Samples and Data Collection

NR 439 Week 5 Graded Discussion Topic: Samples and Data Collection 1. Review the secondary data presented in the ANA Fast Facts and describe what the results say about this sample of the nursing workforce. According to the ANA Fast Facts article, there is a projected loss of 555,100 RNs due to retirement which would make the need of RNs be approximately 1.13 million by the year 2022. This article discusses the mean salaries of each level of nurses from RNs to NPs to Instructors as well as the locations where nurses receive the highest median salaries in metro areas 7 being in the east coast. Under the age category, they mention the average age of nurses is 50 years old, with 53% of nurses being older than 50. There has been an increase of licensure annually but the biggest growth was during with 58.3% from the prior 5 years. From the percentage of licensures only increased 22.8%. Nurses post-graduation have a higher chance of getting hired with a BSN or MSN than those who only have an associate’s degree. Nursing school applicants for BSN or graduate programs are also at a higher rate of being turned down for programs due to an insufficient number of educators available. 2. Describe the purpose and the intent of the ANA sharing these results? In turn, the instance of the increased need for nurses is going to occur, and facilities rather have nurses with a bachelor’s degree, however the ability for nurses to receive a higher level of education are restricted. The purpose of the ANA sharing these results to the nursing population as well as the public is to show the impending shortage of nurses that will ensue because the current population will soon retire and exit the workforce. I think the intent of this article is also to encourage nurses to pursue a path towards becoming educators to provide more availability in nursing programs and reduce the turndown rate. By encouraging nurses to become professors and share their knowledge, we can gain more new nurses and reduce the effects of this impending shortage. 3. The next process for our study is to collect data. The research design will indicate the best data to be collected. The tools that we use to collect data need to be reliable and valid. Define these terms with respect to research, and explain why they are important. In relation to research, the process of collecting data is essential to develop a valid result. Depending on the type of research being conducted, they could most likely be survey based but according to the Chamberlain week 5 lesson, “Variables must be expressed as numbers in order to analyze them statistically…” (Chamberlain, 2018). The term validity according to Houser is “the ability of an instrument to consistently measure what it is supposed to measure” while reliability is “a reflection of the consistency with which the instrument records the measure” (Houser, 2018, pg. 224) With regards to the tools utilized for data collection, “The reliability and validity of an instrument are the most important characteristics, and they should be documented in the research report. Using an existing instrument is desirable for its efficiency and the capacity to provide a comparison with existing studies” (Houser, 2018, pg. 224). With these tools, it would be ideal for controls to be conducted to evaluate consistency of data before utilizing the instrument during the study to ensure reliability and validity. 4. Consider data collection and measurement methods for your nursing clinical issue. Explain how you would collect data and what measurement methods you would use. For my nursing clinical issue of reducing non-action required alarms from occurring on a telemetry floor, the method of collecting data would be to observe the number of times the alarms went off during a one week period without modifications to the settings and document the frequency of how often they were instances of artifact or instances of Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). Then with the next week, we would modify methods of monitoring our telemetry monitors such as applying new leads and ensure placement is correct with each patient, and with certain rhythms that patients may be displaying we would tweak the preset alarm settings and see if there is a reduction of non-action required alarms. The modification of lead placement would likely reduce the amount of times the monitor alarmed for artifact and in relation to rhythms, tweaks such as lowering the heart rate threshold for patients with asymptomatic bradycardia from less than 60 to less than 50 would ensure that when the patient was a worrisome low, we would be notified and can alarm the physician. Then with monitoring the amount of times the monitor alarmed during this period of time, we could compare whether the monitor adjustments were beneficial or irrelevant to aiding in reduction of non-action required alarms. In the article Reducing Interruption Fatigue through Improved Alarm Support, they set alarms for the life threatening rhythms such as “asystole, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, extreme tachycardia, extreme bradycardia, apnea, and oxygen desaturation” (pg. 111). Ultimately, from the results I read, they were able to reduce the alarms up to 25% by altering the settings per patient. So hopefully, my study would result in the same way. References: Houser, J. (2018). Nursing research reading, using and creating evidence, (4th ed). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett. American Nurses Association. (2014). Fast facts: The nursing workforce 2014: Growth, salaries, education, demographics & trends. ANA. Jahrsdoerfer, M. (2016). Reducing Interruption Fatigue through Improved Alarm Support. Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, 50(2), 109-113.