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Delugar, A. (1999). An historical inquiry to identify the contribution Beatrice Salmon's writings made to nursing education in New Zealand, 1969-1972.
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Bennison, C. (2008). Emergency nurses' perceptions of the impact of postgraduate education on their practice in New Zealand. Master's thesis, , .
Abstract: ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Emergency nursing is a specialty concerned with the care of people of all ages, with either perceived or actual unwellness presenting to the emergency department(ED) for assessment, resuscitation, investigation, treatment and review of their illness or injury. Emergency nurses apply specialty knowledge and expertise in the provision, delivery and evaluation of emergency nursing care. Over recent decades social, political and professional changes have affected nursing care delivery and nursing education. In particular the 21st century has witnessed the development of state funded postgraduate nursing education programmes, developing nurses specialty or advanced nursing knowledge, quality patient/client care and nursing practice within the tertiary education system.
AIM: The aim of this study is to investigate emergency nurses? perceptions of the impact of postgraduate education on their practice in New Zealand (NZ).
METHODS: This study utilises critical social theory as the overarching framework, informed by the writing of Jürgen Habermas (b.1929- ). It is the three phases of
Habermas?s practical intent of critical social theory; namely enlightenment, empowerment and emancipation, that this study is concerned with. This descriptive research study employs both quantitative and qualitative methods and is therefore known as mixed-methods research. Data collection took place over 12 weeks, from August to November 2006, using a survey questionnaire obtained with permission from Ms Dianne Pelletier, Sydney, Australia. The sample included 105 emergency nurses from District Health Board (DHB) emergency departments in NZ, 10 respondents from this sample self-selected to be interviewed by telephone. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the University of Otago Ethics Committee for research involving human participants. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
RESULTS: Two main themes arose from the thematic analysis; these being positive and negative, these themes were further divided into 10 sub-themes. The results indicate that postgraduate study (PGS) has increased nurses? perception of their knowledge; leadership and understanding on the quality of patient care delivered, increased their academic and research skills and increased their confidence/self-esteem and recognition by their colleagues and team. Therefore the majority of respondents perceive postgraduate education has been an instrument of liberation and a process of empowerment and emancipation. A smaller percentage of respondents perceived that PGS had no effect on various aspects of patient care and another significantly smaller percentage of respondents reported negative results from PGS. This research identified similarities between this study and that of Pelletier and colleagues? (2003; , 2005; , 1998a; , 1998b) Australian study.
CONCLUSION: This study adds to the existing literature on postgraduate studies undertaken by nurses. No known study has previously investigated solely emergency nurses?perceptions of the effects of PGS, either nationally or internationally. The results of this study offer enlightening information regarding emergency nurses? perceptions of their PGS within NZ and offers a platform from which other studies may be undertaken. It also has the potential to inform nurses contemplating PGS and educators facilitating these programmes,as well as provide implications for policy development by the Nursing Council of NZ, NZ Universities, DHBs and the Ministry of Health.
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Spackman, N. E. (2008). Nurses' early experiences with patient death. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: Chronic stress and 'burnout' have been extensively researched in nursing populations, but very little is known about the impact of specific acutely stressful or significant events. A novice nurse's first encounter with patient death may pose considerable cognitive, emotional and clinical challenges. Using a mixed methods design, this study explored the clinical circumstances, impact and challenges and rewards of nurses' early experiences with patient death.
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Litchfield, M. (1997). The language of nursing practice in hospitals. (Vol. Proceedings of the National Nursing Informatics Co).
Abstract: A paper presenting the findings of a small research project involving a group of self-selected senior nurses of Wellington Hospital to explore the nature of nursing practice in the care and management of hospitalised patients and to formalise the language that would acknowledge its significance in the current effort of hospitals to define patient care pathways. The nature of hospital nursing practice was described in themes of a generic process of nurse-patient care that articulates a distinct specialism of hospital nursing, whatever the hospital department in which nurses hold positions.
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Litchfield, M. (2007). The innovation effort: ?Are you in or are you out??.
Abstract: A graphic presentation in PDF format (April 2007) of the findings and policy implications of the developmental evaluation research programme for the Turangi Primary Health Care Nursing Innovation.
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Litchfield, M. (2002). The successful design and delivery of rural health services: The meaning of success. Christchurch: Centre for Rural Health.
Abstract: A report on the analysis of data from an in-depth survey designed by Sue Dawson, previously Rural Health Researcher in the Centre for Rural Health, and follow-up interviews. The study purpose was to construct a definition of ?successful design and delivery of rural health services? as a step towards a measurement tool. Participants were grouped as general practitioners (GPs), nurses and community representatives. A format for a participatory approach to evaluation of rural health services is derived from the criteria of success identified, with its relevance for the implementation of the new Government primary health care strategy explicit. This format provided the basis for a subsequent evaluation case study undertaken in a small rural forestry township by the Centre for Rural Health.
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Brinkman, A., Wilson-Salt, R., & Walker, L. (2008). Education survey report: Implications for practice. Wellington: New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
Abstract: Professional development is an ongoing requirement of nurses as a result of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act. The Act?s principal purpose is to protect the health and safety of the public by ensuring health practitioners are fit and competent to practise. This survey was designed to explore the avenues nurses have taken, and would prefer to take, for their professional development. The questionnaire was sent to a random sample of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation's registered and enrolled nurse members. Nurses overwhelmingly favoured professional development in the workplace. More than half the respondents reported a conflict with other time commitments, while a number of respondents wrote of their desire for work-life balance. The cost of fees, ability to take time off work, and time and travelling distance were all hurdles to professional development. Nurses cited information technology, conflict resolution, managing challenging behaviour, and dealing with rostered & rotating shifts as aspects of their current work for which their nursing education (pre and post) had not adequately prepared them. Nurses also indicated that their pre-registration education in health systems and political processes was inadequate for their current work. As nurses aged, their interest in professional development increased, though many still preferred workplace options. The authors conclude that, in order for professional development opportunities to be accessible and relevant, resources and time must be made available. This is vital to achieve ongoing education of nurses and improved patient outcomes. Management support, combined with effective assessment of learning needs guiding professional development opportunities, are fundamental to ensuring nurse competence.
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Brinkman, A. (2008). Collating for collaboration: Tertiary education funding structures. Wellington: New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
Abstract: The nursing education environment is complex and varied, and is affected by both the education and health systems. This report backgrounds the funding systems that underwrite the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) processes. The two primary objectives that have guided this collation are: to stimulate awareness and discussion of the issues around funding nursing education in New Zealand; and to promote understanding of the complex funding structures currently in place in New Zealand by students, nurses, nurse educators and nurse managers.
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Walker, L. (2009). ?Holding up?: The first biennial NZNO Employment Survey. Wellington: New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
Abstract: In this report, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) releases the findings from its first-ever members' employment survey. The questionnaire, based on the United Kingdom?s Royal College of Nurse?s annual survey (which has been running for 21 years) covered core employment issues: employment agreements, hours, pay, job change, along with demographic details, as well as questions around plans for and perceptions of working life for over 800 NZNO members.
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Lamb, J. (2009). The Effect of Cigarette Smoking On the Frequency of Colposcopy Visits, Treatments and Re-referrals. Master's thesis, , .
Abstract: Current research has confirmed that cigarette smoking is a risk factor for cervical cancer. The objective of this pilot study was to observe if women who smoked and were referred to the colposcopy department at Christchurch Women?s Hospital, required more follow up visits, treatments and re-referrals compared to non-smokers. New patients (n=494) who attended at the Christchurch Women?s Hospital colposcopy department in 2001 had their data observed for a six year period. The results identified that women who smoked were three times more likely to need a third follow up visit and twice more likely to need further treatments to remove abnormalities when compared to non-smokers. This pilot study also identified that 71% of Maori women attending the clinic were smokers compared to 44% of non-Maori women. The results are being used to highlight to health professionals that treatment has a greater chance of success if patients cease smoking. The results have also supported the maintenance and development of the smoking cessation clinic for colposcopy patients at Christchurch Women's Hospital where the link to cervical abnormalities and smoking is explained and behaviour modification is offered. We also found that Maori women were poor attendees for colposcopy when compared to non-Maori and these results identified a need for further research and development of strategies to improve attendance.
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Houliston, S. (2007). Flight nurse perceptions of factors inflencing clinical decision making in their practice environment. Master's thesis, , .
Abstract: Flight nurse perceptions of factors inflencing clinical decision making in their practice environment: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Nursing at the Eastern Institute of Technology, Taradale, New Zealand
The research project sought to describe the flight nurses perceptions about the factors that influence clinical decision making in their flight nursing practice, using a descriptive survey methodology. Themes emerged as factors which participants perceived influenced clinical decision making in their flight nursing role and in the aeromedical role. These themes included pre-flight preparation, patient status, experience and education of the nurse, and the challenges associated with the physical and atmospheric environments.
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Clendon, D. J. (2009). Motherhood and the 'Plunket Book': A social history. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: The Well Child/Tamariki Ora Health Book (the Plunket book) is a small booklet given to New Zealand mothers on the birth of a child. Although use of the book has decreased since it?s inception in 1920, it is frequently kept within the family and handed on from mother to child. Utilising an oral history approach, this study has traced the development of the Plunket book over time and explored the experiences of a group of 34 women and one man who have reflected on their ownership of, or involvement with, Plunket books. The study found that the book remains an effective clinical tool for mothers and nurses. Nurses use the book as a tool to help develop a relationship with a mother and her family, and to identify and build on strengths. Mothers have used the book as a tool to link past with present, to maintain kinship ties across generations, to deal with change intergenerationally, and in a manner that contributes to their self-identity as woman and mother. The study recommends that nurses and other health professionals continue to use the Plunket book as a clinical tool mindful of the fact that the book remains in use beyond the health professional?s immediate involvement with the mother and child, playing an important role in the context of the New Zealand family across generations.
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Hayward, S. (2009). Evaluation of a change programme: model of nursing care delivery. Master's thesis, , .
Abstract: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Health Sciences.
Primary nursing as a framework within which nurses deliver patient care has been a nursing care delivery system of choice in New Zealand for the last two decades. A number of studies have been carried out, with a review of the literature suggesting inconclusive support for this delivery system over other functional nursing care models. However, there is support for the philosophy underpinning this model, with documented evidence that this framework can help nurses achieve a degree of professional development and autonomous practice that other models cannot. Using documented information created during the move from one model of nursing care to another this work evaluates what were the drivers for the change, how it was managed and what the outcomes were.
Findings indicated that this change project was a success. Analysis of the data collected pre and post implementation indicated some positive shifts, but more importantly it was the information gathered from both patients and nurses that gave creditability to the new model of nursing care.
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Litchfield, M. (2009). To advance health care: The origins of nursing research in New Zealand (NZNO, Ed.). Wellington: NZNO.
Abstract: This book examines in detail the confluence of personalities and professional and practice agendas, out of which emerged the research section, intent on placing research at the centre of the profession's evolution. It provides a fascinating look at how a group of women, utterly committed to nursing, drove their research agenda and it expands understandings of why nursing research is significant for the development of nursing. It also provides an insight into that web of relationships between the professional body, NZNA, the Department of Health, service delivery and education.
To order a copy:
Email: publications@nzno.org.nz
NZNO members: $25 (incl GST + p&p)
Non-NZNO members: $35 (incl GST + p&p)
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Gibbison, B. (2010). Are we there yet?: Factors associated with, and experiences of, weight maintenance in the Adult Weight Management Programme in the Waikato. Master's thesis, , .
Abstract: A research portfolio submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Nursing, the University of Auckland, 2010.
Sustained weight loss maintenance is a constant challenge, especially for morbidly obese individuals who have tried and failed repeatedly. Why is it then, that some individuals are successful whilst others are not so successful? This two-phase sequential, mixed methods study sought to identify and gain insight into the factors associated with successful weight loss maintenance for participants in an adult weight management programme in the Waikato. Success appeared to be independent of age, gender, ethnicity, domicile, employment status and the presence of co-morbities.
Four major themes emerged:
- “Actions speak louder than words – just do it” (Following a lower energy diet, having higher levels of physical activity, regular self weighing, and vigilance in adjusting their behaviours based on the results)
- Routines were also important in supporting the changed behaviours
- What's it worth to me
- Valuing the achievements associated with lesser weight was seen as another important factor of success
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