Abstract: Patients with myisthenia gravis (MG) face major pulmary problems as a part of the disease process. In this descriptive study, changes in selected pulmonary functions (respiratory rate, negative inspiratory force, tidal volume and forced total capacity) in 14 patients diagnosed with mild or moderate MG were measured every two hours from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. Females comprised 64% of the sample while 36% were males. All subjects received anticholnesterase medication, and some subjects received additional treatment modalities. Most of the subjects were non-smokers or previous smokers, but two subjects continued to smoke. Ninety-three recent of the sample had forced vital capacities less than 60% of their predicted values. Myasthenic forced vital capacities were significantly lower (p=.0000) than those predicted for normal subjects. The inspiratory force for the sample was low sat 8:00 a.m. as well as in females over 55 years of age. There was a wide variation in total volume to normal values derived from random tables and predicted equations ws not significant. Th major implications from this study are the need to assess pulmonary function in the hospitalized myasthenic every two hours, and the need for a program of coughing, deep breathing and sighing after medication administration when the muscles are strongest

Abstract: Attitudes towards the concept of professionalism have not been explored to any great extent in this country, especially the attitudes of the Clinical Nurse practitioner. The importance of knowing what Nurses attitudes are to this concept is central to the recognition of the current developmental stage and growth of the profession. A twenty statement Like-style attitudinal questionnaire was given to Registered Nurses to measure current attitudes to professionalism. No statistical significance was found between the degree of positively to professionalism and years of service, educational qualifications eg, practise area, or involvement with a professional organisation. There appeared to be a positive relationship between questionnaire score and length of time in the current practise area ( the longer the service the higher the score). Further statistical significance was found in questions highlighting what Nurses think of Nursing as a profession. This study should form the basis of further research and provide some thought for Nurse leaders, educators and policy makers

Abstract: Two convenience samples of 90 NZ registered nurses responded to two structured questionnaires designed to explore nurses views of caring in nursing practice.The studies demonstrate that nurses see caring as a central concept in their practice. From the response the meaning of caring was found to be multi dimensional, consisting of six components: value, expressive, action, relationship, knowledge and purpose. The value dimension includes areas such as humanistic value and professional value. The expressive component consists of empathy, compassion, trust, concern, sharing and willingness. Action components are helping, comforting, being there, empowering, advocacy, nurturing, advising, touching and performing nursing procedures. The major relationship component is partnership. An important part of the knowledge component is clinical expertise and the purposive component of caring consists of meeting health needs and promoting healing and welfare. The meaning of caring begins to emerge from these studies. However, they do not provide full understanding of caring phenomena. A further in-depth study of actual nursing practice is still in progress

Abstract: This thesis provides a reflexive critique of the power structures which constrain nursing actions in the practice setting, an abortion clinic, of the registered nurses who participated in this study. The development of abortion services, like other health services for women, has been based on a medical ideology of health which has created many ethical dilemmas for nurses. One of the most complex of these is the extent to which nurses should fulfil the role of client advocate. While the literature on nursing advocacy has been prolific, published research in this area is scant.The theoretical assumptions of critical social science, provide the basis for the methodological approach of action research adapted in this study. In depth, unstructured interviews involving exchange of dialogue amongst the participants with the researcher focused on the participants' experiences of their own nursing practice, with a view to uncoveing and removing restrasints, which had prevented them fulfililng an advocacy role. Diaries were also kept and used as supplementary research tools.The analysis of the data demonstrates the ways in which nurses interpret their own practice world as a system independent of their own actions. It shows how the shared understandings of the participants were 'ideologically frozen' and power relations inherent in the health care system are deep rooted and subtle, coming to be treated as natural by the nurses, and so denying them their own ability to make changes.It is suggested that opportunities for nurses coming together and engaging in such critically reflexive dialogue may provide a basis for future emancipation from traditional power structures. In this way effective and satisfying nursing practice dependent on emancipatory knowledge and a reinterpretation of power structures may result in an advocacy role for nurses