Abstract: Two convenience samples of 90 NZ registered nurses responded to two structured questionnaires designed to explore nurses views of caring in nursing practice.The studies demonstrate that nurses see caring as a central concept in their practice. From the response the meaning of caring was found to be multi dimensional, consisting of six components: value, expressive, action, relationship, knowledge and purpose. The value dimension includes areas such as humanistic value and professional value. The expressive component consists of empathy, compassion, trust, concern, sharing and willingness. Action components are helping, comforting, being there, empowering, advocacy, nurturing, advising, touching and performing nursing procedures. The major relationship component is partnership. An important part of the knowledge component is clinical expertise and the purposive component of caring consists of meeting health needs and promoting healing and welfare. The meaning of caring begins to emerge from these studies. However, they do not provide full understanding of caring phenomena. A further in-depth study of actual nursing practice is still in progress

Abstract: It is evident from the prevalence of items in the popular press and incased research by health professional that, over the last two decades, menopause as been discussed more openly. However, medical information is still largely oriented toward menopause as a disease with emphasis on the pharmacological interventions needed to correct the disease. Literature in medical and nursing journals is also predominantly oriented towards menopause as a state of oestrogen, nurse researchers and feminists writers are challenging this viewsThe aim of the research was to discover how women gain knowledge about menopause, and how they make decisions about “managing” their menopause. In the study knowledge was defined as being more than information. It is seen as being more than information. It is seen as understanding derived from synthesis of data about menopause collected from various sources. Eleven women aged 46-55 recruited through a letter in the researcher's local newspaper, were interviewed. The resulting data was analysed by the constant comparison method as used in grounded theory.A descriptive model was developed including the basic social process of “integrating menopause into midlife”. A tertiary level of education and good social support were found to be associated with the women being seekers of knowledge about their menopause. These women, the majority of the participants, revealed themselves as being self-controlling with respect to their menopause. Among the few who had allowed their menopause to be managed by others, if they experienced adverse effects of the treatment, then there was a move toward greater self management.,Generally, nurses were not seen by the participants as possible sources of information. That finding highlights menopause as an area of health education in which nurses have the potential to play a more active role

Abstract: There is concern over the standards of nursing practice skill acquisition in undergraduate programs. One of the issues relevant to this is which of the multitude of nursing practice skills to include in an undergraduate program. Previous research by Alavi, Loh and Reilly (1991) has been modified and used in clinical settings in the New Zealand context in order to address this concern. Competency level of the most important skills identified by clinicians was also sought in order to aid development of a skill curriculum for Whitireia Community Polytechnic. There is a strong theoretical support for the preparation of student nurses in skills laboratories prior to clinical learning experience in order to maximise learning. Further directions for study are covered with discussion of the implications for teaching from the research findings