The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of nurses working in ICU with respect to pain management, glycaemic control and weaning from mechanical ventilation, care areas that are commonly guided by protocols. The effect of formal ICU training and years of ICU experience on this knowledge was elicited. A non-experimental, descriptive and contextual two-phase research design was used. The first phase of the study consisted of developing and validating a data collection instrument, using purposive sampling to select two groups of ICU nursing experts. The second phase of the study used the instrument developed in phase one to test the knowledge of nurses working in ICU. The knowledge of 136 ICU nurses (68 ICU trained and 68 non-ICU trained) from three (n=3) public sector and two (n=2) private sector hospitals in Gauteng was tested using the data collection instrument developed by the researcher and the two groups of ICU nursing experts. Knowledge of nurses, both ICU trained and non-ICU trained, working in the ICUs of three public and two private hospitals in Gauteng was found to be lacking in the three care areas tested in this study, namely pain management, glycaemic control and weaning from mechanical ventilation. The difference in knowledge between ICU trained and non-ICU trained nurses was statistically significant but relatively small. A weak correlation was found between level of knowledge and years of ICU experience. Recommendations to address this lack of knowledge of ICU nurses are given for clinical nursing practice, nursing management and nursing educators, as well as recommendations for further research in this area.

Intensive care unit nursing shortages are an ongoing issue within the Canadian healthcare system. The goal of this thesis research was to better understand Manitoban intensive care unit (ICU) nurses’ intent to leave or stay. An adapted version of the Conceptual Framework for Predicting Nurse Retention provided the framework to examine ICU nurses’ perceived empowerment, caring, job satisfaction and intent to leave or stay. An online survey was distributed by the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba to 630 ICU nurses in Manitoba. Ethical approval was obtained from the Education Nursing Research Ethics Board at the University of Manitoba. Findings indicate the majority of ICU nurses who participated in this research were satisfied with their job. Multivariate analyses indicated that job satisfaction was statistically significantly associated with intent to stay. / October 2016

The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a pre-operative health education programme provided to cardiac surgery patients at a private hospital in Gauteng. A questionnaire was used to collect data and indicated that most patients were satisfied with the pre-operative education that they received before their cardiac surgery procedure, and therefore felt well prepared for the operation. It is, however, evident that family involvement with pre-operative education was not satisfactory. This lack of family involvement is a limitation in the present programme. The study also noted that patients must be informed about visiting hours, and the intense feeling of the endotracheal tube post-operatively should be emphasised. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a pre-operative health education programme provided to cardiac surgery patients at a private hospital in Gauteng. A questionnaire was used to collect data and indicated that most patients were satisfied with the pre-operative education that they received before their cardiac surgery procedure, and therefore felt well prepared for the operation. It is, however, evident that family involvement with pre-operative education was not satisfactory. This lack of family involvement is a limitation in the present programme. The study also noted that patients must be informed about visiting hours, and the intense feeling of the endotracheal tube post-operatively should be emphasised. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)