Ischemic heart disease belongs to the most frequent diseases in developed countries. I have chosen this topic not only because I am interested in this issue but also because I work at emergency ward of internal medicine and majority of patients there suffer from this disease. There are two parts in my thesis {--} the theoretical and the research part. The theoretical part deals with heart anatomy and physiology, with epidemiology and aetiology, with risk factors, with classification, clinical picture, diagnostics, with treatment and prevention of ischemic heart disease. Further, the thesis survey educational process, roles, mission, function and competences of a nurse. The first objective of the thesis was to find out the awareness of nurses´ competences in the area of secondary preventive care in patients with ischemic heart disease. The second objective was to find out, whether nurses are able to apply their competences in the area of secondary preventive care in patients with ischemic heart disease. The third objective was to find out involvement of management (head nurses, departmental nurses, shift nurses) in the secondary preventive care in patients with ischemic heart disease. The fourth objective of the thesis was to find out whether nurses use their knowledge of secondary prevention in patients with ischemic heart disease. Four hypotheses were set for the above mentioned objectives. H1: Nurses are aware of their competences in the area of secondary preventive care in patients with IHD. H2: Nurses are able to apply their competences in the area of secondary preventive care in patients with IHD. H3: Shift nurses, motivated by head nurses, are more involved in the secondary prevention in patients with IHD. H4: Nurses use their knowledge in the area of secondary prevention in patients with IHD. A questionnaire was made up to achieve the objectives and to prove or to disprove the hypotheses of this research. The questionnaire contained 24 questions {--} closed and semi-closed. The research sample was formed from nurses from South Bohemian and central-Bohemian regions. 377 questionnaires were handed out. 242 questionnaires returned and 230 of them were applicable to the research. The first, second and fourth hypotheses were proved. Shift nurses are more involved in secondary prevention in patients with IHD, however, not on the basis of motivation by head nurses, thus, the fourth hypothesis was not proved. I also revealed that nurses do not have sufficient knowledge in the area of secondary preventive care in patients with IHD. On the grounds of these results we created mental maps on ischemic heart disease and its prevention. These maps might enhance nurses´ knowledge and improve the life of patients with ischemic heart disease.

This study seeks to investigate fear of death in first-year student nurses. It considers how this might be ameliorated through teaching and learning interventions that involve addressing emotional and spiritual intelligence within the affective domain. Fear of death, for this study, is defined as fear of death and of caring for dying people and their families. A pragmatic paradigm and a mixed method approach were used to explore the feelings and experiences of newly recruited student nurses in relation to fear of death and the care of the dying person and their families. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine the impact of two different interventions intended to reduce the fear of death. A questionnaire was used to measure aspects of fear of death. The students were then randomly allocated to three groups. The members of two of the groups experienced an intervention, either a psychological self-help programme called 'Do Something Different', (Fletcher and Pine, 2009) or a weekly group meeting that explored relationships and the use of spiritual strategies based on Family Constellation theory (Hellinger, 2006). The third group acted as a control. After a period of time in clinical practice, the questionnaire was administered again and the results analysed and interpreted. The relationship between the students' fear of death and their age, previous experiences, ethnicity and spiritual beliefs was explored. Findings indicate that the interventions had a positive influence on reducing the students' fear of death. The qualitative part of the study involved semi-structured interviews with fifteen of the students who had completed both questionnaires. Their experiences of preparation for caring for dying people and of being in an intervention group were discussed. The interviews were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPE). Influencing factors from home, such as cultural issues, and from within the clinical context, such as mentorship, were identified. The thesis contributes to nursing education and practice by showing that early preparation for caring for dying people can be effective in reducing fear of death. Results demonstrate that there is value in using strategies to help the student to develop emotional and spiritual intelligence in order to prepare for aspects of dying, before they experience the death of a patient. This preparation enhances the quality of the therapeutic relationship between student and patient. Another outcome is that students need a particular quality of support, at home and in clinical practice and that there are particular implications for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students. Mentors of students need to be trained to be sensitive to the students' needs when caring for people who are dying. Greater attention to preparation for death and care of the dying is likely to enhance the provision of end of life care and may also reduce attrition in first-year student nurses.

Magister Public Health - MPH / This is a qualitative study, the aim of which is to explore experiences influencing the academic performance of 1st Year nursing students at the Western Cape College of Nursing, South Africa, during 2008 when the College was confronted with unprecedented failure rates among 1st Year students. It describes the College's collaboration with a higher education institution and the changes that emanated from this collaboration. The influence of situational factors on 1st Year nursing students is explored. These include the legacy of the inequality of past learning opportunities, institutional factors which hamper students' sense of belonging, and the social and academic integration of students into their learning environment. The methodology used in the process of exploring these factors included focus group discussions with students and in-depth interviews with staff in order to explore their respective perceptions of the problem. From this it is hoped that the quality of human resources for health will be enhanced. / South Africa

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Abstract Clinical teachers’ experiences of nursing and teaching Clinical nurse teachers’ experiences of nursing and teaching undergraduate nursing students on clinical placement are explored in this thesis because of concerns about the quality of nursing students’ learning outcomes. The aim was to identify variation in clinical teachers’ conceptions of nursing and their conceptions of, and approaches to teaching undergraduate nursing students. The study was significant because clinical teachers’ conceptions of nursing and approaches to clinical teaching have not been researched previously. Underpinning the study was a phenomenographic perspective on learning and teaching. This perspective views learning and teaching in terms of how they were experienced. Experience of nursing and clinical teaching, for example, can be understood in terms of related ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects. The ‘what’ aspect concerns how nursing and clinical teaching were understood. The ‘how’ aspect is concerned the ways nursing and clinical teaching were approached. Experience of nursing and clinical teaching were described and analysed in terms of the separate ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects and are understood in terms of the relationship between each of the aspects. Data from semi-structured interviews with twenty clinical teachers were analysed using phenomenographic research techniques (Marton & Booth, 1997) in order to identify variation in how nursing and clinical teaching were experienced. To extend the description, the research also sought to identify the empirical relationships between each of the aspects investigated. Key aspects of variation in clinical teacher experiences of nursing and clinical teaching and associated relationships have been identified. The results suggest that clinical teachers who adopted a student-centred approach to teaching conceived of nursing and clinical teaching in complex ways. The phenomenographic approach provides for an experiential and holistic account of clinical teaching: a perspective absent in nursing education research literature. The research findings extend knowledge that will assist with preparation and support of clinical teachers.

<p>This is a qualitative study, the aim of which is to explore experiences influencing the<br /> academic performance of 1st Year nursing students at the Western Cape College of Nursing,<br /> South Africa, during 2008 when the College was confronted with unprecedented failure rates<br /> among 1st Year students. It describes the College‟s collaboration with a higher education<br /> institution and the changes that emanated from this collaboration. The influence of<br /> situational factors on 1st Year nursing students is explored. These include the legacy of the<br /> inequality of past learning opportunities, institutional factors which hamper students‟ sense of<br /> belonging, and the social and academic integration of students into their learning<br /> environment. The methodology used in the process of exploring these factors included focus<br /> group discussions with students and in-depth interviews with staff in order to explore their<br /> respective perceptions of the problem. From this it is hoped that the quality of human<br /> resources for health will be enhanced.</p>

This dissertation is a study of a relatively new teacher function in nurse education, a teacher function that can be called clinical teacher, link lecturer, link teacher or lecturer involved in practice. The study departs from a constructivist perspective and the aim is to study the introduction, performance and regulation of this teacher function. The material consists of internationally and nationally published research 1978-2009, reports from the authorities, job ads for clinical teachers, job descriptions and contracts, archive material, evaluation studies, professional journals, texts on the Internet and 15 interviews with clinical teachers in Sweden. Using discourse analysis this material is studied in terms of interpretive repertoires, subject positions and ideological dilemmas. The primary focus of this dissertation concerns what problems the new teacher function is supposed to solve, how the problem should be solved, the effects of the chosen solutions and what´s staged, challenged and reproduced. Secondly, this dissertation highlights what categories of teachers are required and in demand for the new teacher function, how the teachers themselves manage their function and how the teacher function is maintained and challenged. The analysis identifies and highlights current interpretive repertoire, teachers possible subject positions and ideological dilemmas and how they are governed and challenged in the teaching function.

<p>This is a qualitative study, the aim of which is to explore experiences influencing the<br /> academic performance of 1st Year nursing students at the Western Cape College of Nursing,<br /> South Africa, during 2008 when the College was confronted with unprecedented failure rates<br /> among 1st Year students. It describes the College‟s collaboration with a higher education<br /> institution and the changes that emanated from this collaboration. The influence of<br /> situational factors on 1st Year nursing students is explored. These include the legacy of the<br /> inequality of past learning opportunities, institutional factors which hamper students‟ sense of<br /> belonging, and the social and academic integration of students into their learning<br /> environment. The methodology used in the process of exploring these factors included focus<br /> group discussions with students and in-depth interviews with staff in order to explore their<br /> respective perceptions of the problem. From this it is hoped that the quality of human<br /> resources for health will be enhanced.</p>

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Abstract Clinical teachers’ experiences of nursing and teaching Clinical nurse teachers’ experiences of nursing and teaching undergraduate nursing students on clinical placement are explored in this thesis because of concerns about the quality of nursing students’ learning outcomes. The aim was to identify variation in clinical teachers’ conceptions of nursing and their conceptions of, and approaches to teaching undergraduate nursing students. The study was significant because clinical teachers’ conceptions of nursing and approaches to clinical teaching have not been researched previously. Underpinning the study was a phenomenographic perspective on learning and teaching. This perspective views learning and teaching in terms of how they were experienced. Experience of nursing and clinical teaching, for example, can be understood in terms of related ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects. The ‘what’ aspect concerns how nursing and clinical teaching were understood. The ‘how’ aspect is concerned the ways nursing and clinical teaching were approached. Experience of nursing and clinical teaching were described and analysed in terms of the separate ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects and are understood in terms of the relationship between each of the aspects. Data from semi-structured interviews with twenty clinical teachers were analysed using phenomenographic research techniques (Marton & Booth, 1997) in order to identify variation in how nursing and clinical teaching were experienced. To extend the description, the research also sought to identify the empirical relationships between each of the aspects investigated. Key aspects of variation in clinical teacher experiences of nursing and clinical teaching and associated relationships have been identified. The results suggest that clinical teachers who adopted a student-centred approach to teaching conceived of nursing and clinical teaching in complex ways. The phenomenographic approach provides for an experiential and holistic account of clinical teaching: a perspective absent in nursing education research literature. The research findings extend knowledge that will assist with preparation and support of clinical teachers.

This thesis is focused on the role of a pediatric nurse in the care of overweight and obese adolescents. A pediatric nurse plays a key role in promoting the health of children and adolescents in primary care. A nurse is in many cases the first person the family or a child confide their worries and health concerns in. A pediatric nurse is a person whose professional focus is determined by the needs of children; he or she is an expert who should seize every opportunity for consultation on healthy lifestyles of children and parents; he or she is an essential and irreplaceable member of the team caring for a child or an adolescent (Sikorová, 2012). This thesis consists of two parts. The theoretical part is focused on obesity itself, it describes pathogenesis, complications and consequences, as well as prevention and treatment. In the next chapter we focus on the role of the nurse in the pediatrician's office. There we described the role of nurses in the examination of an obese or overweight adolescent, the awareness of a nurse and adolescent in the field of childhood obesity, the principles of communication of nurses with the obese adolescent and his or her education. At the end of the theoretical part the psychosocial impacts on obese adolescents, such as social isolation, discrimination and the risk of developing eating disorders, are described. The second half of the thesis is empirical. Research was carried out in two ways. The first part of the research was realized in the form of a quantitative survey, in which nurses in general pediatricians offices were approached using electronic questionnaires. The questions in the questionnaire were focused on the education of nurses in the field of childhood obesity, education of adolescents, cooperation with families and other professionals. The research group therefore consisted of pediatric nurses who pursue their profession in the Czech Republic. In the second part of the research the method of questioning, namely the interview technique was used. It was a semi-structured interview with obese adolescents. Each interview consisted of 24 questions and lasted an average of 20 - 25 minutes. Interviews with adolescents were focused on the knowledge of the term Body Mass Index, health and psychological consequences, their personal lives, relationships with peers and partners, the possibility of using the services of a nutritional consultant. We contacted 15 respondents aged 16 to 20 years, all were from South Bohemia. In case of minor adolescents parental agreement with the research had to be acquired. The questionnaire was accessible online and its completion was not time consuming; however out of approximately 400 distributed questionnaires only 154 returned fully completed. The return of questionnaires was approximately 40 % and reflects the ratio of completed and mailed questionnaires. At the beginning two goals were set. The purpose of the first objective was to explore the role of nurses in the approach to obese adolescents. The results showed that nurses are trying to educate themselves in the field of child obesity, they are interested in the issue of childhood obesity, what is more they are trying to educate the overweight adolescents in good nutrition. Furthermore, they also aim to cooperate with the child's family and even with other professionals, such as an endocrinologist, cardiologist, nutritionist etc. The second objective was to determine how obese adolescents perceive themselves. Opinions obviously differed, some children did not admit to being overweight/obese, while others saw themselves as the "fatsoes", "whales" ugly and useless, and that nothing suits them". Some suffer from depression, others try not trouble themselves with it. To fulfill the purpose of quantitative research 3 hypotheses were set. H1: Nurse educates adolescents about healthy eating. The hypothesis was statistically confirmed because research showed that nurses really do educate teenager.

The diploma work deals with the proffesional development of the first graduates of bachelor studies The General Nurse at The Faculty of Health and Social Studies of the University of South Bohemia since their graduation till the present. The goal of this work was to ascertain the opinions about the bachelor studies of the discipline General Nurse at the The Faculty of Health and Social Studies of the University of South Bohemia, namely of the first graduates of this discipline. The goal was to find out, how the studies and their succesfull graduation affected their proffesional career and social credit. Moreover to ascertain the attitude of the first graduates of the discipline The General Nurse at the The Faculty of Health and Social Studies of the University of South Bohemia to follow-up master's degree study Nursing care by selected clinical branches at The University of South Bohemia. The diploma work is divided into two parts ? the theoretic and empiric. The theoretic part deals with nursing and the conclusive part is educational. It includes the history and equipment of the nursing and the education of nurses in the Czech Republic, afterwards the problems of the profession of nurses and the related legislation . The educational part deals with the attitude as a social problem and the evaluation of the university education of the students themselves. In the empiric part of the diploma work were chosen both the quantitive and qualitative methods of an investigation research. The quantitive research had the form of a anonymous questionnaire for the first graduates of bachelor studies The General Nurse at The Faculty of Health and Social Studies of the University of South Bohemia. There were determined four assumptions. The results of the investigation have been processed into charts and tables. For the qualitative part of the survey research has been used in-depth unstructured interview, which was realised with the selected graduates. The results of the qualitative investigation have been adapted in the form of transcription of the interview. The results of this work can be used as an informational materiál for students and tutors of The Department of Nursing at The Faculty of Health and Social Studies of the University of South Bohemia. The results can help to be well informed in the education of nurses and to realise, which field of study needs to be strengthened.