Abstract: Critical care outreach is part of a new approach to manage all critically ill patients, regardless of where they are located in the hospital. It is the complete process of care that focuses on individual patients needs rather than on beds and buildings. There has been a proliferation of research literature since critical care outreach teams were introduced and subsequently required to provide robust evidence in the form of research to prove the effectiveness of their service. The research conducted by nurses has largely focused on phenomenological inquiry and has utilised methodologies such as questionnaires and interviews.

Abstract: Critical Comparative Nursing Assessment (CCNA) is a theory about how the competence of completing Bachelor of Nursing students in New Zealand is determined. Semi-structured, audio-taped interviews and field notes were used to collect data from twenty-seven nurses with experience in undertaking competency assessment. A Glaserian grounded theory approach was used to guide the data collection and analysis. This utilised the processes of constant comparative analysis, theoretical sampling and saturation to generate a middle range substantive grounded theory. This is presented as a model consisting of four emergent categories that explain how nurses formulate professional judgements about competence. These are a) gathering, which describes the processes used to collect evidence of practice to inform decisions; b) weighing up, which explains how evidence is analysed using the processes of benchmarking and comparative analysis; c) judging brings into focus the tensions inherent in making professional judgements about competence and how nurses formulated these, and d) moderating, which describes the processes nurses use to validate decisions and ensure that professional responsibilities and public safety are upheld. The basic social psychological process of comparing integrates these categories to explain how nurses resolve the tensions associated with making decisions about competence. This research presents a new way of viewing and understanding how nurses assess competence. It identifies where the challengers and tensions related to the assessment of competence lie and suggests strategies that if implemented, the author suggests could further enhance the validity and reliability of assessment outcomes.

Abstract: Presents a study using a discourse analytical approach to trace the ongoing struggle between nursing groups for power to control the future of advanced nursing practice. Outlines the political discourses dominant in nursing during the period that led to the Nursing Council of New Zealand having regulatory control of the nurse practitioner role.

Abstract: This chapter introduces national policies and strategies that promote interdisciplinary collaboration as a means of providing better access to health care for all communities. It identifies a role for advancing nursing practice as part of a collaborative approach to healthcare in rural areas. An increasing focus on collaboration as a concept within health practice during the last 10 years has become evident in policy documents from the Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Nursing (Ministry of Health, 1998) to the Working Party for After Hours Primary Health Care (Ministry of Health, 2005). The emphasis would seem to be in response to political pressure to address health inequalities and an apparent assumption that interprofessional collaboration results in improved communication, fewer gaps in provision of care and more effective use of the limited health funds.

Abstract: This study explored the experiences of hospitalised patients in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolation in New Zealand and the meaning that those patients made of those experiences. The research question of this study was 'What is the lived experience of patients in MRSA isolation?' An interpretive phenomenological approach was undertaken for this research, informed by the philosophical hermeneutic tenets of Heidegger (1927/1962). Audio-taped, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from a purposive sample of ten adults who were in MRSA isolation in various wards in a large acute care hospital in the central North Island. Three salient themes emerged from the data. The first, 'being MRSA positive', summarises the meaning of having an identity of being MRSA positive. The second theme, 'being with others', is concerned with the effect that being in isolation for MRSA has on interpersonal relations. 'Living within four walls' is the third theme and reveals the significance that the physical environment of the MRSA isolation room has on the experience of MRSA isolation. Within the discussion of these themes, excerpts from the interviews are provided to illuminate the meanings and interpretations made. Recommendations are made for nursing practice and education.

Abstract: This thesis reports on a retrospective observational study that examined the complication rate of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) within a regional cancer centre. PICCs are increasingly used for delivery of chemotherapy and other intravenous therapies in oncology patients. A literature review revealed that almost all published research on PICC complications reported on silicone (Groshong(TM)) catheter use, rather than the polyurethane (Arrow(TM)) PICCs used at Christchurch Hospital. Also, much literature referred to PICCs being inserted by non-nurses, whereas the Christchurch service uses specially-trained nurses to insert them. The purpose of the study was to identify the nature, incidence and rates of polyurethane (Arrow(TM)) PICC complications in an adult oncology cohort. Ethics Committee approval was gained to retrospectively follow all PICCs inserted in adult oncology patients at Christchurch Hospital over a 13-month period from 1st March 2006 until 31st March 2007. Data collected were analysed utilising the statistical computer package SPSS. One hundred and sixty-four PICCs were inserted into 156 individual oncology patients over this period. The median dwell time was 68 days for a total of 14,276 catheter-days. Complications occurred in 25 (15%) out of 164 PICC lines, in 22 (15%) of the 156 patients for an overall complication rate of 1.75 per 1000 catheter-days. However, only 16 of the 25 PICCs with complications required early removal (9.75% of the cohort) for a favourably low serious complication rate of 1.12 per 1000 catheter-days. The three commonest complications were infection at 4.3% (7/164) or 0.49 infection complications/1000 PICC-days, PICC migration at 3% (5/164) or 0.35/1000 catheter days, and thrombosis at 2.4% (4/164) or 0.28/1000 catheter days. The median time to complication was 41 days. Those with complications were more likely to have a gastro-intestinal or an ovarian cancer diagnosis, and less likely to have colorectal cancer. These findings provide support for the safe and effective use of polyurethane (Arrow(TM)) PICCs for venous access within the adult oncology context. Furthermore, it suggests that cost effective nurse-led (Arrow(TM)) PICC insertions can contribute to a low complication rate.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine and compare Australian and New Zealand nurses' experience of workplace stress, coping strategies and health status. A postal survey was administered to 328 New South Wales (Australia) and 190 New Zealand volunteer acute care hospital nurses (response rate 41%) from randomly sampled nurses. The survey consisted of a demographic questionnaire, the Nursing Stress Scale, the WAYS of Coping Questionnaire and the SF-36 Health Survey Version 2. More frequent workplace stress predicted lower physical and mental health. Problem-focused coping was associated with better mental health. Emotion-focused coping was associated with reduced mental health. Coping styles did not predict physical health. New South Wales and New Zealand scored effectively the same on sources of workplace stress, stress coping methods, and physical and mental health when controlling for relevant variables. Results suggest mental health benefits for nurses who use problem-solving to cope with stress by addressing the external source of the stress, rather than emotion-focused coping in which nurses try to control or manage their internal response to stress. Cultural similarities and similar hospital environments could account for equivalent findings for New South Wales and New Zealand.