Globalization has opened international borders thereby creating a culturally diverse healthcare environment worldwide. Skills necessary to manage this diverse group extend beyond technical knowledge, expertise or excellent leadership skills. This study sought to determine the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in leading a diverse nursing team. A Quantitative, exploratory and descriptive design was applied, using a questionnaire as data collection instrument, to collect data from 390 nurses working in a large training hospital in the United Arab Emirates. The aim was to ascertain subordinates’ views of their nurse managers’ personal competence (self-awareness and self-management skills), and social competencies (social awareness and relationship management skills). The results indicated that the majority of respondents considered their leaders to be effective and emotionally competent. A significant relationship was found between effective leadership and the nurse manager’s self-confidence, self control, empathetic skills and culturally sensitive communication. An in-service training programme was developed and recommended for the further development of emotional intelligence in all nursing managers at this hospital. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

A substantial amount of international research exists examining the impact of HIV/AIDS on health care workers. However, the impact of HIV/AIDS on nursing staff in South Africa has been relatively neglected. The primary objective of this study was to examine the impact of the AIDS pandemic on the subjective work experiences of peri-urban nurses in South Africa. The study explored the relationship between external changes in the nurses' working environment and their internal psychological responses for negotiating this change. A focus group of eight nurses was conducted, followed by indepth individual interviews with three group members. A grounded theory method was utilised to process and analyse the data. The research showed that nurses experience two forms of change. It was suggested that nurses respond to external changes in a manner designed to maximise their control and sense of meaning in an unpredictable environment. This accommodation involves the restoration of an internal psychological equilibrium through a process of balancing positive and negative experiences. The attainment of such an acceptable equilibrium may allow for diminished stress, increased satisfaction or fulfilment and the validation of personal and professional significance.

D.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing Science) / The researcher was involved in the clinical accompaniment of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals during their psychiatric nursing practical training. In her role as advanced psychiatric nurse educator, she noticed that student nurses experienced working with mentally challenged individuals as a challenging working context. It created intense emotional discomfort for the student nurses, especially during their initial exposure to the relevant individuals. During the student nurses' last day of working with these individuals, they reflected with the advanced psychiatric nurse educator on their emotional growth and enrichment and how this experience had changed their views of life. Ineffective management of emotional discomfort may lead to emotional exhaustion or burnout and reflect negatively on a person's mental health. The main purpose of this research was to explore and describe the experiences of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. Subsequently, to develop, describe and write guidelines to operationalise and evaluate a model for the advanced psychiatric nurse educator to facilitate the mental health of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, contextual and theory-generating research design was utilised to achieve the abovementioned purpose. The development of the model comprised four steps. Step one consisted of a concept analysis including identification and definition of central concepts in the model. A concept analysis was done by exploring and describing the experiences of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. Two focus groups, naive sketches, reflective journals, a reflective letter and field notes were used to explore their experiences. Focus groups were audiotaped as well as videotaped. Verbal consent was given by the student nurses to be videotaped and a letter of consent was signed to give permission for audiotaping of the focus groups. The audio tapes were transcribed verbatim. The video tapes were only used by the transcriber when she could not hear the sound on the audio tapes clearly. An independent coder utilised Tesch's method of open-coding to code and analyse the data. A consensus was reached between the researcher and the independent coder with regard to the themes and catogories represented by the data. During the concept analysis, engagement on a deeper emotional level was identified as the central concept. Step two consisted of the relationship statements of the model. During step three, a model for the facilitation of a process of engagement on a deeper emotional level for student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals was described. The structure of the model clarified the purpose, assumptions and context. The central concepts were defined and the relationship statements between the central and essential concepts were explained. The structure of the model focused on the relationship-, workingand termination phases within the process of engagement on a deeper emotional level. In step four guidelines were described to operationalise the model in practice. The model, as framework of reference for the advanced psychiatric nurse educator, focused on the facilitation of a process of engagement on a deeper emotional level for student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. The process description of the model differentiated between three phases: the relationship phase, the working phase and the termination phase. Guidelines for the operasionalisation of the model focused on the objective of each phase as well as the strategy of actions for each different phase.

M.Cur. (Nursing Management) / Assertiveness is the ability to express oneself and one’s rights without violating the rights of others (http: www.naidex.co.uk/page.cfml/link). The need for assertiveness is widely acknowledged in different work settings, and in order to manage the stress of working as part of a team every day, one has to become assertive. Acquiring and using assertiveness involves a simple and effective technique whose main object is to promote and maintain one’s personal health, self-esteem and healthy relationships with other people (Booyens, 2005:395). In the course of her work as a nurse manager in an academic hospital, the researcher became aware in an academic hospital setting that some professional nurses and nurse managers in an academic hospital setting were lacking assertive behaviour in their interactions and relationships with their colleagues. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the kinds of assertive behaviour of professional nurses and nurse managers in the nursing units of two academic hospitals in the Pretoria region, in order to identify guidelines for effective assertive behaviour in such contexts. In this study a quantitative, descriptive and explorative design was used in order to obtain information from permanent professional nurses and nurse managers working in units of two academic hospitals in Pretoria. All of the nurse managers (n = 80) in these units were included in the study as the total sample. Four hundred and forty (n = 440) professional nurses and eighty (n = 80) nurse managers were eligible to participate in the study. Simple random sampling of the professional nurses was conducted to obtain a sample (n = 110). The method of data collection was a self-administered, structured questionnaire whose purpose was to explore and describe the assertive behaviour of professional nurses and nurse managers in academic hospital settings in the Pretoria region (Burns & Grove, 2005:398).Validity and reliability were ensured by using the principles of Riley, Wood, Clark, Wilkie and Szivas (2004:126) as well as the principles of Goddard and Melville (2001:46). Ethical standards for nurse researchers were adhered to. Descriptive statistics were arrived at by using SPSS (Version 20)

The literature has indicated that nurses perceive more occupational stressors than do other professional groups. HIV is a new stressor which has impacted on society, in particular on people caring for HIV/AIDS patients. The availability of antiretroviral treatment (ART) which is accessible at wellness clinics has improved the quality of life of people with HIV and greatly prolonged the lives of many infected people. Wellness clinics are out-patient clinics where HIV positive patients receive their ART. This study has explored and described the occupational stressors perceived by nurses working in wellness clinics in Nelson Mandela Bay. The study was conducted using a qualitative research approach. Convenience sampling was used consisting of voluntary registered female nurses. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using Tech’s method. The nurses who participated in this study reported their perceptions of occupational stressors in wellness clinics where they worked. The occupational stressors perceived by the nurses included the working environment, interpersonal relationships and the organizational structure. However, they also reported that they experienced satisfaction from their jobs despite the perceived stressors.

One of the greatest challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa, which incorporates South Africa, is the AIDS pandemic. The devastation wrought by this disease is unsurpassed in recent times. The health and social development structures, already overburdened, are totally overwhelmed by the needs of povertystricken households and communities affected by AIDS. Caregivers attempting to support those affected and infected are also facing unique challenges and demands, particularly relating to dealing with the large numbers of deaths due to this disease. Experiences for these caregivers are likely to be varied, ranging on a continuum from positive to negative, for instance, the recovery of patients versus the death of patients. The objectives of this study are to explore and describe the lived experiences of caregivers working with AIDS patients, particularly patients who die from this disease whilst resident in a formal institution. The research is based on a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design. The study is grounded in a phenomenological approach to inquiry. Caregivers working fulltime in a formal institution caring for patients who are dying from AIDS were interviewed in an in-depth, unstructured manner in order to gather spontaneous, rich descriptions of their experiences. Through this study the researcher wants their voices to be heard, the potential richness of their reflections acknowledged and the generated data to be applied to the benefit of the field of HIV/AIDS – both for staff and patients. Thirteen in-depth, unstructured interviews provided saturated data, which was then transcribed and coded to yield the central and sub-themes that were identified in this study. One central theme identified the fact that in their daily duties (at their place of work), caregivers experience various challenges as a result of having to deal with the death and dying of their patients suffering from AIDS. These caregivers face the death of their patients daily, from a disease that causes untold suffering to the patient, family members and to the caregivers themselves, who wish they could prevent the anguish, the pain and the inability of the medical profession to do more than they are at present towards curing this disease. ii By describing the lived experiences of these caregivers by means of the research interviews, the researcher gained a clear picture of the AIDS environment. The information shared by the participants formed the foundation of the broad guidelines that were formulated. These are intended to provide support for the caregivers centering around the equipping of mentors of the caregivers, to enable them to support the caregivers in their daily task of caring for patients dying from AIDS. These caregivers, thus supported, will then be in a position to provide optimal care for these dying patients. These broad guidelines are intended to provide support by focusing firstly on the physical environment in which these caregivers work; secondly in providing education for the caregivers to enable them to fulfill their duties, and thirdly to provide adequate counselling to ensure that they do not succumb to caregiver fatigue/burnout, a constant threat in this type of environment. The study concludes with recommendations regarding the areas of nursing practice, education and research.

No description available.

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.

Burnout is reflected in pathological emotional depletion and maladaptive detachment that is a secondary result of exposure prolonged occupational stress. It is comprised of three dimensions, namely, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. It is becoming increasingly recognized as one of the most serious occupational hazards for nurses who work in critical care units. The objectives of this study are to assess the prevalence of burnout among a sample of nurses who worked in the critical care units in a particular hospital in Kenya, to analyze factors that contributed to the development of burnout and to identify measures for the mitigation of burnout. For this study, the researcher utilized a mixed methods research design in two phases. Phase one assessed the prevalence of burnout in nurses working in the critical care units by making use of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey. Focus groups discussions were then held in Phase two to investigate the factors that the nurses perceived as the main causes of burnout and to solicit their ideas about it could be mitigated. Convenience sampling and purposive sampling were used in the two phases of the study respectively. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice