| The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of nursing educators and nursing service administrators concerning the effects of DRG Prospective Payment to hospitals on nursing practice and education.;Survey research was utilized to investigate the perceptions of a specified population of Midwestern nursing educators and service administrators. The data collection instrument constructed was divided into two parts: (1) a checklist of personal and institutional profiles of respondents; and (2) a Likert scale for opinions on the effects of DRG Prospective Payment on nursing practice and education.;Questionnaires were distributed to a total of seventy-eight nursing deans and chairpersons and 289 directors of nursing service. Of the 367 questionnaires sent, 227 returns were useable, giving a sixty-one percent return. Since this research was descriptive in nature, interpretation of data included tabular analysis using chi-square.;Overall, data were characterized by agreement between the groups. Areas of strong agreement, chi-square .6 or above, on the effects of DRG Prospective Payment on nursing practice included: diversification of patient services within acute care hospitals; emphasis on financial accountability in nursing services; increasing use of alternative health care plans; specialization in nursing practice; an implied need for nursing service administrators to address the quality of working life; and need for inservice education.;Areas of statistically significant differences, chi-square .05 or below, between groups on nursing practice follows: patients were more acutely ill with complex conditions; centralization of health care administration and education of health science personnel in academic health centers; more business management expertise required for nursing service administrators; and case-mix management nursing information system.;Areas of strong agreement between the groups regarding the effects of DRG Prospective Payment on nursing education included: new graduates should present to employers with minimal job orientation needs; baccalaureate curricula should emphasize management skills, resource cost containment, and economics of health care delivery; and increased use of faculty joint-appointments.;Areas of statistically significant differences between groups follows: baccalaureate curricula should emphasize data collection, organization, and collaboration skills; nurses required advanced preparation in research; faculty have given little consideration to nursing home use as alternative student clinical learning sites. |
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