Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the practise of Nurses when working with depressed patients in an In Care setting. A survey of the literature shows that the role commonly prescribed for nurses who work in psychiatric settings is one that emphasises a one- on -one relationship based on models of psychotherapy and focuses on individual illness, pathology, systems and psycho dynamics. It is suggested that this is not a role which most Nurses working in New Zealand psychiatric settings would be able to implement in practise. Three perspective's of Nursing practise were explored in the study. What Nurses were seen to do in practice. What they thought they should do as evidenced in results of an exercise to rank different possible interventions, and what patients said were helpful Nursing interventions. A framework was developed for the study which depicts the process of helplessness(depression) as the negative 'mirror -image' of the process of self care. Results were analysed within this framework to determine whether or not Nurses tended to support behaviours which were indicative of movement towards helplessness or encourage those which indicated progress towards self care by their interventions. There was little evidence of positive reinforcement for independent or coping behaviours with patients in the study sample. Further, the nursing practise showed little relationship to the role prescribed in the literature. The Nurses did demonstrate a warm caring friendly approach that seemed to stem from a more traditional 'succouring, mothering' view of Nurses' role

Abstract: A study to determine the content validity of an education instrument to assess the clinical competence of Comprehensive Nursing Students and the reliability of the Nursing Teachers using the evaluation instrument to assess student Nurses performance depicted on videotapes of simulated clinical situations. 24 of the Nursing Teachers in a school of Nursing rated student Nurses clinical performance in simulated videotaped clinical settings. One half of these Teachers assessed the students without a specific evaluation instrument and their assessments were compared with the Teachers using the existing evaluation for assessing Nursing students' clinical competence. The evaluation instrument was judged to be valid in terms of content by the Nursing Teachers taking part in the study. Rated reliability of observer agreement was not demonstrated with 24 Nursing Teachers rating 3 Nursing Students' clinical performance as videotaped in simulated clinical settings. The usefulness of videotapes for determining observer agreement and as a tool for use in staff training workshops, in relation to assessing clinical competence of Nursing Students is established