Abstract: In this thesis, the author explores what she terms 'invisible bodies of nursing', which are the physical body of the nurse, the body of practice, and the body of knowledge. She argues that the physical body of the nurse is absent in most nursing literature. Her contention is that the physical body of the nurse is invisible because it is tacit and much nursing practice is invisible because it is perceived by many nurses to be inarticulable and is carried out within a private discourse of nursing, silently and secretly. Nursing knowledge is invisible because it is not seen as being valid or authoritative or sanctioned as a legitimate discourse by the dominant discourse. This analysis is informed by Luce Irigaray's philosophy of the feminine, Michel Foucault's genealogical approach to analysing, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology. The author discusses strategies that nurses could use to make themselves more 'visible' in healthcare structures.

Abstract: This thesis concerns an investigation of the tripartite arrangements between the government, the nursing and the medical sectors in New Zealand over the period 1984 to 2001 with a particular focus on primary health care. The start point is the commencement of the health reforms instituted by the Fourth New Zealand Labour Government of 1984. The thesis falls within a framework of critical inquiry, specifically, the methodology of depth hermeneutics (Thompson, 1990), a development of critical theory. The effects of political and economic policies and the methodologies of neo-liberal market reform are examined together with the concept of collaboration as an ideological symbolic form, typical of enterprise culture. The limitations of economic models such as public choice theory, agency theory and managerialism are examined from the point of view of government strategies and their effects on the relationships between the nursing and medical professions. The influence of American health care policies and their partial introduction into primary health care in New Zealand is traversed in some detail, together with the experiences of health reform in several other countries. Post election 1999, the thesis considers the effect of change of political direction consequent upon the election of a Labour Coalition government and concludes that the removal of the neo-liberal ethic by Labour may terminate entrepreneurial opportunities in the nursing profession. The thesis considers the effects of a change to Third Way political direction on national health care policy and on the medical and nursing professions. The data is derived from various texts and transcripts of interviews with 12 health professionals and health commentators. The histories and current relationships between the nursing and medical professions are examined in relation to their claims to be scientific discourses and it is argued that the issue of lack of recognition as a scientific discourse is at the root of nursing's perceived inferiority to medicine. This is further expanded in a discussion at the end of the thesis where the structure of the two professions is compared and critiqued. A conclusion is drawn that a potential for action exists to remedy the deficient structure of nursing. The thesis argues that this is the major issue which maintains nursing in the primary sector in a perceived position of inferiority to medicine. The thesis also concludes that the role of government in this triangular relationship is one of manipulation to bring about necessary fundamental change in the delivery of health services at the lowest possible cost without materially strengthening the autonomy of the nursing or the medical professions.

Abstract: This study was developed to explore the use of seclusion in an acute in-patient unit for people with mental illnesses. Investigation into this issue was considered important due to an identified large increase in seclusion use over the previous two years. The study used a qualitative research methodology with a descriptive and interpretive approach. Data collection included a retrospective file audit of patients who had been secluded over the past seven years, and one-to-one staff interviews. It also includes the author's personal reflections of seclusion events. The principle reason for using seclusion was violence and aggression in the context of mental illness. It was also used for people who were at risk of, or who had previously absconded from the unit. A recovery approach and the use of the strengths model was fundamental to nurses' way of working with patients in the unit. Nurses believed that the strengths process should be adapted to the person's level of acuity and to their ability to engage in this approach in a tangible way. Seclusion continues to be a clinical management option in the unit that is the subject of this study. However, in many circumstances there are other options that could be explored so that the utmost consideration is given to the dignity, privacy and safety of that person.

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: By describing and gaining insight into one rural nurse's experience working with dying people in a highly, remote rural area, this project seeks to advance nursing practice. Key findings indicate that, through community partnership and teamwork, nurses can act to assist rural people by: increasing public awareness of health resources; exposing barriers to access; and identifying different health service needs. The author makes a case that some rural nurses may feel insufficiently prepared for rural nursing. To understand death and dying, key ideas from Kuebler-Ross's (1969) framework for dying are examined: denial, fear of dying, spirituality, hope, depression and how to die well. Nurses require a blend of end-of-life and rural nursing postgraduate education and skills, to manage well. Key findings imply that dying people can be helped by: improving function and independence to promote autonomy; encouraging faith, hope, and love within the person's personal concept of spirituality; listening to dying people, to oneself, to one's own reactions, and knowing oneself. Parse's theory (1981) indicates nurses can help rural dying people by the following key factors: encouraging the person to live life to the full while dying; accepting humans cannot be separated from their perspectives, circumstances or environments; focusing on quality of life from the person's perspective: encouraging the person to live life fully while dying; and offering new possibilities. The author goes on to say that Parse's human-universe-health process aids nurses to live their beliefs indicating Parse's theory could guide and advance nursing practice.