Decision making of nurses practicing in intensive care in Canada, Finland, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, and the United States

Lauri, Sirkka; Salanterä, Sanna; Callister, Lynn Clark; Harrisson, Sheila; Kdppeli, Sylvia; MacLeod, Martha

« Previous Next »Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care
Volume 27, Issue 2 , Pages 133-142, March 1998

Decision making of nurses practicing in intensive care in Canada, Finland, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, and the United States

Sirkka Lauri, RN, PhD
- Reprint requests: Sirkka Lauri, RN, PhD, University of Turku, Department of Nursing, Turku 20014 Finland
- Department of Nursing, University of Turku Turku, Finland
- Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City, USA
- University of Ulster Ulster, Northern Ireland
- University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Manitoba Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Sanna Salanterä, RN, MNSc
- Department of Nursing, University of Turku Turku, Finland
- Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City, USA
- University of Ulster Ulster, Northern Ireland
- University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Manitoba Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Lynn Clark Callister, RN, PhD
- Department of Nursing, University of Turku Turku, Finland
- Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City, USA
- University of Ulster Ulster, Northern Ireland
- University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Manitoba Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Sheila Harrisson, RN, PhD
- Department of Nursing, University of Turku Turku, Finland
- Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City, USA
- University of Ulster Ulster, Northern Ireland
- University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Manitoba Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Sylvia Kdppeli, RN, PhD
- Department of Nursing, University of Turku Turku, Finland
- Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City, USA
- University of Ulster Ulster, Northern Ireland
- University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Manitoba Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
Martha MacLeod, RN, PhD
- Department of Nursing, University of Turku Turku, Finland
- Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City, USA
- University of Ulster Ulster, Northern Ireland
- University Hospital of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
- University of Manitoba Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

In this study, our intention was to describe the decision making of nurses practicing in intensive care, and the differences of nurses' decision making in Canada, Finland, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, and the United States. The instrument used in the study was a 56-item Likert-type questionnaire that has been used in previous studies and has proved to be a reliable tool. The target group comprised a nonrandom sample of nurses (N = 314) from five countries. The samples are not representative; therefore, the results in these cases cannot be generalized. The results showed that the decision making of nurses practicing in intensive care was broadly based, and that there were some country differences in data collection, problem definition, and planning. In contrast, decision making related to the implementation and evaluation of nursing is quite similar in the different countries. Canada and the United States on the one hand, and Finland, Northern Ireland, and Switzerland on the other, showed more similarities with each other in data collection, problem definition, and nursing planning related to decision making. Neither experience nor nurse's knowledge structure was associated with different decision-making approaches.

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