Sean Clarke

Faculty

Sean Clarke Headshot

Sean Clarke

FAAN PhD RN

Ursula Springer Professor in Nursing Leadership
Executive Vice Dean

1 212 998 5264

433 First Ave
New York, NY 10010
United States

Sean Clarke, RN, PhD, FAAN, is the executive vice dean and a professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. His research focuses on quality and safety issues in acute care hospitals, workforce issues, occupational safety of nurses, and the influences of economic and political factors on healthcare delivery and the nursing profession. He is perhaps best known for research on nurse staffing in hospitals and surveys of nurse working conditions. He has authored or co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and 30 book chapters. Clarke has been a principal investigator on projects supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and has served as a co-investigator on grants totaling over $10 million over the course of his career. In addition to teaching nursing, health policy, and research at the baccalaureate through doctoral levels, he also supervises PhD and postdoctoral research trainees and maintains a program of research with colleagues from a number of countries. 

Clarke has been a member of a variety of panels and boards related to health research and healthcare quality. He has had extensive involvement in peer review of research articles and grants and served on editorial boards of a number of scientific and professional journals in nursing and health services research. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and currently holds affiliate faculty appointments at the Université de Montréal and the University of Hong Kong.

Prior to joining the faculty at NYU Meyers, he was a professor and associate dean in the Undergraduate Program at the Connell School of Nursing, Boston College, from 2014–2018. He was also on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing for seven years, held an endowed chair in cardiovascular nursing at the University of Toronto, and was an endowed chair directing a special donor-funded set of projects intended to advance collaboration between the School of Nursing and its affiliated teaching hospitals at McGill University. He also co-directed nursing health services and workforce research groups in Philadelphia and Toronto and has been a consultant to clinicians, leaders, and professional associations on issues related to nursing and patient safety for almost two decades in Canada, the United States, and internationally. 

Clarke completed his basic clinical and research training in nursing at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, and pursued a nurse practitioner education and a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds BA and BS degrees from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, in his hometown of Ottawa, Canada.

PhD - McGill University School of Nursing
MS - McGill University School of Nursing
BA - Carleton University
BS - University of Ottawa

Nursing workforce
Adult health
Nursing administration
Health Policy

Creative Teaching Award, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto (2011)
Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Teaching, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (2007)
Junior Faculty Research Award, Biobehavioral and Health Sciences Division School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania (2006)
Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (2006)
Class of 1965 25th Reunion Term Chair, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing [for enduring contributions to undergraduate education] (2006)
American Academy of Nursing Media Award for coverage of Aiken, Clarke et al., JAMA, October 23/30, 2002 (2003)
Article of the Year, Academy Health [Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy] for Aiken, Clarke et al., JAMA, October 23/30, 2002 (2003)
American Academy of Nursing Media Award for coverage of Aiken, Clarke, et al. Health Affairs, 2001 (2002)
Induction into Sigma Theta Tau, Xi Chapter (1999)

Effects of hospital care environment on patient mortality and nurse outcomes

Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., Lake, E. T., & Cheney, T. (2009). Journal of Nursing Administration, 39(7), S45-S51. 10.1097/NNA.0b013e3181aeb4cf
Abstract
Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the net effects of nurse practice environments on nurse and patient outcomes after accounting for nurse staffing and education. Background: Staffing and education have welldocumented associations with patient outcomes, but evidence on the effect of care environments on outcomes has been more limited. Methods: Data from 10,184 nurses and 232,342 surgical patients in 168 Pennsylvania hospitals were analyzed. Care environments were measured using the practice environment scales of the Nursing Work Index. Outcomes included nurse job satisfaction, burnout, intent to leave, and reports of quality of care, as well as mortality and failure to rescue in patients. Results: Nurses reported more positive job experiences and fewer concerns with care quality, and patients had significantly lower risks of death and failure to rescue in hospitals with better care environments. Conclusion: Care environment elements must be optimized alongside nurse staffing and education to achieve high quality of care.

Factors affecting delivery of evidence-based procedural pain care in hospitalized neonates

Latimer, M. A., Johnston, C. C., Ritchie, J. A., Clarke, S. P., & Gilin, D. (2009). JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 38(2), 182-194. 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01007.x
Abstract
Abstract
Objective: To examine the effects of nurse, infant, and organizational factors on delivery of collaborative and evidence-based pain care by nurses. Design: Cross sectional. Setting: Two Level III neonatal intensive careunits in 2 large tertiary care centers in Canada. Participants: A convenience sample of 93 nurses completed survey data on procedures they performed on ill neonates. The 93 nurses performed a total of 170 pain producing procedures on 2 different shifts. Main Outcome: Nurse use of evidence-based protocols to manage procedure related pain using a scorecard of nurses' assessment, management, and documentation. Results: Procedural pain care was more likely to meet evidence-based criteria when nurse participants rated nurse-physician collaboration higher (odds ratio, 1.44; 95% confidence intervals 1.05-1.98), cared for higher care intensity infants (odds ratio, 1.21; 95% confidence intervals, 1.06-1.39), and experienced unexpected increases in work assignments (odds ratio, 1.55; 95% confidence intervals, 1.04-2.30). Nurses' knowledge about the protocols, educational preparation and experience were not significant predictors of evidence-based care for the most common procedures: heel lance and intravenous initiation. Conclusion: Nurse-physician collaboration and nurses' work assignments were more predictive of evidence-based care than infant and nurse factors. Nurses' knowledge regarding evidence-based care was not a predictor of implementation of protocols. In the final statistical modeling, collaboration with physicians, a variable amenable to intervention and further study, emerged as a strong predictor. The results highlight the complex issue of translating knowledge to practice, however, specific findings related to pain assessment and collaboration provide some direction for future practice and research initiatives.

Front-line management, staffing and nurse-doctor relationships as predictors of nurse and patient outcomes. A survey of Icelandic hospital nurses

Gunnarsdóttir, S., Clarke, S. P., Rafferty, A. M., & Nutbeam, D. (2009). International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(7), 920-927. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2006.11.007
Abstract
Abstract
Objective: To investigate aspects of nurses' work environments linked with job outcomes and assessments of quality of care in an Icelandic hospital. Background: Prior research suggests that poor working environments in hospitals significantly hinder retention of nurses and high quality patient care. On the other hand, hospitals with high retention rates (such as Magnet hospitals) show supportive management, professional autonomy, good inter-professional relations and nurse job satisfaction, reduced nurse burnout and improved quality of patient care. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 695 nurses at Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavík. Nurses' work environments were measured using the nursing work index-revised (NWI-R) and examined as predictors of job satisfaction, the Maslach burnout inventory (MBI) and nurse-assessed quality of patient care using linear and logistic regression approaches. Results: An Icelandic adaptation of the NWI-R showed a five-factor structure similar to that of Lake (2002). After controlling for nurses' personal characteristics, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion and nurse rated quality of care were found to be independently associated with perceptions of support from unit-level managers, staffing adequacy, and nurse-doctor relations. Conclusions: The NWI-R measures elements of hospital nurses' work environments that predict job outcomes and nurses' ratings of the quality of patient care in Iceland. Efforts to improve and maintain nurses' relations with nurse managers and doctors, as well as their perceptions of staffing adequacy, will likely improve nurse job satisfaction and employee retention, and may improve the quality of patient care.

Hospital nurse practice environment, burnout, job outcomes and quality of care: Test of a structural equation model

Van Bogaert, P., Meulemans, H., Clarke, S., Vermeyen, K., & Van De Heyning, P. (2009). Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(10), 2175-2185. 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05082.x
Abstract
Abstract
Aim. The aim of the study was to investigate relationships between nurse practice environment, burnout, job outcomes and nurse-assessed quality of care. Background. A growing line of work confirms that, in countries with distinctly different healthcare systems, nurses report similar shortcomings in their work environments and the quality of care in hospitals. Neither the specific work environment factors most involved in dissatisfaction, burnout and other negative job outcomes, and patient outcomes, nor the mechanisms tying nurse job outcomes to quality of care are well understood. Method. A Nurse Practice Environment and Outcome causal structure involving pathways between practice environment dimensions and outcome variables with components of burnout in a mediating position was developed. Survey data from 401 staff nurses across 31 units in two hospitals (including the Revised Nursing Work Index, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and job outcome and nurse-assessed quality of care variables) were used to test this model using structural equation modelling techniques. The data were collected from December 2006 to January 2007. Results. Goodness of fit statistics confirmed an improved model with burnout dimensions in mediating positions between nurse practice environment dimensions and both job outcomes and nurse-assessed quality of care, explaining 20% and 46% of variation in these two indicators, respectively. Conclusion. These findings suggest that hospital organizational properties, including nurse-physician relations, are related to quality of care assessments, and to the outcomes of job satisfaction and turnover intentions, with burnout dimensions appearing to play mediating roles. Additionally, a direct relationship between assessments of care quality and management at the unit level was observed.

Identifying thresholds for relationships between impacts of rationing of nursing care and nurse- and patient-reported outcomes in Swiss hospitals: A correlational study

Schubert, M., Clarke, S. P., Glass, T. R., Schaffert-Witvliet, B., & De Geest, S. (2009). International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(7), 884-893. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.10.008
Abstract
Abstract
Background: In the Rationing of Nursing Care in Switzerland Study, implicit rationing of care was the only factor consistently significantly associated with all six studied patient outcomes. These results highlight the importance of rationing as a new system factor regarding patient safety and quality of care. Since at least some rationing of care appears inevitable, it is important to identify the thresholds of its influences in order to minimize its negative effects on patient outcomes. Objectives: To describe the levels of implicit rationing of nursing care in a sample of Swiss acute care hospitals and to identify clinically meaningful thresholds of rationing. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional multi-center study. Settings: Five Swiss-German and three Swiss-French acute care hospitals. Participants: 1338 nurses and 779 patients. Methods: Implicit rationing of nursing care was measured using the newly developed Basel Extent of Rationing of Nursing Care (BERNCA) instrument. Other variables were measured using survey items from the International Hospital Outcomes Study battery. Data were summarized using appropriate descriptive measures, and logistic regression models were used to define a clinically meaningful rationing threshold level. Results: For the studied patient outcomes, identified rationing threshold levels varied from 0.5 (i.e., between 0 ('never') and 1 ('rarely') to 2 ('sometimes')). Three of the identified patient outcomes (nosocomial infections, pressure ulcers, and patient satisfaction) were particularly sensitive to rationing, showing negative consequences anywhere it was consistently reported (i.e., average BERNCA scores of 0.5 or above). In other cases, increases in negative outcomes were first observed from the level of 1 (average ratings of rarely). Conclusions: Rationing scores generated using the BERNCA instrument provide a clinically meaningful method for tracking the correlates of low resources or difficulties in resource allocation on patient outcomes. Thresholds identified here provide parameters for administrators to respond to whenever rationing reports exceed the determined level of '0.5' or '1'. Since even very low levels of rationing had negative consequences on three of the six studied outcomes, it is advisable to treat consistent evidence of any rationing as a significant threat to patient safety and quality of care.

Nurse staffing and patient outcomes in Belgian acute hospitals: Cross-sectional analysis of administrative data

Van Den Heede, K., Sermeus, W., Diya, L., Clarke, S. P., Lesaffre, E., Vleugels, A., & Aiken, L. H. (2009). International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(7), 928-939. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.05.007
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Studies have linked nurse staffing levels (number and skill mix) to several nurse-sensitive patient outcomes. However, evidence from European countries has been limited. Objectives: This study examines the association between nurse staffing levels (i.e. acuity-adjusted Nursing Hours per Patient Day, the proportion of registered nurses with a Bachelor's degree) and 10 different patient outcomes potentially sensitive to nursing care. Design-setting-participants: Cross-sectional analyses of linked data from the Belgian Nursing Minimum Dataset (general acute care and intensive care nursing units: n = 1403) and Belgian Hospital Discharge Dataset (general, orthopedic and vascular surgery patients: n = 260,923) of the year 2003 from all acute hospitals (n = 115). Methods: Logistic regression analyses, estimated by using a Generalized Estimation Equation Model, were used to study the association between nurse staffing and patient outcomes. Results: The mean acuity-adjusted Nursing Hours per Patient Day in Belgian hospitals was 2.62 (S.D. = 0.29). The variability in patient outcome rates between hospitals is considerable. The inter-quartile ranges for the 10 patient outcomes go from 0.35 for Deep Venous Thrombosis to 3.77 for failure-to-rescue. No significant association was found between the acuity-adjusted Nursing Hours per Patient Day, proportion of registered nurses with a Bachelor's degree and the selected patient outcomes. Conclusion: The absence of associations between hospital-level nurse staffing measures and patient outcomes should not be inferred as implying that nurse staffing does not have an impact on patient outcomes in Belgian hospitals. To better understand the dynamics of the nurse staffing and patient outcomes relationship in acute hospitals, further analyses (i.e. nursing unit level analyses) of these and other outcomes are recommended, in addition to inclusion of other study variables, including data about nursing practice environments in hospitals.

Nursing workforce: A special issue

Rafferty, A. M., & Clarke, S. P. (2009). International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(7), 875-878. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.04.012

Organizational traits, care processes, and burnout among chronic hemodialysis nurses

Flynn, L., Thomas-Hawkins, C., & Clarke, S. P. (2009). Western Journal of Nursing Research, 31(5), 569-582. 10.1177/0193945909331430
Abstract
Abstract
In light of evidence linking registered nurse (RN) staffing levels to patient outcomes in chronic hemodialysis facilities, U.S. government regulations have set minimum RN staffing requirements during dialysis. Consequently, facility administrators are focused on decreasing nurse attrition in this crucial practice setting. This study used a cross-sectional, correlational design to investigate the effects of workload, practice environment, and care processes on burnout among nurses in U.S. chronic hemodialysis centers and to determine the association between burnout and nurses' intentions to leave their jobs. Findings indicate that predictors were associated with an increased likelihood of nurse burnout and that nurses experiencing burnout were more likely to be planning to leave their jobs. Findings have important implications for retention of nurses, enhancement of patient safety, and adherence to new federal staffing requirements in chronic hemodialysis units.

Practice environments and their associations with nurse-reported outcomes in Belgian hospitals: Development and preliminary validation of a Dutch adaptation of the Revised Nursing Work Index

Van Bogaert, P., Clarke, S., Vermeyen, K., Meulemans, H., & Van De Heyning, P. (2009). International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(1), 55-65. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.07.009
Abstract
Abstract
Aim: To study the relationship between nurse work environment, job outcomes and nurse-assessed quality of care in the Belgian context. Background: Work environment characteristics are important for attracting and retaining professional nurses in hospitals. The Revised Nursing Work Index (NWI-R) was originally designed to describe the professional nurse work environment in U.S. Magnet Hospitals and subsequently has been extensively used in research internationally. Method: The NWI-R was translated into Dutch to measure the nurse work environment in 155 nurses across 13 units in three Belgian hospitals. Factor analysis was used to identify a set of coherent subscales. The relationship between work environments and job outcomes and nurse-assessed quality of care was investigated using logistic and linear regression analyses. Results: Three reliable, consistent and meaningful subscales of the NWI-R were identified: nurse-physician relations, nurse management at the unit level and hospital management and organizational support. All three subscales had significant associations with several outcome variables. Nurse-physician relations had a significant positive association with nurse job satisfaction, intention to stay the hospital, the nurse-assessed unit level quality of care and personal accomplishment. Nurse management at the unit level had a significant positive association with the nurse job satisfaction, nurse-assessed quality of care on the unit and in the hospital, and personal accomplishment. Hospital management and organizational support had a significant positive association with the nurse-assessed quality of care in the hospital and personal accomplishment. Higher ratings of nurse-physician relations and nurse management at the unit level had significant negative associations with both the Maslach Burnout Inventory emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions, whereas hospital management and organizational support was inversely associated only with depersonalization scores. Conclusion: A Dutch version of the NWI-R questionnaire produced comparable subscales to those found by many other researchers internationally. The resulting measures of the professional practice environment in Belgian hospitals showed expected relationships with nurse self-reports of job outcomes and perceptions of hospital quality.

The relationship between inpatient cardiac surgery mortality and nurse numbers and educational level: Analysis of administrative data

Van Den Heede, K., Lesaffre, E., Diya, L., Vleugels, A., Clarke, S. P., Aiken, L. H., & Sermeus, W. (2009). International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(6), 796-803. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.12.018
Abstract
Abstract
Background: In most multicenter studies that examine the relationship between nurse staffing and patient safety, nurse-staffing levels are measured per hospital. This can obscure relationships between staffing and outcomes at the unit level and lead to invalid inferences. Objective: In the present study, we examined the association between nurse-staffing levels in nursing units that treat postoperative cardiac surgery patients and the in-hospital mortality of these patients. Design-setting-participants: We illustrated our approach by using administrative databases (Year 2003) representing all Belgian cardiac centers (n = 28), which included data from 58 intensive care and 75 general nursing units and 9054 patients. Methods: We used multilevel logistic regression models and controlled for differences in patient characteristics, nursing care intensity, and cardiac procedural volume. Results: Increased nurse staffing in postoperative general nursing units was significantly associated with decreased mortality. Nurse staffing in postoperative intensive care units was not significantly associated with in-hospital mortality possibly due to lack of variation in ICU staffing across hospitals. Conclusion: This study, together with the international body of evidence, suggests that nurse staffing is one of several variables influencing patient safety. These findings further suggest the need to study the impact of nurse-staffing levels on in-hospital mortality using nursing-unit-level specific data.