Abstract: This paper reports on a literature review that examines how health professionals (mainly nurses) recognise the signs of physical deterioration in their patients. It includes discussion of how nurses' clinical decision making skills influence how physical deterioration is identified and determines what changes in the delivery of care could have an impact on emergency department patients at risk of life threatening deterioration.

Abstract: This thesis arises from the author's experience of several years of working in the emergency department and being exposed to workplace violence from patients and their families. Emergency nurses in New Zealand experience workplace violence every day. Registered nurses and the institutions in which they work manage workplace violence to varying degrees and in an ad hoc manner. The author notes that New Zealand has no national guidelines, or consensus on the management of workplace violence in the health sector. This research explores emergency nurses' encounters during their work when they have experienced workplace violence. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the experience and the consequences when nurses are confronted with episodes of violence while working in the emergency department. The essence of this research is gaining an understanding of how registered nurses have managed workplace violence and the impact of that violence on themselves, their colleagues, and the patients in the emergency department. Recommendations are made regarding nationally consistent guidelines, education on the management of workplace violence, improved security, and emergency department design. The discussion concludes with suggestions for further research on workplace violence in the health sector

Abstract: This thesis explores the nature of the emergency department environment as it continues to challenge emergency nurses to meet the health needs of an increasingly complex emergency department population. The emergency nurse is also facing conflict and challenge with regard to workplace safety and patient rights. The author suggests that, until recently, very little debate or consideration has been given to the moral dilemmas raised in the ability of emergency department staff to deliver timely and appropriate care in an overcrowded environment. She goes on to say that, in New Zealand, there is no national consistency with regard to the waiting crisis, no national guidelines and no national consensus putting the emergency nurse at risk. This thesis argues the need to acknowledge waiting times as a significant safety issue at a national level as increasing waiting times continue to impact on patient outcomes and nursing practice. It challenges current practice, in particular the role of the emergency nurse and the potential to legitimise expansion of the role to improve the patient experience of waiting in the emergency department.

Abstract: The aim of this research paper is to explore the processes of clinical decision-making in relation to emergency nurses and to examine the educational requirements for the development of clinical decision-making skills. Clinical decision-making is foundational to professional nursing practice. It is the expectation of the profession and the organisations in which nurses work that appropriate clinical decision-making will occur. Patients also rightly expect, when being cared for by nurses, that the clinical decisions pertaining to their care will be optimal.

Abstract: This dissertation is an exploration of what underpins and informs clinical nursing practice by telephone in mental health emergency settings. A critical review of the literature provides the foundation for discussion. Points of reflection explore links between the literature and the author's own experience and thoughts about clinical practice. Findings are presented within three main sections. 'Historical Context' considers the development and function of mental health emergency service telephone work. Practical aspects are discussed under `Service Provision Context.' 'Nursing Context' explores the fundamental skills involved in clinical reasoning and the preparation of staff for telephone work. Whilst 'Best practice' in the area of nursing by telephone is yet to be well defined, this work aims to provide a foundation for further inquiry, research and dialogue.

Abstract: On call emergency health services are becoming routinely provided by some rural nurses, predominantly within the South Island. Rural nurses have been advancing their practice to accommodate the limited availability of general practitioners in rural communities. Although this is becoming routine practice, the author has been providing a service such as this for the past 12 years. This dissertation describes this practice in relationship to the present social-political context, advancing nurse competencies and her experience of rural nursing in a rural town within the South Island. Particular significance for the rural nurse is the required independent practice and overall responsibility when remote from traditional medical oversight. Providing on call emergency care with the possibility of a broad spectrum of emergency situations while maintaining competence for the unpredictable frequency (or lack of frequency) of the rural emergency is the focus of this dissertation. The professional and personal risks are high for rural nurses when placed in situations they are not prepared for or unable to remain competent to manage. Implications resulting from the critique of the health service literature on this subject are identified. Firstly, rural nurses need to be insightful of their own emergency on call expertise and limitations. Secondly, rural nurses require ongoing education and thirdly that appropriate education is available and accessible to rural nurses. Lastly, rural nurses require maintenance of competency so these emergency skills are not lost. This dissertation and the resulting recommendations embrace Nursing Council of New Zealand Nurse Practitioner Competencies. The resulting outcomes fulfilling the rural nurse's need for maintenance of competency for emergency on call care, the community's need for safe appropriate emergency care and national legislation requirements.

Abstract: With the intention of decreasing emergency department demand, there has been a focus on determining those patients who do not require the services of the emergency department so they can be redirected away to an alternative health care provider or facility. Co-locating an after-hours primary health care facility near to the emergency department is a model under consideration in some district health boards. This model suggests that a substantial proportion of the patients currently managed in the emergency department can be assessed and managed in a general practice setting. It is envisaged that by redirecting the lower acuity patients away from the emergency department, overcrowding will be relieved. This is despite evidence demonstrating that low acuity patients are not the cause of emergency department overcrowding. Moreover, being treated at the emergency department is the only safety net for many people in the community who cannot afford alternative care. This research report discusses the literature regarding the practice of referring or redirecting patients away from the emergency department and the issues associated with this model. In doing this, it looks at the Australasian Triage Scale, the system used to ensure patients are seen in order of clinical urgency, because it has been suggested that this system could be used as a tool to refer patients away from the emergency department. The author concludes that even though some people could be seen by another health care provider, the triage system is not an appropriate tool for achieving this. While it is tempting to believe that patients in the lower triage categories are prime candidates for being referred away, there is evidence from hospital statistics that patients in these categories have a high number of hospital admissions and in-hospital death rates. Additionally, to complicate matters, there is no universal definition of what constitutes an 'appropriate' emergemcy department presentation and no consensus of opinion amongst health professionals in deciding patients' 'appropriateness'. For these reasons it is unethical to expect nurses who administer the triage system to use it for the purpose of referring people away from the emergency department.