Abstract: This research study examined the role of the public health nurse. Utilising community needs analysis method, 17 key informants and two focus groups were asked questions to determine perceptions of the public health nurse. Findings indicated that participants lacked knowledge regarding the role. Additional findings intimated that participants had difficulty in accessing public health nurse services and that 'knowing the system' was beneficial to receiving needed care. One of the major conclusions of this study was that many facets of care managed by public health nurses were invisible to the communities in which they work. Conclusions suggest that public health nurses need to enhance their service by improving accessibility to services and promoting their service in a more visible manner.

Abstract: A participatory approach, grounded in both critical social and feminist research, was used in this study of seven women who claim being lesbian as part of their identity. With the objective of providing information to enhance safe care provision for this marginalised group, the study explored factors which hindered or facilitated these women's sense of safety related to health care. The findings indicate that barriers to receiving health care exist for these women. As there is little local or international research on lesbians and healthcare, this work offers a starting place for future New Zealand nursing research involving lesbians. The authors encourage other nurses to explore previously ignored sections of our society in order to strive for safety for all those whom nursing serves.

Abstract: Recent Nursing Council of New Zealand guidelines for competence-based practising certificates and the fact that all nurse educators must have a current practising certificate prompted the Nursing Schools within the Tertiary Accord of New Zealand (TANZ) to explore issues surrounding current competency in practice and how this can be maintained by nurse educators. The authors note that discussions related to competence-based practising certificates generally refer to competence only in terms of direct patient care. They set out to clarify the issue with specific reference to nurse educators who, by the nature of their scope of practice, often do not carry a patient caseload. They review the literature relating to currency of practice and draw on the findings of a survey of TANZ Nursing Schools and provide a position on how currency of practice applies to nurses working in an educational setting. They present strategies to maintain clinical, teaching and scholarly currency and make some suggestions for providing evidence that currency of practice is maintained.

Abstract: This article presents the findings of a search for evidence to support the 45-60 degree angle of insertion for intramuscular injection of vaccine which is recommended in New Zealand. With the objective of discovering the evidence base for an intramuscular injection angle which differs from that recommended by the World Health Organisation and the accepted practice experienced by the author in the UK, Canada, Malawi and the USA, a comprehensive library and internet literature search was undertaken. Information was also sought by personal correspondence and contact with a range of immunisation specialists. Both the literature specifically on needle angle and that which includes needle angle within a wider investigation of technique is included. Overwhelmingly the evidence supports a 90 degree angle of needle insertion for intramuscular injection as being most effective in terms of patient comfort, safety and efficacy of vaccine.

Abstract: The author argues that the involvement of nurses in the decision-making of health organisations is essential to maximise the contribution of nurses and promote positive outcomes for patients. She suggests that development of leadership skills will make nurses aware of power structures in the health system and allow them to become interdependent health professionals in primary health organisations (PHO). The particular competencies discussed are those proposed by Van Maurik (1997), namely ability to understand and manage organisational politics, work facilitatively with people and circumstances, and build a feeling of purpose.

Abstract: The author performs a literature search on the topics of risk assessment, dangerousness, aggression, and violence in order to determine an evidence-based approach to risk assessment of patient violence towards others. This is set in the context of possible expansion in the scope of practice of mental health nurses, and the prevalence of nurses being assaulted by patients. In the absence of reliable and valid nursing risk assessment measures, the approach suggested here focuses on the use of observation skills to detect behaviour antecedent to physical assault, and the ability to adapt evidence to specific clinical settings.

Abstract: The particular, contemporary meanings ascribed to “advanced nursing practice” in New Zealand have been debated and delineated in the 1990s, culminating in the launch of the nurse practitioner role at a conference sponsored by the Ministry of Health and the Nursing Council of New Zealand in August, 2001. Drawing on archival materials, documents, other texts and voices, this article explores the evolution of connotations and meanings of the word “advanced” as applied to nursing in New Zealand. The focus is on clinical practice, research, teaching, consulting, higher education, and advancement of the profession. Historical aspects of advancement in New Zealand nursing are examined, including registration, unsupervised practice, technical specialisation, and career development.

Abstract: In this article, the second of two, the literature is examined to determine the ability of problem-based learning to develop professional nursing practice. Professional practice depends on critical thinking for the development of both rational problem-solving skills and critical reflective thinking. This article proposes that problem-based learning has the potential to develop the critical thinking skills required for problem solving and decision-making. However problem-based learning is less likely to promote the critical reflective thinking without which the transformative practice needed to drive health gains in the 21st century is unlikely to emerge.