Lui, D. M. K. (2003). Nursing and midwifery attitudes towards withdrawal of care in a neonatal intensive care unit: Part 1. Literature review. Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 9(2), 45–47.
Abstract: This article seeks to investigate the attitude of nurses and midwives to the withdrawal of care from sick neonates. Advanced technology results in the survival of increasingly premature babies with extremely low birthweights and this has inevitably led to an increase in the ethical dilemmas faced by neonatal staff as to whether continued treatment is actually in the best interests of these infants. Part 1 reviews the literature on this subject. Part 2 describes the results of a survey carried out in a New Zealand NICU.
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Pirret, A. M. (2003). A preoperative scoring system to identify patients requiring postoperative high dependency care. Intensive & Critical Care Nursing, 19(5), 267–275.
Abstract: The incidence of postoperative complications is reduced with early identification of at risk patients and improved postoperative monitoring. This study describes the development and effect of a nursing preoperative assessment tool to identify patients at risk of postoperative complications and to reduce the number of acute admissions to ICU/HDU. All surgical patients admitted to a surgical ward for an elective surgical procedure (n=7832) over a 23-month period were concurrently scored on admission using the preoperative assessment tool. During the time period studied, acute admissions to ICU/HDU reduced from 40.37 to 19.11%. Only 24.04% of patients who had a PAS >4 were identified by the surgeon and/or anesthetist as being at risk of a postoperative complication, or if identified, no provision was made for improved postoperative monitoring. This study supports the involvement of nurses in identifying preoperatively patients at risk of a postoperative complication and in need of improved postoperative monitoring. The postoperative monitoring requirements for the PAS >4 patients were relatively low technology interventions.
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O'Shea, M., & Reddy, L. (2007). Action change in New Zealand mental health nursing: One team's perspective. Practice Development in Health Care, 6(2), 137–142.
Abstract: This paper describes an attempt at effecting change with specific relevance to the discharge planning of clients from a New Zealand inpatient mental health unit to a community setting. It explores how a team of community mental health nurses, practising in an urban/rural area, used the concepts of practice development to endeavour to bring about change while still retaining a client-centred focus. It describes how, in their enthusiasm, they embarked on the road to practice change without undertaking some of the essential ground work, Although they did not achieve all they set out to achieve, much was learnt in the process. In this paper, the authors outline their key learning points concerning the importance of engagement, communication, consistency and cooperation to the process and outcomes of practice change.
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Connor, M. (2004). The practical discourse in philosophy and nursing: An exploration of linkages and shifts in the evolution of praxis. Nursing Philosophy, 5(1), 54–66.
Abstract: This paper, firstly, examines the linkages and shifts in the evolution of of praxis. The concept of praxis, also known as the practical discourse in philosophy, has been expressed in different ways in different eras. However, the linkages from one era to another and from one paradigm to another are not well explicated in the nursing literature. Blurring of the linkages occurred from the popular association of praxis within the emancipatory paradigm. Integral to the concept of praxis, since the time of Aristotle, is the notion of phronesis: a process of moral reasoning enacted to establish the 'good' of a particular situation, often referred to as practical wisdom. Secondly, the paper, promotes and affirms the importance of praxiological knowledge development in the discipline. Furthermore, increased appreciation of the concept of praxis provides an important vehicle for the advancement of nursing as a moral endeavour and the nurse as moral agent.
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Farrell, E. (2003). A lamp to light the way: Public health nurses' perceptions and experiences of professional/clinical supervision. Ph.D. thesis, , .
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Van der Harst, J. (2003). Inside knowledge: A qualitative descriptive study of prison nursing in New Zealand. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: Analysis of the research literature on prison nursing revealed a paucity of research, both in New Zealand and internationally. The aim of this research was to describe the working life of the nurse in a New Zealand prison and provide an understanding of and documentation on prison nursing in New Zealand. A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken to determine what it is like to nurse in a New Zealand prison. Ten nurses working at two public prisons and one private prison took part in the study. Data was collected by the use of semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically into four main themes. The participants' descriptions of their working lives as prison nurses expose the multifaceted nature of this work and the inherent relational dynamics. These dynamics determine the nurse's ability to practise effectively in the prison setting. Findings highlighted many paradoxical situations for nurses when working in this environment. The very aspects of the work that participants described as negative were also identified, in some instances, as challenging and satisfying.
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Stuart, J. (2003). How can nurses address generalist/specialist/nursing requirements of the urban/rural population of Southland.
Abstract: This study, which is undertaken in the Southland area, explores the effect of the increasing specialisation of nursing services in what is a rural/urban environment. It is indicated in the literature that systemic changes in health, such as the health reforms, and the increase in the use of technology have meant that nurses are required to function in disease oriented roles rather than according to their more traditional generalist roots. A significant event, which also affected nursing scope of practice, was the transfer of nurse education to the tertiary education institutions environment from the hospitals in the mid 1970s. The traditional nursing hierarchy and its nurse leadership role disappeared and the adoption of specialist nurse titles increased, and identified with a disease or disorder, for example 'diabetes' nurse. The increase in specialist categories for patients contributed to the nurse shortage by reducing the available numbers of nurses in the generalist nursing pool. The nurses in this rural/urban environment require generalist nurse skills to deliver their nursing services because of the geographical vastness of the area being a barrier to specialist nurses. Workforce planning for nurses in the rural/urban then must focus on how to reshape the nursing scope of practice to utilise the existing resources. This study explores how key areas of health services could be enhanced by reclaiming the nurse role in its holistic approach, in mental health, public health, geriatric services and psychiatric services.
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Neville, S. J., Gillon, D., & Milligan, K. (2006). New Zealand registered nurses' use of physical assessment skills: A pilot study. Vision: A Journal of Nursing, (14(1)).
Abstract: The objective of this project was to ascertain registered nurses' use of selected physical assessment skills before and after participation in a health assessment course. A pre- (also referred to as part I) and post- (part II) test design was used to investigate the research aim. Participants were obtained via a convenience sample. A questionnaire was completed at the beginning of the educational programme and then four to six weeks after completion of the assessment course. A two tailed t-test was used to identify any significant differences in the characteristics of participants from part I (N = 206) to part II (N = 145), with no differences identified. However, there was an overall mean percentage difference of 17.1% in the use of physical assessment skills after having completed the educational programme. In conclusion, the researchers found that four to six weeks after completion of a health assessment course, nurses were using the skills learned to improve their nursing practice more frequently than before the programme.
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Nichols, J. (2004). An exploration of clinical supervision within mental health nursing. Vision: A Journal of Nursing, (November).
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the concept of clinical supervision specifically in relation to mental health nursing. The author talks briefly about the naming and history of clinical supervision and aims to provide some clarity around defining the concept. There is discussion around the role, value and objectives of clinical supervision before critical examination of two models of clinical supervision within two different contexts. Finally the strengths and weaknesses of each model are discussed, and the differences illustrate some of the contextual factors of clinical supervision.
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Jenkinson, F. H. (2003). An evaluation of nursing documentation as it relates to pro re nata (prn) medication administration.
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Hansen, C. (2004). Professional practice attributes within public health nursing. Ph.D. thesis, , .
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Bland, M. F. (2005). The challenge of feeling 'at home' in residential aged care in New Zealand. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 21(3), 4–12.
Abstract: In this research report, a resident reveals the challenges associated with firstly becoming a nursing home resident, and then trying to establish a new sense of 'home'. The story supports a conclusion that nurses' knowledge of the unique 'admission story' of each resident, and their individual understandings of home, is essential in promoting their ongoing comfort. Although approximately 30,000 older adults live in residential aged care, little research has been done on their experience.
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Arcus, K. J. (2004). Often wearisome, sometimes saddening, but always interesting: A hundred years of district nursing in Wellington, 1903-2003. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: October 2003 marked the centenary of Wellington district nursing. Annie Holgate, a 'trained, professional' nurse, was employed to care for the sick poor in 1903. The Wellington St John Ambulance District Nursing Guild funded district nursing for over fifty years. The first president, Sarah Ann Rhodes, left a legacy of a solid financial and administrative base for the whole of the Guild's existence. From 1945 the Wellington Hospital Board assumed responsibility for district nursing and expanded the service to the greater Wellington region. In 1974 the Community Health Services were formed, with Pauline MacInnes as the nurse leader. Expansion of healthcare in the community ensued, with district nurses pivotal to client-centred, community-based, collaborative healthcare. This service was dismantled in the wake of health sector restructuring in 1989. The philosophy and operation of the Community Health Service of this period bears a striking resemblance to the current concept of Primary Health Care. Primary sources from Wellington St John, Kai Tiaki and data from official publications were used to compile this history. Emergent themes are the autonomy of district nurses' practice, the invisibility of district nursing and the impact of visionary leadership. All have implications for the future of district nursing. District nursing, initially dependent on philanthropy, has been publicly funded in New Zealand since 1944. District nursing is now an essential component of health care.
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Codlin, K. C. (2004). Mental health nurses and clinical supervision: A naturalistic comparison study into the effect of group clinical supervision on minor psychological disturbance, job satisfaction and work-related stress. Ph.D. thesis, , .
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Smith, P. A. (2004). Mad bad or sad: Caring for the mentally disordered offender in the court environment from a nurse's perspective. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: This paper examines the difficulties health professionals face daily when providing care for the mentally disordered offender in the court environment. The role of the court nurse is to provide care for people with mental health needs in the court and health professionals can find this a restrictive environment to work in. This is mainly due to the court's legal processes which are designed to punish rather than offer therapeutic alternatives. By advocating for the mentally disordered offender, the court nurse ensures the court is aware of an individual's mental health needs, thus reducing the prospect of inappropriate sentencing, and the associated stigmatisation that may occur as a result of a criminal conviction.
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