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Rup (RNA-seq Usability Assessment Pipeline) - Quality Control for Bulk RNA-seq Experiments in Eukaryotes
Published on: November 7, 2025
Development and evaluation of an RN/RPN utilization toolkit.
Margaret Blastorah1, Kim Alvarado, Lenora Duhn
1Nursing Knowledge, Research and Innovation, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON. margaret.blastorah@sunnybrook.ca
Nursing Leadership (Toronto, Ont.)
|May 14, 2010
Summary
A new toolkit helps hospitals decide on Registered Nurse/Registered Practical Nurse (RN/RPN) staffing. The toolkit, particularly the Patient Care Needs Assessment, proved valid and reliable for informing staff mix decisions.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Workforce Management
- Healthcare Operations Research
- Clinical Staffing Models
Background:
- Optimizing nurse staffing is crucial for patient care quality and operational efficiency.
- Existing methods for determining Registered Nurse (RN) and Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) staff mix may lack standardized approaches.
- The College of Nurses of Ontario provides practice standards for RN and RPN utilization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a toolkit to support RN/RPN staff mix decision-making.
- To align staff mix decisions with the College of Nurses of Ontario's practice standards.
- To assess the validity, reliability, feasibility, and utility of the developed toolkit.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive exploratory study design was employed.
- The toolkit was tested across 36 medical/surgical units in seven acute care hospitals.
- Data collection involved surveys and focus groups with healthcare staff.
Main Results:
- The Patient Care Needs Assessment (PCNA) tool demonstrated validity and reliability.
- A consensus-based patient care review process was valued by participants.
- The Unit Environmental Profile (UEP) tool showed limited evidence of validity and utility.
- Nursing leaders reported confidence in using the PCNA for staff mix planning.
Conclusions:
- The toolkit effectively measures intended constructs and informs RN/RPN staff mix decisions.
- Further development and testing of the UEP tool are necessary.
- Future research should examine decision quality, data integration processes, and applicability in other healthcare sectors.
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