University of California Los Angeles, California

Northwest Hospital
Seattle, Washington

University of Washington Alumni Association

• Upenieks, V. (PI); Hester McLaws University of Washington Nursing Scholarship Award; The Interrelationship Between and Meaning of Power and Opportunity, Nursing Leadership, Organizational Characteristics of Magnet Institutions, and Clinical Nurse Job Satisfaction; (2001-2002).
  
  Specific aims of research study included: examining the differences among clinical nurses employed at magnet and non-magnet hospitals regarding their perceptions of job satisfaction and empowerment; and, providing an understanding of the nurse leader’s perceptions of both the value of his or her role in today’s health care setting.
  
  
• Upenieks, V. (PI); UCLA School of Nursing Intramural Grant; Magnet Standards and Nursing Outcomes; (2004-2006).
  
  Specific aims of study include: to gain an understanding of nurse leaders’ perceptions of the impact of magnet status on professional nursing practice and the culture of the organization; and, registered nurses beliefs about the benefits and/or disadvantages of magnet designation.
  
  
• Upenieks, V. (PI); UCLA School of Nursing Intramural Grant; Mandated Staffing Ratios and Direct Care Requirements; (2005-present).
  
  Specific aims of study include: to gain an understanding of the feasibility and effectiveness of mandated staffing ratios and variability in nursing direct care requirements.
  
  
• Needleman, J. (PI), UCLA School of Public Health; Parkerton, P., UCLA School of Public Health; Pearson, M., RAND Cooperation; Upenieks, V., UCLA School of Nursing; The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) Phase II & III; (2004-present).
  
  The purpose of TCAB is to work with leading hospitals to develop and test multifaceted initiatives to improve the work environment on medical/surgical units, and thereby increase quality of patient care and nurse engagement. Change strategies focus on three aspects of improvement that can be implemented at the unit level: (1) organizational infrastructure (nursing leadership and management support); (2) process redesign (workflow efficiencies, job redefinition, use of technology to make nurses’ work more efficient); and (3) physical redesign (designated family space, noise reduction strategies, enhanced natural lighting, relocation of supplies).

1. Baxt, W., & Upenieks, V. (1990). The lack of the full correlation between the injury severity score and the resource needs of injured patients. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 19(12), 1396-1400.
   
   
2. Upenieks, V. (1998). Work sampling: An assessment tool utilized to increase nursing efficiency, Nursing Management, 20(4), 27-29.
   
   
3. Upenieks, V. V. (2000). The relationship of nursing unit-based practice models and job satisfaction, Journal of Nursing Administration, (30)6, 330-335.
   
   
4. Upenieks, V. V. (2002). Assessing differences in job satisfaction of nurses in magnet and non-magnet hospitals, Journal of Nursing Administration, 32(11), 564-576.
   
   
5. Upenieks, V. V. (2002). What constitutes successful leadership: A qualitative approach utilizing Kanter’s Theory of Organizational Behavior. Journal of Nursing Administration, 32(12), 622-632.
   
   
6. Upenieks, V. V. (2003). Recruitment and retention strategies: A magnet hospital prevention model. Nursing Economics, 21(1), 7-13.
   
   
7. Upenieks, V. V. (2003). What’s the attraction to magnet hospitals? Nursing Management, 34(2), 43-44.
   
   
8. Upenieks, V. V. (2003). Leadership success and role worth in today’s acute inpatient environment. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 27(2), 140-152.
   
   
9. Upenieks, V. V. (2003). The interrelationship between organizational characteristics of magnet hospitals, nursing leadership, and nursing job satisfaction. The Health Care Manager, 22 (2), 83-98.
   
   
10. Upenieks, V. V. (2003). What constitutes effective leadership: Perceptions of magnet and nonmagnet nurse leaders. Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(9), 456-467.
    
    
11. Upenieks, V.V. & Abelew, S. (2006). The magnet designation process: A qualitative approach using Donabedian’s conceptual framework. The Health Care Manager, 25(3), 1-11.
    
    
12. Upenieks, V.V., Akhavan, J., Kotlerman, J., Esser, J. & Ngo, M. (2007). Value-added care: A new way of assessing nursing staffing ratios and workload variability. Journal of Nursing Administration, 37(5), 243-251.
    
    
13. Upenieks, V.V., Kotlerman, J., Akhavan, J., Esser, J. & Ngo, M.J. (2007). Assessing Nursing Staffing Ratios: Variability in Workload Intensity. Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, 8(1), 7-19.
    
    
14. Person, M., Upenieks, V., Yee, T. & Needleman, J. (2008). Spreading Nursing Unit Innovation in Large Hospital Systems. Journal of Nursing Administration, 38(3), 146-151.
    
    
15. Upenieks, V.V., Akhavan, J. & Kotlerman, J. (2008). Value-added care: A paradigm shift in patient care delivery. Nursing Economics, in press: August 2008.
    
    
16. Upenieks, V., Needleman, J., Soban, L., Pearson, M., Parkerton, P. & Yee, T. (2008). The relationship between the volume and type of Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB) innovations and changes in nurse vitality. Journal of Nursing Administration, in press: September 2008.
    
    
17. Upenieks, V.V. & Sitterding, M. (2008). Achieving Magnet Redesignation: A Framework for Cultural Change. Journal of Nursing Administration, in press: October 2008.