Abstract: This study explores the the experience of nursing a person, or people, form cultures other than one's own. Informed by the tradition of philosophical hermeneutics, and drawing specifically on some of the notions articulated by Hans-Georg Gadamer and Charles Taylor, it seeks to understand everyday nursing practices within their cultural and historical context.Against a background of Maori resurgence, nurses in New Zealand have been challenged in Aotearoa-New Zealand to recognise and address racism in their practice. Meeting the health needs of all people has long been important in nursing yet the curricular changes implemented in the early 1990s to enhance nursing's contribution to a more equitable health service created uncertainty and tension both within nursing, and between nursing and the wider community.In this study, I have interpreted the experiences of seventeen nurses practising in an increasingly ethnically diverse region. Personal understandings and those from relevant literature have been used to illuminate further the nature of cross-cultural experience from a nurse's perspective. The thesis asserts that the notions of prejudice, paradox and possibility can be used to describe the experience of nursing a person from another culture. Prejudice refers to the prior understandings that influence nursing action in both a positive and a negative sense. Paradox relates to the coexistence and necessary interplay of contradictory meanings and positions, while possibility points to the potential for new understandings to surface from the fusion of past with present, and between different interpretations. As New Zealand nurses negotiate the conflicts essential for ongoing development of their practice, the play of prejudice, paradox and possibility is evident at intra-personal and interpersonal levels as well as in relation to professional and other social discourses. This thesis challenges nurses to persist in working with the tensions inherent in cross-cultural practice. It encourages continuation of their efforts to understand and move beyond the prejudices that otherwise preclude the exploration of new possibilities.

Abstract: This literature review is an exploration of nurse case management and it will provide the background for the introduction of a nursing case management model in the acute surgical environment at Western Bay Health. Case management is a collaborative process which assesses, plans, implements, co-ordinates, monitors and evaluates options and services to meet an individual's health needs through communication and available resources to promote quality, cost-effective outcomes (Newell, 1996:.3). In undertaking this review it was the author's intention to include the findings as background to a business case seeking the introduction of a surgical nurse case management model within the surgical service.

Abstract: This research examines how nurses negotiate the context of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while working with families. The action research described in this thesis developed through a series of meetings and conversations where the conversations supported the reflexive intent of the research. In commissioning the research, the design of the meetings and conversations were as a series of overlapping actions. Data collection and data analysis occurred in the action research by meetings, reflective conversations, ad libitum observations, and in a research journal. Conceptual maps explain the progress and findings of the research in this thesis while categories distilled from the conversations also support the findings in the research. The Family Action Research Group that was established within this project proposed a Family Assessment Form for the family to provide an assessment of themselves and the patient. Implementing this assessment tool demonstrated that clear information was needed for the family in the ICU. Findings in this research focus on developing action research and family care in ICU. Findings also focused on the role of the researcher being of and not being of the context where action research is undertaken. Recommendations include staff examining relationships for potential asymmetries and seeking ways to address these to support families and staff. Suggested strategies for developing action research in a clinical context include detailed planning, clear focusing, transparency of data, and working to explain change initiatives through the research are also included.

Abstract: This feminist study is an exploration of the subjectivity of women working as nurses within the gynaecological ward. Gynaecology has a long history as a unique area of concern to the health practitioners of any given period. However, the author suggests, recently with the development of modern gynaecology, this specialty has become based on male knowledge and male texts, women either as patients or nurses appear voiceless within this canon. Major tests within nursing mirror a medical construction of gynaecology, with the women involved in the discourse again absent from the literature. To explore the nurses' reality within the gynaecological ward, the author has undertaken a feminist interpretive study. To contribute to this debate the author drew on certain specific notions from feminist and postmodern epistemologies. These notions of the Other, difference, the body and discourse provided a unique way of viewing the practice of the nurses in this gynaecological setting. These epistemological concepts were then interwoven with feminist strategies to undertake the research. Through the process of feminist praxis, which included the author working alongside the nurses and conducting in-depth interviews, three areas of general concern to the nurses emerged. Firstly the relationships, that is their relationships with each other as nurses and with their women patients. Secondly, the difficulties inherent in nurses' practice in this setting due to the nature of the experiences of the women they were nursing. These difficulties arose in relation to two particular situations, nursing women experiencing a mid-trimester termination and nursing women with cancer. Thirdly, the relationship with/in the medical discourse and individual doctors which, according to nurses, had a major impact on their work. This study contributes to nursing knowledge by providing a forum for the voices of women as nurses, who nurse women in the gynaecological ward, to be heard. The author concludes that nursing and feminism have much to offer each other and share an emancipatory goal of positive action to support and assist people in their lives.

Abstract: This thesis is about caring for males, especially those males who could be considered “difficult” to care for through their use of behaviours such as silence, anger or defensive humour. This thesis is positioned in the view that these behaviours are often expressions of distress, which typically distance males from those who attempt to care for them. The author suggests that the word “distress” more accurately reflects the theme of the thesis, and it is used throughout the work. This thesis explores the interface between gender issues, nursing practice and caring for males. It is informed by a review of relevant literature and data gathered from a focus group of nine registered nurses. The analysis is framed by questions that are developed from a series of reflections on my personal and professional life. Critical social theory, with its emphases on dominant dialogue, power and emancipation is used to inform and guide this analysis. What is most obvious is the contrast between themes arising from the literature and those arising from the focus group. It appears that the literature, in the main, is critical of males in regard to concepts of masculinity, issues related to gender, and men's health. Males are portrayed as arbitrators of their own misfortune, as deliberately choosing a lifestyle that reflects poorly on their health, their self-expression, and communication with others. Concepts such as power and control over others, both at a societal and individual level, often feature. Conversely, the literature is noticeably lacking in regard to information about the health related experiences of males and about caring for males. In contrast, the participants of the focus group frame their discussion in the positive. For example, they suggest that males are interested in their health but require an environment that supports this expression of interest. They support this by identifying a range of behaviours they believe are effective in caring for males. The participants also suggest that it is the registered nurse rather than the male who manages issues to do with power and control. The thesis concludes that creating and sustaining an environment supportive of, and sensitive to the needs of males, is an activity that requires considerable thought, skill and experience. These areas are not adequately addressed in academic dialogue, research activity, or in the education of registered nurses. The thesis suggests that this situation is inconsistent with an ethic of care and that nursing should make a priority of broadening its research and knowledge base to better understand and care for males.