Abstract: The introduction of nurse practitioner registration into New Zealand in 2001 was heralded as a move that would open up a wealth of opportunities for registered nurses to extend their practice into more independent roles and to provide a client-centred health service. It was also seen as a way to retain experienced registered nurses in the clinical practice area by providing a credible clinical career pathway. If nurse practitioner's are to meet these expectations, then, the author suggests, it is important to understand the processes that encourage or discourage nurses from advancing their practice. One of the early scopes of practice to be introduced was nurse practitioner with an endorsement in aged care scope of practice. Grounded theory was the method used to generate an explanation of how registered nurses working in aged care were preparing for the introduction of nurse practitioner roles. An analysis of early data highlighted codes around registered nurses in aged care extending and advancing their practice rather than preparing specifically for the nurse practitioner role. The research question for this study was: 'How are registered nurses in aged care advancing their nursing practice?' Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from ten experienced registered nurses working in aged care clinical practice settings ranging from secondary hospital facilities, to community settings and residential care villages. Dimensional analysis of the data eventually generated three major conceptual categories: 'ownership of nursing', 'extending practice', and 'moving out of a comfort zone'. Of these, 'ownership of nursing' was identified as the core construct that linked the other categories together. The substantive theory that explains how registered nurses in aged care advance their clinical practice is 'developing autonomous ownership'. Nurses who develop autonomous ownership of nursing are more likely than other nurses to move out of a current comfort zone and advance their practice into more independent roles that suit their autonomous ownership of nursing. This study identified important contextual factors and conditions that support the development of an autonomous ownership of nursing and that subsequently facilitate advancing nursing practice. These include creating supportive environments, organisational commitment to advanced nursing practice roles, visible nursing leadership, congruence between organisational and nursing philosophies, interdisciplinary collaboration and participating in postgraduate education. The author suggests that the significance of this study is that it generated a theory about the processes that encourage or discourage nurses from preparing for, and progressing into, advanced nursing practice roles such as nurse practitioner.

Abstract: Grounded theory methodology has guided the grounded theory methods used to explore the acute care paediatric nurses' perspective of what they do when a child has had a severe accident. The research was initiated from the experience of nursing children in the context of a rehabilitation centre and wondering how acute care nurses promoted a child's recovery after a severe unintentional injury. Many avenues were used to search international and New Zealand literature but the scarcity of literature related to what acute care paediatric nurses do was evident. Nursing children in the acute care ward after a severe accident is complex. It encompasses nursing the family when they are experiencing a crisis. It is critical that the acute care nurse monitors and ensures the child's physiological needs are met, and the nurse “works with” the child to maintain and advance medical stability. Nursing interactions are an important part of “working with”, communication is the essence of nursing. This research has focussed on the nurses' social processes whilst caring for the physical needs of the child and interacting with the family and multidisciplinary team when appropriate. An effective working-relationship with a nurse and family is founded on trust. Grounded theory methods supported the process of exploring the social processes of “building trust” whilst “working with” families in a vulnerable position. Nurses rely on rapport to be invited into a family's space to “work with” and support the re-establishment of the parenting role. The “stepping in and out” of an effective working-relationship with a family is reliant on trust. Nurses build trust by spending time to “be with”, using chat to get to know each other, involving and supporting the family to parent a “different” child and reassuring and giving realistic hope to help the child and parents cope with their changed future. A substantive theory of the concept of “building trust to work with” has been developed using grounded theory methods. The theory has been conceptualised using the perspective of seven registered nurses working in paediatric acute care wards that admit children who have had a severe traumatic accident.

Abstract: This study uncovers the experience of being ethical from the perspective of pre-registration nursing students. Using the qualitative methodology of phenomenology, specifically that outlined by van Manen, it seeks to show how students act ethically within everyday practice. Providing nursing care is an ethically charged undertaking and despite ethics taking an increasingly important place in nursing education, the author suggests that few studies show the contextual nature of ethical practice from the perspective of students. This study aims to partly redress this situation. In this study the author has interpreted the experiences of twelve pre-registration students. Using seventeen stories shared by the student participants, the author's personal understandings and literature, the meaning of being ethical has been illuminated. Three themes emerged from the interpretation. These include 'keeping things 'nice'', 'being true to yourself' and 'being present'. This thesis asserts that the overarching theme within these themes is that of 'being constrained and enabled'. Being constrained shows the experiences of students as they live through the tensions of being and doing as they strive to be ethical. Being enabled shows the experience of self-determination. Finally the study maintains that the shaping of ethical practice for undergraduate students may be enhanced when their reality is positioned and valued within educational processes.

Abstract: Since 1995 we have provided a bereavement follow-up service but the benefits of this to clinical care have not previously been reported . We reviewed the 1995 results, documentation methods, system design, discussed with reviewers their data collection, interview process and its effect on them and their practice. Next-of-kin of only 99/151 patients ( M87 age 14-88) were contacted 16-149 median 34 days after the death. Sleep disturbance (55/99) were the most common problems. We now give next-of- kin literature including a pamphlet which introduces our service and discusses these problems. Most next-of-kin (77/99) commented favorably on DCCM care, but 16/99 identified inadequate facilities and communication problems as service deficiencies. We have improved facilities (paint, furniture, telephone, drinks machine). We now notify patients general practitioners of every death and bring families back for meetings with staff when necessary. We changed systems of case identification and recording of next-of-kin information. Nurse interviewers (8) identified their needs for improved telephone skills, education about grief and research, debriefing after calls and their need for acknowledgement of participation in this service. Study days now address these issues. Interviewers difficulties with interview content have lead to changes. They suggested peer review of data forms to improve completeness which now occurs. Some found the interview process personally disturbing, but all reported positive changes in their practice with bereaved families.Within two years a bereavement service has led to improvements in facilities, communication, and staff expertise, it is now part of our holistic care

Abstract: We are about to implement a nurse-based critical care follow-up service and used a follow-up study of tracheostomy to determine the feasibility of such a service. Nine to 27 months median 14 after intensive care admission we attempted to follow-up 116 of our most severely ill survivors. Twenty six could not be found, 11 declined follow-up. A questionnaire, interview and limited examination were used to determine health status. Ten patients unable to come to a clinic were seen at home. Interview time varied between patients but 79 patients took 100 nurse-hours. Ninety percent of patients co-operated with respiratory function testing. Pulse oximetry identified one with severe chronic respiratory failure. In this highly selected group of patients with on going problems (perceived poor health, dependency, disability, changes in appearance, deterioration in personal relationships, poor sleep, pain, altered diet, unaddressed chronic health problems, poor access to health services, and continuing prescription medication) were common, and addressed to some extent by appropriate referral. Approximately 20% of patients reported improvement in their health and personal relationships after critical illness and half of the smokers had given up. Factors contributing to follow-up difficulty included distance, delay in initial contact, change of address (255 of this group), disability and poverty. A nurse-run critical care follow-up clinic is feasible, time consuming but productive. A register of current addresses and phone numbers is recommended. The optimal time for follow-up will vary with patients conditions but early follow-up with protocol- based lines of referral is recommended to reduce persistent health problems

Abstract: Introduction Critically ill patients cannot clean their own teeth. A variety of methods are used but as the best method is unknown we performed a prospective randomised double-blind controlled trial of three methods.Method Of 359 consecutive admissions to the Department of Critical Care Medicine between 31/01/97 and 25/05/97, 222 were excluded (62 edentulous, 6 unexaminable, 142 transferred alive and 12 dead or dying at 24 hours). The remaining 137 patients had quantitative (picture-linked, ordinal score) assessment of caries, peridontal status and plaque (in 12 segments of teeth) before randomisation (to the use of either toothbrush, jumbo swab or sonic toothbrush) by pre-assigned sealed envelopes. All teeth were cleaned (prescribed four hourly) with 0.2% chlorhexidine solution. Daily plaque scores were obtained (by an assessor (SC) blind to treatment allocation) until withdrawal, death or transfer.Results Toothbrush Jumboswab SonicPatients assigned 50 48 39Withdrawn within 24hrs. 9 3 5Patients remaining 41 45 34Percentage of teeth segments thatare pristine: pre treatment 45 50 51 after 2 days 74 57 90 F(2.63) = 5.00 p = 0.0097 More withdrawals for patient noncompliance after randomisation occurred in the sonic group (5/34 versus 3/86). Conclusion. By the second day the sonic toothbrush was the most effective in plaque removal with the toothbrush the next most effective method

Abstract: Because of concern about long-term complications of bjork flap tracheostomy we followed-up 136 intensive care patients who had Bjork flap tracheotomy in 1992 a median of 117 (range 5-402) hours after intubation. Twenty died in hospital, none as a result of tracheostomy. Twenty- six patients were lost to follow-up and eleven declined. The remaining 79 had measures of health status, a quality of life questionnaire, respiratory function testing and physical examination of the neck and upper airway 9-27 months (median 14) later. Various health status measures deteriorated in 9 to 51 of 77 patients. Forty-two of 77 patients were taking prescription medication and 15/32 smokers had stopped smoking. FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC were significantly reduced from predicted normal (n=70, 2.8+ 1.1 vs 3.2 +0.9 p<.0001, 3.7 + 1.3 vs 4.0 + 1.0 p<.0001, 76 +11vs 79 +3 p= 0.035 respectively). Pulse oximetry was normal (>92%) in 73/74 patients tested. The median horizontal scar dimension was 45mm (range 20 to 75 mm). Nine had a median vertical scar dimension 15mm (range 8 to 25mm). Nineteen scars were hypertrophic, 56 were tethered. Two patients had already undergone tracheal scar revision at follow-up and further 13 accepted scar revision. Ten patients had abnormal voice examination, four abnormal cough, two stridor, three vocal cord lesions, three tracheal polyps and fourteen asymptomatic tracheal narrowing from 10-60% (median 25%) of the tracheal luminal diameter. Patients surviving critical illness with bjork flap tracheostomy have reduced quality of life and respiratory function and poor cosmetic result but a low incidence of important airway problems