M.Cur. / The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the experiences of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome whilst being nursed in intensive care units, in order to set guidelines for nursing. The researcher made use of the phenomenological approach within the paradigm of qualitative research. The target population consisted of 70 patients of which seven complied with the selection criteria: In-depth interviews, which were taped, were conducted with the patients. Validity and reliability were ensured by using measures as stated by Woods and Catanzaro (1988). Data-analysis was executed by means of Giorgi's method (Omery,1983) and after clearance with an external decoder, it was categorized according to the patients' internal and external environment. The Nursing Theory for the Wholeperson had been used to this purpose. The conclusions of this study indicate that patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome in intensive care units experience deprivation of sleep, pain and fear. Limited communication and loss of autonomy create frustration. Patients become lonely and bored and have a need for constant support from their family and others. Consequent upon the conclusions the researcher developed nine guidelines for the nursing of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome. These guidelines are in support of the functional approach of the researcher and may be considered an attempt to provide research findings that are applicable to the practice of nursing.

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie beskrywende, verkennende en kontekstuele studie is ondersoek gedoen na redes waarom opgeleide intensiewesorgverpleegkundiges uit die intensiewesorgomgewing bedank en buite die intensiewesorgomgewing werk in die noordelike gedeelte van Gauteng. Doelwitte vir die studie was om die faktore te bepaal wat bydra tot die bedanking uit die intensiewesorgeenheid, die identifisering van die nie-verpleegkundige beroepe wat tans beoefen word en die bepaling van die faktore wat bydra tot die beoefening van 'n nie-verpleegkundige beroep. Die data is ingesamel deur middel van 'n vraelys wat voltooi is deur opgeleide intensiewesorgverpleegkundiges wat bedank het uit die intensiewesorgomgewing. Die sneeubalsteekproeftegniek is gebruik. Die data-analise het getoon dat redes vir bedanking uit die intensiewesorgomgewing die volgende insluit: onvoldoende salarisse, te veel stres en emosionele uitputting, ongerieflike werkure, personeeltekort en onbevredigende werkomstandighede. Daar is bevind dat verpleeg-sessiewerk steeds deur die respondente gedoen word, al werk hulle huidig voltyds buite die intensiewesorgomgewing. / In this exploratory, descriptive and contextual study research has been done to establish the reasons why intensive care nursing personnel resign from the intensive care environment in the northern Gauteng region. The researcher aimed to establish the factors that contributed to the resignations from the intensive care environment, to identify the non-nursing careers currently being practised by former intensive care nursing staff and to establish the factors that influenced them to practice non-nursing careers. The data was collected through questionnaires completed by former intensive care nursing personnel. The snowball test sampling method has been used. Data analysis has shown the following to be inter alia the reasons for the resignations from the intensive care environment: insufficient income, exhaustion and emotional stress, inconvenient working hours, staff shortages and unsatisfactory working conditions. One finding is that respondents are still doing nursing session work although they are working full-time in nonnursing capacities. / Health Studies / M.A. (Verpleegkunde)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie beskrywende, verkennende en kontekstuele studie is ondersoek gedoen na redes waarom opgeleide intensiewesorgverpleegkundiges uit die intensiewesorgomgewing bedank en buite die intensiewesorgomgewing werk in die noordelike gedeelte van Gauteng. Doelwitte vir die studie was om die faktore te bepaal wat bydra tot die bedanking uit die intensiewesorgeenheid, die identifisering van die nie-verpleegkundige beroepe wat tans beoefen word en die bepaling van die faktore wat bydra tot die beoefening van 'n nie-verpleegkundige beroep. Die data is ingesamel deur middel van 'n vraelys wat voltooi is deur opgeleide intensiewesorgverpleegkundiges wat bedank het uit die intensiewesorgomgewing. Die sneeubalsteekproeftegniek is gebruik. Die data-analise het getoon dat redes vir bedanking uit die intensiewesorgomgewing die volgende insluit: onvoldoende salarisse, te veel stres en emosionele uitputting, ongerieflike werkure, personeeltekort en onbevredigende werkomstandighede. Daar is bevind dat verpleeg-sessiewerk steeds deur die respondente gedoen word, al werk hulle huidig voltyds buite die intensiewesorgomgewing. / In this exploratory, descriptive and contextual study research has been done to establish the reasons why intensive care nursing personnel resign from the intensive care environment in the northern Gauteng region. The researcher aimed to establish the factors that contributed to the resignations from the intensive care environment, to identify the non-nursing careers currently being practised by former intensive care nursing staff and to establish the factors that influenced them to practice non-nursing careers. The data was collected through questionnaires completed by former intensive care nursing personnel. The snowball test sampling method has been used. Data analysis has shown the following to be inter alia the reasons for the resignations from the intensive care environment: insufficient income, exhaustion and emotional stress, inconvenient working hours, staff shortages and unsatisfactory working conditions. One finding is that respondents are still doing nursing session work although they are working full-time in nonnursing capacities. / Health Studies / M.A. (Verpleegkunde)

M.Cur. / The aim of the intensive care nurse is to give quality nursing to the critically ill surgical patient within the context of the family, as set out in her scope of practice. Various factors, however, affect the intensive care nurse's actions so that she does not achieve the aim. The persons close to the critically ill patient and the intensive care nurse form part of the patient's social external environment. Both of them are therefore important when facilitating health in the critically ill patient. The aim of this study is to explore and describe the experience of mutual interaction between the person close to the critically ill patient and the intensive care nurse and subsequently to create guidelines with regard to the intensive care nurse's handling of the person close to the critically ill patient during the patient's stay in an intensive care unit. The study is done by means of an exploratory, descriptive and contextual design by using the phenomenological method of interviewing. The participants were selected by purposive sampling according to selection criteria and represent various cultures. Nine persons close to the critically ill patient and six intensive care nurses comprised the participating population.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Gastric residual volume (GRV) is a clinical assessment to evaluate gastric emptying and enteral feeding tolerance. Factors such as the tube size, tube material, tube port configuration, placement of the tube in the gastric fluid, the amount of fluid and person completing the assessment may influence the accuracy of residual volume assessment. Little attention has been paid to assessing the accuracy of GRV measurement when the actual volume being aspirated is known, and no studies have compared the accuracy in obtaining RV using the three different techniques reported in the literature that are used to obtain aspirate in practice (syringe, suction, and gravity drainage). This in vitro study evaluated three different methods for aspirating feeding formula through two different tube sizes (10 Fr [small] and 18 Fr [large]), tube materials (polyvinyl chloride and polyurethane), using four levels of nursing experience (student, novice, experienced and expert) blinded to the five fixed fluid volumes of feeding formula in a simulated stomach, to determine if the RV can be accurately obtained. The study design consisted of a 3x2x2x4x5 completely randomized factorial ANOVA (with a total of 240 cells) and 479 RV assessments were made by the four nurse participants. All three methods (syringe, suction and gravity) used to aspirate RV did not perform substantially well in aspirating fluid, and on average, the methods were able to aspirate about 50% of the volume available. The syringe and suction techniques were comparable and produced higher proportions of RVs, although the interrater reliability of RV assessment was better with the syringe method. The gravity technique generally performed poorly. Overall, the polyvinyl chloride material and smaller tubes were associated with higher RV assessments. RV assessment is a variable assessment and the three methods did not perform well in this in vitro study. These findings should be further explored and confirmed using larger samples. This knowledge will be important in establishing the best technique for assessing RV to maximize EN delivery in practice and will contribute to future research to test strategies to optimize EN intake in critically ill patients.