Abstract: The aim of the study was to explore how practice nurses perceive engagement in Peer Learning and Review Groups impacts personally and professionally on their clinical practice. An anonymous self-administered postal questionnaire was completed by 55 practice nurses who attend Peer Learning and Review Groups in the South Island. A mixed method design was utilised to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data. Practice nurses considered group attendance was important for professional development with the majority perceiving that their attendance had a positive effect on their clinical practice. The nurses perceived clear linkages between the significant learning that occurred in the groups and changes in delivery of patient care. Additional benefits included improved collegial relationships, professional awareness and personal growth. The author concludes that, together, these findings underline the importance of Peer Learning and Review Groups as an effective tool for ongoing personal and professional development within nursing.

Abstract: The authors synthesise and critically analyse parenting research in nursing. They focused on studies published between 1993 and 2004 by nurse researchers in peer-reviewed journals. Data were organised and analysed with a sample of 17 nursing research studies from core nursing journals. The majority of parenting research has been focused on mothers, primarily about parenting children with physical or developmental disabilities. Research about fathers as parents is sparse. Parenting across cultures, parenting in the context of family, and theoretical frameworks for parenting research are not well developed. The authors conclude that the scope of nursing research on parenting is limited.

Abstract: The aim of this research was to explore patients' educational experiences and the usefulness and benefits of this health education in the rehabilitation period, when undertaking a total joint replacement. An exploratory, qualitative descriptive study method was used to describing patients' experiences of health education. Five participants, convenience sampled, were interviewed eight to twelve weeks post surgery following unilateral total joint replacement in a tertiary hospital. Participants valued the education they received pre operatively, which included written material, video and individual interaction with varied health professionals. Although this was provided in a timely manner, evidence showed limited post operative reinforcement and follow up of given education and preparation for discharge. Three 'partnership' themes were identified from data, Communicative, Subservient and Knowledge. 'Communicative Partnership' conceptualised the participants' experiences of the nurse-patient relationship, whilst 'Subservient Partnership' captured the participants' experiences of 'being' patients. 'Knowledge Partnership' combined the participants' ideas about knowledge and their retention of this knowledge to assist with their rehabilitation post surgery. The needs and experiences of patients after total joint replacement reflect on transitional change – changes in roles, behaviour, abilities and relationships. Educational contents need to reflect a realistic recovery process to assist with this transitional period, delivered by health care professionals in a manner best suited for patients.

Abstract: The author critiques the claim that mixed method research is a third methodology, and the implied belief that the mixing of qualitative and quantitative methods will produce the 'best of both worlds'. The author suggests that this assumption, combined with inherent promises of inclusiveness, takes on a reality and certainty in research findings that serves well the powerful nexus of economic restraint and evidence-based practice. The author argues that the use of the terms 'qualitative' and 'quantitative' as normative descriptors reinforces their binary positioning, effectively marginalising the methodological diversity within them. Ideologically, mixed methods covers for the continuing hegemony of positivism, albeit in its more moderate, postpositivist form. If naively interpreted, mixed methods could become the preferred approach in the teaching and doing of research. The author concludes that rather than the promotion of more co-operative and complex designs for increasingly complex social and health issues, economic and administrative pressures may lead to demands for the 'quick fix' that mixed methods appears to offer.

Abstract: The researchers assessed the compliance rates with the rheumatic fever secondary prophylaxis programme established through the Auckland Rheumatic Fever Register and managed by community nursing services in Auckland. They undertook an audit of the 1998 and 2000 Auckland Rheumatic Fever Register data to establish the compliance rates of patients with the rheumatic fever secondary prophylaxis programme. The sample included all patients on the Auckland Rheumatic Fever Register during this time. Results showed compliance rates across the three Auckland DHBs ranging from 79.9% to 100% for individual community nursing offices. They found that a community-based nurse-led secondary prophylaxis programme for rheumatic fever heart disease is able to deliver excellent patient compliance levels. Secondary prophylaxis is the WHO-recommended cost effective first step to rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease control. Community health workers have a key role to play in facilitating this compliance.

Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation is to consider the potential role of nurse practitioners within the Family Planning Association using the “participatory, evidence-based, patient focused process for advanced practice nursing” framework. The existing model of care meets the needs of most Family Planning Association clients well in family planning and sexual and reproductive health care. Some population groups, for example, Maori, Pacific Island people and males are currently underserved particularly in areas of sexual and reproductive health. Consideration is given to how the Family Planning Association could incorporate nurse practitioner expertise to complement existing care and utilising innovative and cost effective ways of reaching some underserved population groups. The integration of the nurse practitioner role into the current staffing mix has the potential to enhance the current model of care, freeing medical officers to deal with more complex medical issues and providing a clinical career path for Family Planning Association nurses.

Abstract: This paper presents research findings from a New Zealand study that explored emergency nurses' differentiation of non-cardiac chest pain from panic disorder and raised significant issues in the nursing assessment and management of such clients. The data were gathered from focus group interviews and were analysed thematically. Three themes, prioritising time, managing uncertainty and ambiguity, and the life-threatening lens, were identified. The findings confirm that a panic disorder is not always diagnosed when biomedical assessment is used in isolation from a psychosocial assessment. Emergency nurses are pivotal in reversing the cycle of repeat presenters with non-cardiac chest pain. Recommendations for assessing and managing this complex condition are presented.