumann, A., Underwood, J., Schoenfeld, R., Martin-Misener, R., & Kolotylo, C. (2010) A questionnaire for assessing community health nurses’ learning needs. Western Journal of Nursing Research.
• Baumann, A., Blythe, J. & Ross, D. (May 2010). Internationally Educated Healthcare Workers: Integration and Retention. Health Care Papers.10(2), 8-20.
• Alameddine, M., Baumann, A., Onate, K. and Deber, R. (2010). Career Transitions of Inactive Nurses: A Registration Database Analysis (1993-2006). International journal of nursing studies (in press).

University of Toronto site:

• Doran, D., Paterson, J., Clark, C., Srivastava, R., Goering, P. N., Kushniruk, A. W., Bajnok, I., Nagle, L., Almost, J., & Carryer, J. (2010, in press). A Pilot Study of an Electronic Inter-Professional Evidence Based Care Planning Tool for Clients with Mental Health Problems and Addictions. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing. Early View, 2010 March.
• Di Pietro, T.L., Doran, DM., McArthur, G. (2010). Supportive decision-making at the point-of-care. Refinement of a case-based reasoning application for use in nursing practice. Computers, Informatics, Nursing 28(4):235-40.
• Doran, D.M., Haynes, R.B., Kushniruk, A., Straus, S., McGillis Hall, L., Dubrowski, A., Di Pietro, T., Newman, K., Almost, J., Nguyen, H., Carryer, J., & Jedras, D. (2010). Supporting evidence-based practice through information technologies. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing 7(1):4-15.

What’s New?

Redesigned NHSRU Website

Visit the newly designed NHSRU website for the latest nursing research evidence. The new website will include new features such as publication search, calendar of events, and research in action highlighting current and recently completed projects.

NHSRU Annual Research Forum

The NHSRU held an invitational Research to Policy Forum on November 22, 2010. The presentations entitled “Increasing Access to Care for Individuals with Mental Health Problems: A Workforce Profile of Nurses Working in Inpatient Mental Health Settings” and “Employment Uptake of New Graduates and Internationally Educated Nurses – A Case for Workforce Integration,” followed with a discussion to address these emerging issues. The annual event is hosted by the NHSRU, the Nursing Secretariat and the Research Unit, MOHLTC. Please look for the report coming soon on www.nhsru.com

Festschrift in tribute to NHSRU co-founder Dr. Linda O’Brien Pallas

From right; Bloomberg Nursing Dean Sioban Nelson, guest of honour, Linda-Lee O'Brien-Pallas, RNAO E.D., Doris Grinspun and one of O'Brien-Pallas' students, Raquel Meyers PhD.

Dr. Linda O’Brien-Pallas, co-founder of the NHSRU and co-director from 1990 – 2009, was honored with a festschrift on May 3, 2010 as she prepares for her retirement. A festschrift is a scholarly symposium that provides the opportunity for leading researchers and scholars in a field to reflect on the contribution to the discipline of the honoured individual. Collegues and former students were present to recognize Dr. O’Brien-Pallas’ leadership and contributions in Health Human Resources. In addition to other prestigious presenters who have been impacted by Dr. O’Brien-Pallas’ work, co-founder and current scientific director of the NHSRU, McMaster site, Dr. Andrea Baumann, and current scientific director of the University of Toronto site, Dr. Diane Doran, presented on the topics of global health human resources and nursing sensitive outcomes respectively in tribute to the life work of Dr. O’Brien-Pallas. A publication featuring the collection of papers presented at the festschrift and a response from Dr. O’Brien-Pallas is close to completion.

$1 million awarded to NHSRU led research team to identify safety risks with care in homes

NHSRU Co-Scientific Director Dr. Diane Doran and a team of scientists from across Canada were awarded more than $1 million for research that will help protect the safety of over 900,000 Canadians who receive health care services in their homes every day. The Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), along with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Institutes of Health Services and Policy Research, Aging, Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, and Circulatory and Respiratory Health; The Change Foundation; and the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, awarded the funding to help generate new knowledge to help improve the safety of home care clients. Results of this research will be disseminated over the next two years under the direction of a knowledge exchange board consisting of nine organizations related to home care. The final report will be released in January of 2013 with the aim of informing change in policy, practice and behavior in the home care service setting. (View CPSI Social Media Release for more information)

NHSRU international symposium puts focus on health outcomes measurement

Dr. Dorothy Pringle introduced Dr. Diane Doran

Outcomes measurement, the result of changes in health status attributed to the health care provided, was the focus of an international symposium organized by the Nursing Health Services Research Unit, University of Toronto site. “Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care: A Foundation for Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Care” brought together over 120 national and international clinicians, health care managers, policy makers and researchers at the Toronto Reference Library on September 23 and 24, 2010. Speakers from across Canada and Australia, Ireland, and the United States, shared varied perspectives on the successes, challenges and future directions for outcomes measurement in healthcare. Presentations throughout the two-day event discussed future directions to integrate outcomes measurement with evidence-based practice in healthcare. Knowledge transfer and the adoption of use across healthcare sectors were also discussed as speakers addressed the challenges of applying research into effective practice.

On The Road (presentations, webcasts, podcasts)

McMaster University site:

• Baumann, A., Hunsberger, M., Idriss-Wheeler, D., & Crea-Arsenio, M. (2010, Jan 13) Evaluation of the Nursing Graduate Guarantee Employment and Employer Perspective. Presented to the New Graduate Guarantee Steering Committee, Toronto, ON.
• Baumann, A., Hunsberger, M., & Crea-Arsenio, M. (2010, March 30). Employment Patterns of RPNs. Presented to the New Graduate Guarantee Steering Committee. Toronto, ON.
• Fu, K., Ferris, E., & Baumann, A. (2010, March 25-26). Workforce Demand Forecasting Tool: HHR’s Crystal Ball? Nursing Leadership Network of Ontario (NLN) Conference entitled, “Leading with Confidence and Creativity, Toronto, ON.
• Baumann, A. (2010, April 22). A Framework for Integrating Internationally Educated Nurses into the Health Care Workforce – Proposed Research Plan. Presented to OHA team as a kickoff meeting for the project. Toronto, ON.
• Baumann, A. (2010, May 3). Better Data, Better Decisions The Quality of Workforce Information. Presented at Linda O’Brien-Pallas’ Festschrift being held at the The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. Toronto, ON.
• Hoda, F., Fu, K., Baumann, A. (2010, May) Workforce Demand Forecaster Tool: Health Human Resources Crystal Ball? (Podcast). Retrieved from http://oha.mediasite.com/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=5263fe41097046efb5655afc992def69
• Baumann, A., Crea-Arsenio, M., Idriss-Wheeler D., Hunsberger M., Blythe J. (2010, Sept 27) 70% Full-Time Nursing LHIN Engagement Initiative: Strategies to Advance FT Nurse Employment. Presented to the 70% Full-Time Nursing Employment Working Group, Toronto, ON.

University of Toronto site:

• Doran, D.M. (September 24, 2010).Outcomes Measurement for Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Patient Care. Presented at Health Outcomes for Better Information and Care… A Foundation for Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Care Symposium. Toronto, Canada.
• Doran, D.M. (2010, May 3). Nurse Sensitive Outcomes: A Foundation for Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Patient Care. Presented at Linda O’Brien-Pallas’ Festschrift being held at the The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. Toronto, ON.
• Doran, D.M. (March 24, 2010) Enhancing Evidence Based Practice through Tablet Computers and PDAs: An Evaluation Among Frontline Nurses. Presented at Registered Nurses of Ontario Leadership Forum.

We’d Like To Hear From You

Do you have a suggestion for us? Please leave us a comment or email us at noonant@mcmaster.ca and marianne.koh@utoronto.ca.

Summer 2008 edition
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NHSRU’s e-newsletter is published twice a year and is available on the NHSRU website or by subscription. If you would like to subscribe, please click here.

Spring 2006 edition
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Spring 2005 edition
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NHSRU’s e-newsletter is published twice a year and is available on the NHSRU website or by subscription. If you would like to subscribe, please click here.