The contemporary professional context of initial nurse preparation is characterised by multiple and sometimes competing social and historical discourses. It is in this context that beginning nursing students take their early steps on the road to developing identities that will shape their future practice and continued professional development. Unlike much of the existing nursing literature, the study adopts a post-modern perspective towards the nature of identity. Here it is conceived as a relational concept, dynamic and continuously evolving through the production and performance of narratives of experience embedded in cultural and social environments. This thesis examines, in detail, the stories told by five pre-registration nursing students at points throughout the first year of their undergraduate education with the aim of exploring how emergent professional identities are constructed. The study is grounded in the social constructivist approach that recognises the impact of distinct cultural contexts and foregrounds the embodied processes of meaning-making and agency in the negotiation of identity. The study seeks to honour the voices of students in this process. Data was gathered through a series of one-to-one meetings with each participant and supplemented with occasional audio diary recordings and the personal statements used to support their pre-course application. The narrative structure and content of 110 bounded stories were analysed using a multi-dimensional approach designed to reveal the changing identity claims made by individuals. This thesis contributes to understanding of professional identity development in a number of ways. It demonstrates that nursing students begin their nurse preparation with pre-existing and rudimentary images of the profession that serve as frameworks for their interpretation of early clinical and education experiences. Beginning nursing students improvise their identities, telling tales to audiences that include themselves, at the intersection between the Figured Worlds of practice and education. This represents an arena where they author their present and future selves, using individualised and unique stories to buffer conflicts and establish affiliations. Each participant created a rich and detailed compendium of stories that served to positively represent themselves and ‘tell’ themselves into nursing. This small scale study reveals the significant and often untapped potential of nursing students’ stories to establish understanding of identity development. As such they are under-utilised educational and developmental tools that have significant potential for enhancing nurse education.

Taught master's degree programmes represent a popular mechanism for part-time students to access postgraduate level education. A common feature of such programmes is the inclusion of some form of independent research project. Whilst such projects are recognised as being demanding for the students involved, there is a scarcity of research literature that explores their experiences. In this study I have now explored how clinical nurses, as an example of a particular professional group, accommodated and adjusted to the experience of undertaking part-time master's research. My intent was to contribute to the body of knowledge relating to the support of part-time students undertaking master's research.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1961.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1961.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1989.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, School of Nursing and Social Work, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-314)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1989.

Background. Aspects of genetics/genomics are increasingly being incorporated into medicine. Nurses are crucial in helping transform healthcare through genomic nursing (Loud, 2010). However the integration of genetics/genomics into nursing education has been sporadic (Dodson and Lewallen, 2011). Influencing its uptake into practice may be via nurses who are already utilising genetics/genomics in their practice (adopters) and nurses who may lead the way and encourage others (opinion leaders) to do likewise. Identifying the characteristics of such adopters and opinion leaders within nursing may provide useful information for more wide-scale detection of these individuals to support a strategy for the inclusion of genetics/genomics into nursing practice. Methods. Five change behaviour theories were used to inform the study including the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Diffusion of Innovations. A mixed methods approach was taken over two phases. In Phase 1 experts in the field of genetics/genomics and nursing were contacted to gain a consensus on four potential genetic indicators of adoption (GIAs), which would identify a nurse who had adopted genetics/genomics. In Phase 2, oncology nurses and practice nurses completed a questionnaire to identify the characteristics and demographic indicators of nurse genetic adopters and opinion leaders. Results. A consensus (>75%) was achieved for all four GIAs to be included as indicators of adoption of genetics/genomics within nursing practice (Phase 1). Individuals identified (in Phase 2) were subcategorised into six different groups, including genetic adopters and opinion leaders. There were 18 identifying features that defined an adopter, with some of the main features being Openness to Experience (p<0.001), seeing the relevance of genetics/genomics to their patient group (p<0.001) and talking to colleagues about genetics/genomics (p<0.001). There were six features that identified an opinion leader, including academic achievement (p=0.007), level of perceived influence over others (p<0.001) and being high on the opinion leadership scale (p<0.001). Two of the biggest barriers to incorporation by nurses were lack of time for adopters and a lack of local study sessions for opinion leaders. Conclusion. It has been identified that nurses can be categorised in terms of their relationship to genetics/genomics, through a number of distinguishing characteristics. It will be important to further identify and clarify these and other characteristics through the development of additional tools. These data can inform approaches to promote a greater integration of genetics/genomics into nursing practice, ultimately improving patient healthcare.

Thesis--Ed. D. Columbia University Teachers College, Health Sciences, nursing, 1975. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Ed. D. Columbia University Teachers College, Health Sciences, nursing, 1975. / Includes bibliographical references.