Background Globally, flexible work arrangements - through the use of temporary nursing staff - are an important strategy for dealing with nursing shortages in hospitals. Objective The objective of the study was to determine the direct and indirect costs of agency nurses, as well as the advantages and the problems associated with agency nurse utilisation in two public sector hospitals in South A...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical application of national guidelines for neonatal nursing. DESIGN Questionnaire survey. SETTING Thirty-nine neonatal care units in Sweden. STUDY PARTICIPANTS Thirty-five of 39 nurse managers at all Swedish neonatal care units. INTERVENTION Thirteen clinical guidelines for neonatal nursing care were presented in 1997. Recommendations on evidence-based nur...

This descriptive study identified the profile and competencies of nurse managers of accredited hospitals from the their perspective and that of their hierarchical superiors. It was conducted in 14 hospitals certified by the National Organization of Accreditation and the Joint Commission International in São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Data were collected through two questionnaires that were applied to 2...