Roulston, E. (2008). Storytelling: The story of my advancing rural nursing journey. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp. 57-65). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: The author takes a storytelling approach to describe her advancing practice as a registered nurse in a rural context. She adapted a theoretical 'reflective learning through storytelling' framework, from McDrury and Alterio (2002). The framework includes the concepts of reflection, learning, knowledge and experience which is related to professional practice and one's self.
|
Thompson, R. (2008). On call but not rostered. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp. 67-78). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: In this chapter the author uses storytelling to explore the legal and ethical issues she experiences as a rural volunteer registered nurse. She describes the relationship between the nurse and community embodied in areas such as the public perception of nurses, and discusses aspects of her practice in the light of the particular legal and ethical context of rural areas.
|
Jamieson, I. (2008). The mobile operating theatre project. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp.81-97). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: This chapter firstly presents the development of a mobile operating theatre project, which was implemented in 2002 to provide rural day-stay surgery. Secondly, it discusses the process and findings of a research project undertaken with the purpose of evaluating a perioperative (theatre and recovery) reskilling programme offered to 42 rural nurses from nine secondary hospitals, conducted over nine months in 2001. The training was given to nurses prior to the introduction of a mobile operating theatre service, and was seen as a key part of the service contract.
|
Pedersen, C. (2008). Nurse-led telephone triage service in a secondary rural hospital. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp. 99-110). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: This chapter describes the development of a nurse-led after-hours telephone triage service in a rural secondary hospital in the Hawke's Bay District Health Board area. This service was a response to the health restructuring in the 1990s, which had led to the shift of secondary services out of the rural areas, and workforce recruitment issues. Secondly, it discusses the process and findings of a research project undertaken to identify and describe telephone callers' reported outcomes after using the service. The study found a high level of satisfaction amongst callers and a high level of compliance to advice.
|
Horner, C. (2008). Emergency health provision and maintaining competency. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp. 125-136). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: This chapter focuses on issues associated with rural nursing and the provision of emergency care for patient(s) located remotely from secondary hospital services. All emergencies have diverse characteristics, but the rural practitioner also contends with having sole practice, professional and geographical isolation, and the lack of regular experience. The chapter reviews the PRIME (Primary Response in Medical Emergency) recommendations and training, and looks in particular at the issues around the maintenance of competency for the rural nurse providing emergency on call health care that includes managing medical and accident emergencies in the absence of a medical practitioner.
|
Fitzwater, A. (2008). The impact of tourism on rural nursing practice. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp. 137-43). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: This chapter reviews some effects of the growth of tourism, including adventure tourism and the numbers of tourists over 50, on rural nursing practice. Tourism contributes to socio-cultural change within a community, and health resources that previously met the needs of the local community may not meet the expectations of growing numbers of tourists. The transient visitor includes both the tourist and the seasonal worker, and has become a feature of rural nursing. Major effects on rural nurses include the increased volume of work, the advanced scope of practice required to meet more complex needs of visitors, and challenges to personal and professional safety.
|
Robertson, A. M. (2008). Rural women and maternity services. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp. 179-97). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: The author discusses the roles that nurses undertake in response to rural communities' health needs, focusing on the provision of maternity service. The author reviews structural changes such as the 1990 Amendment to the Nurses Act 1977 which, the author suggests, introduced a climate of professional rivalry, changes in funding that cut back general practitioners in the field, and the development of Lead Maternity Carers. Despite controversial developments, New Zealand maternity services have evolved to include a unique and internationally respected model of midwifery care. However, the author highlights several areas that limit the positive contribution of rural nurses and midwives. These include workforce recruitment and retention, equity of access, and issues around maintaining competency and education.
|
Armstrong, S. E. (2008). Exploring the nursing reality of the sole on-call primary health care rural nurse interface with secondary care doctors. In Jean Ross (Ed.), Rural nursing: Aspects of practice (pp. 225-46). [Dunedin]: Rural Health Opportunities.
Abstract: A qualitative framework was used to explore the nature and the quality of interactions between sole on-call primary health care rural nurses and secondary care doctors. This study is framed as investigating a specific component of rural nursing practice and as being representative of the primary-secondary care interface. The primary-secondary care interface is crucial for the delivery of patient-centered care, and there is an increased focus on preventive primary health care. The New Zealand government sees the repositioning of professional roles and increasing emphasis on collaboration as an opportunity to re-define and address the current constraints to nursing practice. This has resulted in tensions between the medical and nursing professions. These tensions are not new, with the relationship sometimes marred by conflict which has been attributed to historical medical dominance and nursing deference. This study explores some specific areas which affect collaboration and makes recommendations at the national, regional and individual level to address them.
|
Barber, M. (2007). Nursing and living in rural New Zealand communities: An interpretive descriptive study. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: This study used an interpretive descriptive method to gain insight into and explore key issues for rural nurses working and living in the same community. Four Rural Nurse Specialists were recruited as participants. The nurses had lived and nursed in the same rural community for a minimum of 12 months. Participants were interviewed face to face and their transcribed interviews underwent thematic analysis. The meta-theme was: the distinctive nature of rural nursing. The themes identified were: interwoven professional and personal roles; complex role of rural nurses and relationships with the community. A conceptual model was developed to capture the relationship between the meta-theme and the themes. A definition for rural nursing was developed from the findings. This research identified some points of difference in this group of rural nurses from the available rural nursing literature. It also provides a better understanding of the supports Rural Nurse Specialists need to be successful in their roles, particularly around the recruitment and retention of the rural nursing workforce.
|
Campbell, K. (2004). Intertwining the role of partner and caregiver: A phenomenological study of the experiences of four New Zealand rural women who have cared for their terminally ill partners. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: The stories of the women who live and work in rural settings in New Zealand have begun to reveal unique contributions that they have made to their families and community. This research study evolved from a trend the researcher observed as a district nurse providing community palliative care in rural New Zealand; that the majority of carers of those who are terminally in home-settings are in fact women. This qualitative study aimed to explore through guided conversational interviews the experiences of four women who have cared for their terminally ill partners who have subsequently died. The study investigated if these women's experiences were comparable to that of other women in existing palliative care literature. This research project focused particularly on elucidating the women's experience of intertwining the role of partner and caregiver. Heidegger's hermeneutic philosophy informed the methodology because he focused on what it meant to 'be' rather than 'how we know what we know'. The project focused on the meanings the women made of this dual role in their lives. Women already in the role of partner were now faced with the added responsibility of caregiver to meet the complex needs of their loved one. Usually they had no training to prepare them for this experience. The study reveals ways in which the visiting palliative care nurse becomes very important to them. The women's own voices reveal the high level of respect for their partners and address the harsh realities, revealing poignant and striking concerns in their lives. These stories are shared with the intent of enriching nurses' and other health professionals' understanding of the women's experiences. The author notes that understanding these women's experience is not only a way of honouring these remarkable women but more widely it will inform and possibly transform practice through guideline and policy refinement.
|
Litchfield, M., & Ross, J. (2000). The role of rural nurses: National survey. Christchurch: Centre for Rural Health.
Abstract: A survey was used to reach as many nurses as possible involved with nursing in “rural” areas throughout New Zealand and to build a profile of nurses involved in the provision of healthcare beyond the urban centres. The contact also sought to inform nurses of the rural healthcare project and encourage them to contribute their experience to the development of health services in the new health service structure. Data is presented on the characteristics and employment conditions of nurses and access to resources including information technology. The inadequacy of information on the rural nurse workforce is identified: nurse roles are historically defined yet employment patterns are changing according to the workforce demands of new structures, and the existing definitions of rural health service design and delivery are only in terms of general medical practices and on-call coverage. Recommendations are made for definitions of “rurality” and “rural nurse” that will allow a more useful depiction of the nurse workforce.
|
Litchfield, M. (2001). A framework of complementary models of nursing practice: A study of nursing roles and practice for a new era of healthcare provision in New Zealand. Christchurch: Centre for Rural Health.
Abstract: This is the second of a series of research projects undertaken to present the contemporary picture of the nurse workforce and their work in rural settings to inform policy for development of rural healthcare. The document presents the findings of telephone interviews with nurses in different work rural work settings around the country discussing their practice. The analysis identified a framework of four models of nursing practice: two traditional models defined by the institutions employing nurses, and two emerging models defined by the new positions requiring nurses to respond directly to health need.
|
|
Chick, D. N. P. (2003). Rural district nurses as rehabilitationists. Ph.D. thesis, , .
|
Ross, J. (2017). 'Place' Matters to Rural Nurses: A Study Located in the Rural Otago Region of New Zealand. Doctoral thesis, University of Otago, .
Abstract: Explores the social construction of the evolving professional identity, of rural nurses between the 1990z and early 2000s, a period of time was associated with two
significant national directives impacting on the professional practice of rural nurses and their contribution to the delivery of health care, from the rural Otago region of NZ. Engages with the concepts of place and governmentality. Demonstrates that rural nursing is a place–based practice governed both from within and beyond location, an analytical diagrammatic matrix.
|
Hutton, G. (2018). How do rural nurse specialists in South Westland perceive their personal safety whilst working in isolation? Master's thesis, University of Otago, Christchurch.
Abstract: Identifies how rural nurse specialists (RNS) working in South Westland (SW) perceiver their personal safety in a rural environment as compared with an urban one. Uses a focus group to explore RNS responses and to identify the following themes related to safety in isolated environments: community, pressure to perform, and luck versus planning for safety. Suggests recommendations for future practice.
|
