Abstract: Aims to explore the influences on health and health care engagement from the experiences of urban Maori women using Kokiri Marae Health and Social Services (KMHSS), Lower Hutt, NZ. Conducts unstructured interviews which are analysed thematically. Employs the nursing theory of cultural safety, Kawa Whakaruruhau, to inform a qualitative approach to the examination of the historical, social, cultural, economic, political, racial and gendered factors contributing to Maori women's health and health-care engagement. Makes recommendations for nursing practice, research site and research.

Abstract: Aims to inform future curriculum design to support, retain, and attract more men to nursing. Uses a descriptive qualitative design to explore the experiences of male nurses prior, during and after the Bacelor of Nursing degree. Conducts semi-structured interviews with 9 male nurses resulting in two main themes: isolation during training; inaccurate public perception of the of the scope of the modern nurse.

Abstract: Alleviating patient suffering, providing comfort and pain relief are all central to the philosophical caring position nurses have always espoused. Despite this, patients continue to suffer pain although we have the means to provide pain relief. The author notes that research has identified that nurses have a knowledge deficit regarding pain and its management, as well an erroneous attitudes, which combined are blamed for an inability to make significant progress in this area. This study was undertaken to uncover the contextual aspects of working within a New Zealand health care institution that affect nurses' ability to manage their patient' pain effectively. It highlights the difficulties and the complicated nature of working within an institution in the 1990's health care environment, where accountability for pain is absent and where pain is often under-assessed and under-treated. By using focus group of nurses, the author notes she was able to uncover constructions on nursing practice, which, she suggests, have been missing from the literature, but prevent nurses from implementing their knowledge. Using a constructivist research, she used nurse's stories and current literature to argue one way forward in, what she terms, the pain management debacle. This study revealed a diverse range of contextual factors that prevent nurses from using their knowledge. Many of the constraints on nursing practice are the results of complex organisational structures within health reform, which have significantly affected the nurse's ability to provide quality-nursing care. One of the most important factors limiting the management of the patient' pain is the inability of the nurse to autonomously initiate analgesia. While nurses are largely responsible for the assessment of pain, they are usually powerless to access necessary analgesia, without a medical prescription. The author argues that once an initial medical diagnosis has been made, nurses are usually left responsible for patient comfort and the management of pain. To do so effectively, nurses need to able to prescribe both pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures for the patient. Presently nurses are prescribing using a variety of illegitimate mechanisms, needing the endorsement of a doctor. To fulfil this role, nurses must be adequately prepared educationally and given the authority to either prescribe autonomously, of provided with extensive “standing orders”. While legislative changes in New Zealand in 1999 extended prescribing right to a few nurses within certain areas of care, the ward nurse is unlikely to gain prescribing rights in the near future. The author concludes that a way forward may be to encourage and further develop the use of protocols for managing pain via standing orders. Standing orders are common place within nursing practice today, have the support of the Nursing Council of New Zealand and are currently under-going legislative review. An institutional commitment to developing pain protocols for nurses would recognise the nurses active role and expertise in the management of pain and facilitate expedient relief for the patient.

Abstract: Analyses 13 articles using an integrative review methodology framework and thematic analysis to support the data analysis process, seeking to clarify the inter-rater reliability of nursing ePortfolio assessment. Identifies two themes emerging from the data: the subjective nature of the assessor, and external factors due to the nature of nursing portfolio requirements. Considers how to minimise assessment variability due to subjective factors.

Abstract: Argues that the Fundamentals of Care (FOC) conceptual framework is essential for nursing schools to teach and on which to assess nursing students for clinical competency. Provides a national overview of undergraduate pre-registration nursing curricula in NZ, exploring what and how schools of nursing teach and assess FoC. Distributes a cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire to course coordinators between 2019 and 2020, revealing variations in how FOC is taught and the lack of standardisation in course design. Highlights the opportunity for the Nursing Council to develop a national, evidenced-based FOC educational strategy.

Abstract: Argues that undergraduate nurse education contributes to the problem of too few nurses choosing to work in aged care, by constructing working in aged care as a lower-status or less valuable area of work than other health-care areas. Examines the issue using Foucauldian discourse analysis to explore the dominant discourses being deployed in relation to clinical experience in aged care. Collects data through semi-structured interviews with 10 senior academic staff members from NZ tertiary institutions. Analyses interview data to reveal how a 'nurse education discourse' and a 'work-ready discourse' were shaping perceptions of aged care as a clinical experience in a variety of ways. Suggests that how and why aged care is utilised as a space to learn a range of nursing skills has the unintended effect of devaluing and discouraging employment in aged care settings.

Abstract: Assesses the experiences of registered nurses (RNs)working in aged residential care facilities in Christchurch, in performing interRAI assessments using interRAI MOMENTUM software. Explores the positive and negative aspects of their experiences and the factors affecting performance of interRAI-based comprehensive health assessments. Identifies the aids and barriers faced by RNs in applying and using interRAI. Conducts focus-group interviews with 7 RNs. Highlights the need for a unified standard assessment system.

Abstract: Changes brought by the Mental Health Act (MHA) to clinical practice, and some of the problems it has created for nurses, are examined in this article. Compulsory assessment and treatment orders (CATO) and the role of Duly Authorised Officers (DAO), and moral dilemmas that can arise as a consequence of CATOs used by DAOs are examined. The requirement for DAOs to act as patient advocates and to safeguard cultural beliefs are highlighted. The MHA promotes self responsibility and a treatment philosophy rather than detention of the mentally ill.