Fourie, W., & Oliver, J. D. (2002). Defining currency of practice for nurse educators. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(3), 30–39.
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.
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Finlayson, M., & Gower, S. E. (2002). Hospital restructuring: Identifying the impact on patients and nurses. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(2), 27–35.
Abstract: The authors report a survey of all nurses working in hospitals included in the International Hospital Outcomes Study of staffing and patient outcomes in New Zealand's secondary and tertiary hospitals from 1988-2001. The survey examines the way in which the hospitals have been restructured and analyses patient outcomes. Research has identified links between how nursing is organised in a hospital and that hospital's patient outcomes.
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Warren, B. L. (2002). Intramuscular injection angle: Evidence for practice? (Vol. 18).
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.
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Ardagh, M., Wells, E., Cooper, K., Lyons, R., Patterson, R., & O'Donovan, P. (2002). Effect of a rapid assessment clinic on the waiting time to be seen by a doctor and the time spent in the department, for patients presenting to an urban emergency department: A controlled prospective trial. Access is free to articles older than 6 months, and abstracts., 115(1157).
Abstract: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that triaging certain emergency department patients through a rapid assessment clinic (RAC) improves the waiting times, and times in the department, for all patients presenting to the emergency department. For ten weeks an additional nurse and doctor were rostered. On the odd weeks, these two staff ran a RAC and on even weeks, they did not, but simply joined the other medical and nursing staff, managing patients in the traditional way. During the five weeks of the RAC clinic a total of 2263 patients attended the emergency department, and 361 of these were referred to the RAC clinic. During the five control weeks a total of 2204 patients attended the emergency department. There was no significant difference in the distribution across triage categories between the RAC and non-RAC periods. The researchers found that the rapid management of patients with problems which do not require prolonged assessment or decision making, is beneficial not only to those patients, but also to other patients sharing the same, limited resources.
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Farrow, T., McKenna, B., & O'Brien, A. J. (2002). Initiating committal proceedings 'just in case' with voluntary patients: A critique of nursing practice. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(2), 15–23.
Abstract: The authors report a clinical audit that, combined with anecdotal evidence, verifies the practice of putting section 8B medical certificates on the files of voluntary mental health patients at the time of admission. This is seen as a strategy to balance the requirement to support and promote the autonomy of voluntary patients with the need to protect those patients or other people. A conceptual analysis of these issues indicates that such a practice is both legally questionable and ethically inappropriate. The authors suggest an alternative framework for practice that is legally and ethically preferable for both nurses and patients.
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Mackay, B. (2002). Leadership development: Supporting nursing in a changing primary health care environment. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(2), 24–32.
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.
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McKenna, B. (2002). Risk assessment of violence to others: Time for action. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(1), 36–43.
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.
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Horsburgh, M., Smith, V. A., & Kivell, D. (2002). South Auckland community paediatric nursing service: A framework for evaluation. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 18(3), 40–49.
Abstract: This paper describes the Kidz First paediatric community homecare nursing team in South Auckland. While the service was not initially planned as an integrated approach to child health, its evolution reflects the move to more community based care delivery and the expansion of nurse-led initiatives in New Zealand. The components of a community paediatric home nursing team as described by Eaton (2000) are used to provide the framework with which to describe the service. A focus group held with the Kidz First paediatric community homecare nurses has enabled definition of the key nursing components provided to children and their families living in South Auckland.
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Spence, D. (2001). The evolving meaning of 'culture' in New Zealand nursing. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 17(3), 51–61.
Abstract: The author traces the nursing definition of biculturalism as it has evolved from the colonial period to the present. An examination of nursing literature demonstrates that local understandings of culture have matured beyond anthropological interpretations to a sociopolitical definition of Maori culture. The author suggests that, in nursing, culture has come to mean cultural safety.
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Day, D. R., Mills, B., & Fairburn, F. (2001). Exercise prescription: Are practice nurses adequately prepared for this? New Zealand Journal of Sports Medicine, 29(2), 32–36.
Abstract: This study sought to examine whether practice nurses were prepared to provide exercise prescriptions to clients. It involved administering questionnaires to 53 practice nurses in Otago to examine their understanding of green prescriptions and their knowledge and participation in exercise prescription.
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Papps, E. (2001). (Re)positioning nursing: Watch this space. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 17(2), 4–12.
Abstract: This paper traces the emergence of categories of nurse over the last hundred years from the time that the Nurses Registration Act became law in 1901. Insights from the work of Michel Foucault are utilised to show how nurses and nursing have been historically shaped and positioned. It is suggested that the recent endorsement by the Nursing Council of New Zealand of the concept and title of 'nurse practitioner' represents an opportunity for nurses to imagine what might be constructed for their roles.
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White, G. E., & Su, H. - R. (2000). Am I dying, nurse? Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 15(1), 33–40.
Abstract: This paper addresses the concept of truth, and debates who should tell it and how it should be told. It explores the cultural aspects of knowing the truth about dying. The question of whether nurses have a moral obligation to tell the truth is explored, and suggests the lack of New Zealand research in this area should be addressed.
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Jacobs, S. (2000). Credentialling: Setting standards for advanced nursing practice. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 15(2), 38–46.
Abstract: This article examines professional regulation with particular reference to advanced practice. As well as providing an overview of credentialing and other aspects of professional regulation, including licensure, certification, registration, and titling, the question of how much regulation, and by whom, is explored.
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Wallis, R. (2000). Post-anaesthetic shaking: A review of the literature. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 15(1), 23–32.
Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of shaking and shivering as discussed in the nursing and medical literature. It defines post-anaesthetic shaking, focusing on the role of anaesthetics in hypothermia, pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, and theories of causes and consequences. Ways of preventing and treating post-anaesthetic shaking are examined.
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Horsburgh, M. (2000). Quality in undergraduate nursing programmes: The role of Nursing Council. Nursing Praxis in New Zealand, 15(2), 25–37.
Abstract: This paper looks broadly at issues to do with quality monitoring in higher education and considers the role and focus of the Nursing Council of New Zealand in the approval of and ongoing monitoring of undergraduate nursing degree programmes. It is suggested that the approach taken by the Nursing Council is accountability led where minimal attention is given to teaching and learning and actual graduate outcomes. This may lead to a mistaken belief that Nursing Council's monitoring focuses on quality or that the outcomes of their monitoring might contribute to programme enhancement. A shift to emphasise learning processes, students and continual improvement in order to enhance programme quality is proposed.
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