Inclusive Practice for Health Professionals

Inclusive Practice for Health Professionals equips students with knowledge of the social, political and cultural factors that influence health care in Australia, to prepare them to be well informed, considerate health professionals. It embraces the multidisciplinary nature of work in the health professions, and applies the term inclusive practice to focus attention on its relevance to all healthcare professionals and improving health outcomes. The book considers the interface between health care delivery, health care professionals and population groups, and examines the key concepts, influences and strategies of inclusive practice to help students develop best practice skills for working in complex and diverse healthcare settings

A 'rite of passage?': bullying experiences of nursing students in Australia

Background: Bullying in nursing remains an unacceptable international phenomenon and one that is widely reported in the literature. Recently, reports of bullying and harassment of nursing students have been increasing. Aim: This paper aims to describe bullying and harassment experienced by Australian nursing students while on clinical placement, as told by the participants. Methods: As part of a larger study, 884 Australian baccalaureate nursing students were surveyed to identify the nature and extent of their experiences of bullying and/or harassment during clinical placement. Almost half of the students (430) provided open-ended comments. These textual data were explored using a content analysis approach. Findings: The major themes derived from the analysis consisted of: manifestations of bullying and harassment; the perpetrators, consequences and impacts. Bullying behaviours included various forms of verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Perpetrators of bullying included other nurses, medical professionals, administrative and support staff. Students reported anxiety, panic attacks, physical symptoms of distress and loss of confidence and self-esteem from their experience of bullying during clinical placement. Discussion: Bullying in nursing is a widespread yet poorly understood phenomenon that impacts negatively on the learning experience of vulnerable nursing students, effecting them physically, mentally and emotionally. The potential implications of the bullying of nursing students on patient care reinforces the need for the culture of bullying that exists amongst the nursing profession to be addressed. Conclusion: The findings of this research have implications for nursing educators and clinicians. Recommendations include ensuring adequate preparation of students, clinical instructors and registered nurses who work with students in the practice environment

The methodological dynamism of grounded theory

Variations in grounded theory (GT) interpretation are the subject of ongoing debate. Divergences of opinion, genres, approaches, methodologies, and methods exist, resulting in disagreement on what GT methodology is and how it comes to be. From the postpositivism of Glaser and Strauss, to the symbolic interactionist roots of Strauss and Corbin, through to the constructivism of Charmaz, the field of GT methodology is distinctive in the sense that those using it offer new ontological, epistemological, and methodological perspectives at specific moments in time. We explore the unusual dynamism attached to GT’s underpinnings. Our view is that through a process of symbolic interactionism, in which generations of researchers interact with their context, moments are formed and philosophical perspectives are interpreted in a manner congruent with GT’s essential methods. We call this methodological dynamism, a process characterized by contextual awareness and moment formation, contemporaneous translation, generational methodology, and methodological consumerism

Undergraduate nursing studies: the first-year experience

The transfer of nursing education into the tertiary section in Australia aimed to address a number of issues for nursing, the most significant of which was to enhance the status of the profession. A side effect of the establishment of university-based nursing programs is the increased flexibility that makes studies in nursing an option for students who may otherwise not have had this opportunity. Such accessibility is not without problems as many students enter tertiary nursing programs after a prolonged period of absence from a scholarly environment. Those who do enrol directly from other forms of study are often overwhelmed by the specific requirements of nursing programs. In order to promote student succession and reduce attrition, universities have established a number of mechanisms to support students as they transition to the tertiary environment. This article reports on a survey of 112 nursing students enrolled in their first year of study at a regional university in Australia. Findings are presented under the major areas of questions, these being, issues faced in adapting to the role of a university student in the first year of study, services or support mechanisms accessed to assist in transition to the role of university student, and services lacking that would have assisted in the transition to the role of university student. These findings are then discussed in the context of existing knowledge of the first-year experience of university students

Undergraduate Nursing Studies: The First-Year Experience

Abstract The transfer of nursing education into the tertiary section in Australia aimed to address a number of issues for nursing, the most significant of which was to enhance the status of the profession. A side effect of the establishment of university-based nursing programs is the increased flexibility that makes studies in nursing an option for students who may otherwise not have had this opportunity. Such accessibility is not without problems as many students enter tertiary nursing programs after a prolonged period of absence from a scholarly environment. Those who do enrol directly from other forms of study are often overwhelmed by the specific requirements of nursing programs. In order to promote student succession and reduce attrition, universities have established a number of mechanisms to support students as they transition to the tertiary environment. This article reports on a survey of 112 nursing students enrolled in their first year of study at a regional university in Australia. Findings are presented under the major areas of questions, these being, issues faced in adapting to the role of a university student in the first year of study, services or support mechanisms accessed to assist in transition to the role of university student, and services lacking that would have assisted in the transition to the role of university student. These findings are then discussed in the context of existing knowledge of the first-year experience of university students

Shaping public opinion on the issue of childbirth; a critical analysis of articles published in an Australian newspaper

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Australian government has announced a major program of reform with the move to primary maternity care, a program of change that appears to be at odds with current general public perceptions regarding how maternity care is delivered.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A critical discourse analysis of articles published in 'The Age', a newspaper with national distribution, subsequent to the release of the discussion paper by the Australian Government in 2008 was undertaken. The purpose was to identify how Australian maternity services are portrayed and what purpose is served by this representation to the general public.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Findings from this critical discourse analysis revealed that Australian maternity services are being portrayed to the general public as an inflexible outdated service struggling to meets the needs of pregnant women and in desperate need of reform. The style of reporting employed in this newspaper involved presenting to the reader the range of expert opinion relevant to each topic, frequently involving polarised positions of the experts on the issue.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The general public are presented with a conflict, caught between the need for changes that come with the primary maternity model of care and fear that these change will undermine safe standards. The discourse; 'Australia is one of the safest countries in which to give birth or be born, what is must be best', represents the situation where despite major deficiencies in the system the general public may be too fearful of the consequences to consider a move away from reliance on traditional medical-led maternity care.</p

National review of maternity services 2008: women influencing change

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2009 the Australian government announced a major program of reform with the move to primary maternity care. The reform agenda represents a dramatic change to maternity care provision in a society that has embraced technology across all aspects of life including childbirth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A critical discourse analysis of selected submissions in the consultation process to the national review of maternity services 2008 was undertaken to identify the contributions of individual women, consumer groups and organisations representing the interests of women.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Findings from this critical discourse analysis revealed extensive similarities between the discourses identified in the submissions with the direction of the 2009 proposed primary maternity care reform agenda. The rise of consumer influence in maternity care policy reflects a changing of the guard as doctors' traditional authority is questioned by strong consumer organisations and informed consumers.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Unified consumer influence advocating a move away from obstetric -led maternity care for all pregnant women appears to be synergistic with the ethos of corporate governance and a neoliberal approach to maternity service policy. The silent voice of one consumer group (women happy with their obstetric-led care) in the consultation process has inadvertently contributed to a consensus of opinion in support of the reforms in the absence of the counter viewpoint.</p

Dimensions of sadness - expanding awareness of community nurses' practice in palliative care / Ysanne B. Chapman.

Bibliography: leaves 252-270.275 leaves ; 30 cm.Events of sadness from their daily routine are described by sixteen participants and retold as stories. Inspired by philosophical and methodological ideology situated firmly within the interpretive paradigm, an analysis of these stories is undertaken using an interpretive, hermeneutical lens.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Clinical Nursing, 199

The lived experience of nursing dying or dead people

This phenomenological study describes the experiences of twelve registered nurses who have nursed a dying or dead patient. These registered nurses come from a variety of backgrounds, not only personally, but also educationally and socially. The study primarily focuses on these registered nurses' most significant experience with death in a professional capacity. Twelve registered nurses were invited to share their stories by means of taped interviews and/or written narrative which attempted to discover the underlying meaning of their experiences. However, in relating their stories, many of the registered nurses wished to describe other death experiences which were of significance for them. The study is grounded in Heideggerian phenomenology and analysis of the transcripts revealed the emerging essences of connectedness, aloneness, questioning and accepting. The study further reveals that these essences align themselves to the four fundamental existentials of spatiality, corporeality, temporality and relationality as described by Merleau-Ponty (1962). Additionally, these essences are related back to the principles of Parse's (1987) theory of Human-Becoming and provide some insights for nursing practice when caring for the dying or the dead patient. Some discussion on how these insights may be related to contemporary nursing practice in Australia is highlighted. Each participant's transcript is followed by a poem which intends to capture the essence of their relationship with the situation(s) they have shared with the author