Abstract: A study of 33 adult patients – 20 Anglo – Australian, 13 Yugoslav- who were admitted for arranged abdominal surgery to three Australian hospitals between January and June 1980. Focusing on the role of cultural factors in the experience of post operative pain the study confirmed the existence of some behavioral differences between Anglo – Australian and Yugoslav patients in terms of their responses to pain. The greatest degree of difference between the two groups however was found in their underlying attitudes to pain

Abstract: This is a report of a study into the night-time experience of elderly hospitilised adults and the nurses who care for them. A grounded theory approach was used for the analysis of data and subsequent generation of a theoretical description an partial explanation of patient experiences, nursing actions and nurse-patient interactions.Data were gathered through observation, interview, document audit and literature review; tow general medical wards in a large regional hospital were the focus of field methods of data collection.It is argued that the night-time experiences of elderly hospitalized adults are to a large degree dependent on the individual patterns of sleep and waking behaviour of these people in their normal environments. If individualised care is given, nurses must be aware of people's usual patterns of behaviour.Nurses working at night engage in a series of complex decision sin the course of their interaction with patients. They work under constraints not present during the daytime, and are highly dependent on co-operation from colleagues on other shifts for information which would enable them to deliver optimum care at night. At the same time, night nurses have access to information from and about patients which would be invaluable to a total assessment of any patient's health state.Considerations of sleep and sleep are relevant to nurses working all shifts. The findings of the study have implications in terms of nurses' knowledge of all aspects of sleep; assessment practices; nurse-patient and nurse-nurse communication; nurse-patient relationships at night; wars management; and the independence of nurses

Abstract: This study focussed on nursing practice in action. The research goal was to identify nursing-relevant dimensions within a person's experience of being a hospital patient undergoing elective surgery. In order to discover and conceptualize the underlying processes which are present as patients are nursed through this experience, an open question was posed – What is happening here? A qualitative research method ws the most appropriate means of discovering an answer to this question.The particular method chosen was the grounded theory approach developed by Glaser and Strauss. Data were collected in five surgical wards of a large city hospital over a period of five months. The research participants were twenty-one patients and the nurses involved in their care. Primary sources of data were interviews and the nursing records. These were augmented by field notes and accounts of observed incidents relating to the care of each patient.Using the inductive strategies of the grounded theory method, numerous descriptive concepts were generated during the data analysis. These were ordered within an integrating social process derived from anthropology. By this means a founded theory in the form of a theoretical framework – the Nursed Passage – was developed. Within this passage the patient is the passage and nursing is translated into action through the agency of the nurse.The Nursed Passage is a patterned partnership with three key elements. Firstly, the temporal element, characterised by ongoing movement and constant change, is conveyed in the sequence of phases or stages. Secondly the participative element is portrayed as a patterned relationship in which both nurses and patient are actively involved in progressing the patient through the passage. Finally, the contextual element recognises complex factors within the nursing environment which have an impact on the shape of the relationship between patient and nurse.This theoretical framework, generated from the reality of nursing as it occurs in one setting, assigns a specific shape to the encounter between nurses and patient. It identifies the contribution nursing alone can make to optimise each patient's hospital experience. In this way it both complements and facilitates the work of medical and other colleagues with whom nurses work. Thus it serves to revalue nursing in terms that can maximally utilise the registered nurse's knowledge and skill for the benefit of all concerned. Consequently, it has the potential value for nursing practice, education and research

Abstract: This research focuses upon the lived experience of Diploma of Comprehensive Nursing Students in their final clinical experience. It is generated from the narrative of the students, how they experience their practise, how they make clinical judgements and how they prepare themselves for their graduate practise. Twenty one participants were each interviewed three times throughout a 6-8 week clinical experience in an acute care setting