Background: The nursing workforce needs to be adequately prepared to deliver care to an increasingly diverse patient population in the United Kingdom (UK). The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) expects newly qualified nurses (NQNs) to deliver culturally sensitive and respectful care. Aim: The study aimed to explore NQNs’ perceptions of culturally competent practice during the first 9 months post qualification. Methods: A qualitative longitudinal study was conducted with a volunteer sample of 14 NQNs recruited from 3 Higher Education Institutions in the north of England. Data was collected using directed reflections (at 2-3 and 5-6 months) and semi-structured interviews (at 8-9 months) and analysed using a phenomenological approach informed by symbolic interactionism. Results: Perceptions of culturally competent nursing practice were associated with core concepts such as individualised patient care, compassionate and respectful care, respecting individual differences, professionalism and patient trust. Specific behaviours were associated with verbal and non-verbal communication, care planning and diversity-specific adjustments. Discussion: Self-perceived competence and confidence in caring for, and interacting with, patients from diverse backgrounds developed and changed throughout the transition period with experience and interaction opportunities. An ability to reflect upon and learn from novel experiences, plus an enabling ward culture and environment which responded positively to nurses seeking advice and support was important. Conclusion: Educational preparation may have enabled NQNs’ opportunities to develop some but not necessarily all of the skills and behaviours required to demonstrate culturally competent practice. During transition, supported development and professional socialisation can assist in enhancing competence and confidence.

Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa cujo objeto é a percepção da enfermeira sobre a prática do aleitamento materno no contexto da feminilização da Aids. Tem por objetivos: analisar a percepção das enfermeiras de maternidade sobre a prática do aleitamento materno e a feminilização da Aids e discutir a prática da enfermeira em relação ao aleitamento materno a partir da feminilização da Aids. Os sujeitos do estudo foram nove enfermeiras de três maternidades municipais do Rio de Janeiro que possuem título de Hospitais Amigo da Criança. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. A técnica de análise do conteúdo foi baseada em Bardin. Emergiram três categorias: a) A percepção da enfermeira sobre sua prática quanto ao aleitamento materno; b) As percepções da enfermeira sobre a feminilização da Aids; c) A prática da enfermeira em relação ao aleitamento materno a partir da feminilização da Aids. Constatamos que a enfermeira percebe sua prática em relação ao aleitamento materno sob influência das Políticas Públicas voltadas para a promoção e proteção do mesmo, como a Iniciativa Hospital Amigo da Criança e o Alojamento Conjunto. Em relação à Aids, o advento da feminilização surpreende as enfermeiras que reagem com indignação, tristeza, medo e angústia. Estes sentimentos justificam-se, pois, para elas, pensar soropositividade em mulheres significa privá-las de exercer sua saúde reprodutiva e sexual plenamente, ou seja, os papéis esperados socialmente de uma mulher, como ser mãe e amamentar. A condição social e sexual da mulher (gênero) também emergiu dos depoimentos como determinantes para soropositividade. Ao perceberem sua prática às mulheres soropositivas nas maternidades, as enfermeiras apontam dificuldades geradas pela dicotomia (incentivo ao aleitamento materno e inibição da lactação) tanto para elas profissionais quanto para as mulheres que não podem amamentar. O processo de feminilização e os investimentos e recursos voltados para este acarretaram mudanças na prática da enfermeira, que refere mais segurança pessoal após disponibilização de teste rápido para HIV e cursos de capacitação para os profissionais. Além da prática voltada para as questões técnicas, apontam uma nova abordagem às mulheres soropositivas, como o objetivo de não expô-las às outras puérperas nas enfermarias de alojamento conjunto. Desta maneira, constatamos que as mudanças ocorridas nas práticas das enfermeiras estão relacionadas com o estabelecimento de políticas públicas voltadas para a amamentação e o HIV/Aids. Os valores pessoais ainda interferem na prática das enfermeiras, e a Aids ainda é vista como uma doença possuidora de estigmas tanto sociais quanto culturais. Reforçamos a necessidade de estratégias que possam diminuir a divergência das Políticas de Incentivo ao Aleitamento Materno e as de Prevenção à Transmissão Vertical, a fim de qualificar a prática de enfermagem às mulheres soropositivas. / This is a qualitative research whose object is the nurses perception about the practice of breastfeeding in the context of the feminization of Aids." The objectives: to analyze the maternity nurses perceptions on breastfeeding practices and the feminization of Aids and discuss the nurse's practice in relation to breastfeeding from the feminization of Aids. The subjects of the study were nine nurses from three maternity hospitals in Rio de Janeiro which possess the title Hospital Amigo da Criança. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews. The technique of content analysis was based on Bardin. Three categories emerged: 1) The nurses perception about her/his practice regarding breastfeeding, 2) The nurses perceptions on the feminization of Aids, 3) The nursing practice in relation to breastfeeding from the feminization of Aids. We found out that nurses perceive their practice in relation to breastfeeding under the influence of public policies that aim its promotion and protection, as the Iniciativa Hospital Amigo da Criança and Alojamento Conjunto. Regarding Aids, the advent of the feminization surprised the nurses who react with anger, sadness, fear and anxiety. These feelings are justified, because to them, thinking soropositivity in women means to deprive them from exercising their full sexual and reproductive health, in other words, the socially expected roles of a woman as to become a mother and to breastfeed. The social and sexual condition of women (gender) also emerged from interviews as determinants for soropositivity. Realizing their practice to HIV positive women in maternity wards, the nurses pointed the difficulties created by the dichotomy (breastfeeding promotion and inhibition of lactation) for both them, professionally, and the women who cannot breastfeed. The process of feminization and the investment and resources toward it led to changes in nursing practice, which refered to more security with the availability of fast HIV testing and training courses for the professionals. Besides the practice focused on technical issues, the nurses pointed to a new approach to HIV positive women, as the intention of not exposing them to other mothers in rooming wards. Thus, we found out that the changes in the nurses practices are related to the establishment of public policies for breastfeeding and HIV / Aids. Personal values continue to influence the practice of nurses and Aids is still seen as a disease with both social and cultural stigmas. We emphasize the need for strategies that can reduce the divergence between the Policies Encouraging Breastfeeding and the ones for Prevention of Vertical Transmission in order to qualify the practice of nursing women living with HIV.

There is a growing body of evidence on the positive association between diabetes and tuberculosis (TB), especially in populations with low socioeconomic status. According to the CDC and the WHO, diabetes is increasingly seen as a global epidemic, one that poses a threat to global TB control. The goal of this DNP project was to develop a program to educate clinical staff on the importance of early identification of diabetic and TB patients. The logic model was chosen as the framework for this project because it allows the planner to rationally observe each stage of a project's development. The program design consisted of several steps: (a) assembling the planners and stakeholders, (b) conducting relevant literature review, (c) gathering educational materials, (d) creating education modules, (e) developing an evaluation method, (f) presenting the results to the organization, and (g) standardizing the modules to be implemented in each of the organization's clinics. Ten participants including nurses, physicians, educators, and administrators reviewed the program in a formative (n = 5) and summative (n = 5) round to evaluate the ease of use and content. During the summative review, participants demonstrated 92.3% agreement using the AGREE II instrument. This tool supported the stakeholders' understanding and support for the developed modules. Overall, the program serves as an important tool to educate clinical staff to better manage and decrease the spread of tuberculosis among diabetic patients, and also as a comprehensive guide for developing similar projects in community clinical settings. The resulting educational program, which could be implemented by health care providers and clinical administrators, could serve as a catalyst for improved community health outcomes.

Thesis (M.CUR.) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / The purpose of the study was to develop protocol for professional nurses regarding NIMART management that is based on data and specific challenges that are faced in the Ehlanzeni district by professional nurses. A quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional research design was used for this study. The population consisted of all professional nurses who are NIMART trained, managing and initiating patients on ARV’s at primary health care clinics. Systematic random sampling method was used to select 135 respondents. Data was collected through the self-developed questionnaire. The questionnaire was pre tested. Reliability was ensured through self-administered questionnaire and with the guide of literature review. The questionnaire was also pre tested by conducting a pilot study. Validity was ensured through undertaking extensive literature review, giving operational definitions of concepts, questionnaires were given to supervisors, questions constructed according to the objectives of the study and congruence was ensured between research questions, objectives, findings and recommendations. Data analysis was done through descriptive studies, using SPSS statistics 21.0 programme of data analysis with the assistance of the statistician. The findings indicate that challenges faced by professional nurses regarding nurse initiated and management of antiretroviral therapy are be lack of professional nurses, fear of infecting themselves while treating HIV positive patients, patients do not come on their return dates, encountering problems when they trace defaulters and shortage of retroviral drugs. The study recommends that staff shortage should be addressed, medicine supply should be monitored, a competent HIV trained doctor should be appointed and dedicated outreach team should be appointed. Keywords: NIM-ART, HIV/AIDS, Professional nurse

Clinical nursing practice is on the cusp of significant and unrelenting change amid globalization, austerity measures and technological advancements as the world moves out of the industrial age into the knowledge age. With advances in technology, theory and research, the potential changes to future nursing practice are unlimited. Understanding the process nurses undertake to change their practice in light of these predicted trends is critical if outcomes for patients are to be safe and effective. Yet, there was a paucity of published research that investigate the process of nursing practice change. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe the process registered nurses undertake to change their clinical practice. The study used an interpretive description methodology and involved interviewing 15 registered nurses with various backgrounds and experience in Doha, Qatar. Data were analyzed using constant comparison methods, simultaneous data collection and analysis, and intensive memoing. The findings revealed an overall theme of asing the dis-ease’, in addition to three sub-themes: disruption, actioning and stabilizing. The study provide simportant insights into how nurses change their clinical practice. A significant contribution of this study is the role of the individual in changing nursing practice. / Graduate / 2020-06-03

As the baby boomer generation move inexorably towards retirement and the requirement for health care services increases, the supply of nurses available to provide care at the patient bedside is forecast to fall significantly short of demand. This thesis has explored the perspectives of midlife nurses, asking what it would take to keep them in bedside practice until retirement. These nurses have provided insights which offer employers of valuable senior nurses, suggestions for maximising their potential. Through the use of questionnaires and focus groups nurses aged 45 years and over were asked what the employer can do to ensure that they are able to continue to work at the patient bedside until they reach the age of retirement. The results of this research demonstrate a workforce of nurses who are passionate and committed to their profession, but feeling disillusioned and disempowered. The nursing environment has changed over the span of their career and they find the increased workload, together with increasing professional demands, too hard to cope with. They feel they have no control over their workload, their shift patterns, or the expectations of their patients and colleagues. They want their experience to be recognized but they do not want to have to prove competency; they want to have a voice but they are unwilling to pursue postgraduate education to learn how to become visible and emancipated.

In 1978, Primary Health Care (PHC) was formally recognised, in the Declaration of Alma-Ata, as the key to achieving the World Health Organisation's goal of 'Health For All by the Year 2000' (HFA). PHC was seen as the solution to the inadequate illness management systems that had developed throughout the world. It was hoped that PHC would address some of the major inequalities in health observed both within and between countries by its balanced system of treatment and disease prevention. The WHO envisaged that PHC would take place as close as possible to where people live and work and be the first element of a continuing health care process. Additionally, health service collaboration and multi-professional partnerships were expected to replace professional boundaries and competition. Shortly after the Declaration of Alma-Ata, the World Health Organisation, supported by national and international nursing bodies, proposed that nurses would be the driving force behind the HFA movement as active partners in inter-professional teams, leaders in health care and resources to people rather than resources to other health professionals. In the ensuing years, although community health nurses were acknowledged by the government and the nursing profession as key players in PHC in Australia, practice nurses (nurses who are employed in general medical practices) were not identified within this group. Hence, it appeared as though these practice nurses were 'invisible', not considered important to PHC in Australia, or simply overlooked as a major influence on population health. The purpose of this study was to describe the current role of these nurses and to identify and analyse the factors that influenced their scope of practice and hence their contribution to PHC. The research was conducted as a case study of practice nurses in one Division of General Practice in southeast Queensland. The study was influenced by the constructivist paradigm of inquiry and utilised a complementary sequence of quantitative methods followed by qualitative investigation. The first stage of the study comprised a telephone followed by mail survey of general practitioners and practice nurses employed within the Division. This was followed by a second stage, which involved group and individual interviews of key informants and was supported by document review and observation. The study revealed that the practice nurse role is essentially one of assistant to the general practitioner wherein the nurse undertakes basic assessment procedures to aid the medical diagnosis, carries out delegated therapeutic procedures, and contributes to the administrative functioning of the practice. Autonomous nursing initiatives, which appear to be largely opportunistic and incidental to delegated activities, include physical and emotional support of patients, clarification and reinforcement of medical instructions, and the provision of health education. The practice nurse's role, and hence contribution to PHC, was found to be constrained by a number of factors. These factors include the current funding arrangements for general practice, the view that practice nurses are an option rather than a necessity, the general practitioners' control of the practice setting, the appropriation of nursing work to medical receptionists, the lack of professional development opportunities, and the practice nurses' passive acceptance of their circumstances. However, both general practitioners and practice nurses appreciate the value of nursing services in general practice and GPs would sanction the employment of more nurses, if given financial incentives, especially for the purpose of preventive care. The majority of practice nurses believe their role should be expanded to include autonomous functioning while most of the GPs were amenable to some extension of nursing practice but reticent or opposed to any independent interventions. There appears a need in Queensland for courses to prepare practice nurses for advanced practice if they want to expand their role in PHC beyond that of assistants to GPs. It would also seem to be in the nurses' interests to initiate a professional association of practice nurses as a vehicle to explore other issues relevant to their professional development. In addition, if PNs want to expand their role they will need to demonstrate improved patient outcomes and cost effectiveness.

This research explores how experienced nurses perceive their role as clinical teachers in an environment that is challenged not only with on-going changes in healthcare delivery, but also by the expectation that it will continue to provide positive clinical learning opportunities for undergraduate student nurses. Schools of nursing in Australia have undergone rapid and far-reaching change as a consequence of the legislated transfer of nursing eduction to the tertiary sector. Expectations that nurse academics will possess higher degrees and be actively involved in research mean that faculty members have less time to be directly involved in their students’ learning during clinical practice placements. The literature indicates that the responsibility for moment to moment teaching and learning thus appears to have been implicitly given to clinical staff who may not possess any formal qualifications for teaching, yet are largely responsible for students’ learning through clinical placements. Indeed some clinicians report a worrying lack of knowledge of clinical supervision models giving cause for further concern about the nature of the clinical learning environment. Schools of nursing expect that clinical practica will provide opportunities for students to learn how to be a nurse through guided questioning, analysis and critical thinking. It is evident that in some settings, this represents an ideal situation and not the reality. Critical reflection on these issues has informed the purpose of this research and helped to shape the following questions that focus the conduct of the study: Research Question One. How do experienced nurses create positive clinical learning environments for student nurses? Research Question Two. How do experienced nurses resolve the often-contradictory demands of nursing students and those of the practice setting? Research Question Three. How do changes in the healthcare environment impact on the experienced nurse's role as a clinical teacher? The theoretical framework for this study was underpinned by the interpretive philosophies of hermeneutic phenomenology and symbolic interactionism, because they acknowledge the personal experiences and meanings of the participants. A case study approach was utilised because it acknowledges the given context of the participants. Data were collected from six experienced nurses through a series of semi-structured interviews, informal interviews and periods of participant observation supported by field notes and the researcher’s diary. Participants identified that their perception of their role as clinical teachers was constructed of three intersecting roles: that of facilitator of learning, assessor and socialiser. This study concludes that several factors influence these nurses’ perception of their role as clinical teachers. In particular, the positivist work culture of the clinical setting and nurses’ own past experiences and world view of nursing combine to shape these nurses’ perception of their role as clinical teachers. The research concludes that the expectations that students will be supported in their endeavours to be critically thinking, problem solving and reflective practitioners may, in fact, be unrealistic in the current, economically constrained, clinical environment. It is evident that experienced nurses, despite being willing to be involved with clinical teaching, have to function in rapidly changing environments that do not always offer opportunities for nurses to reflect on their practice. However, the creation of positive clinical learning environments in these circumstances requires an increased understanding and appreciation by both schools of nursing and their students of the impact of change on these nurses and their clinical environment. This appreciation may result in more effective collaboration between nursing education and nursing service to assist student nurses to learn not merely through repetitive practice and busywork, but also through opportunities to observe, question and understand their nursing practice.

There is growing awareness of the benefits of rehabilitation both in Australia and overseas. While the provision of rehabilitation services is not new, recognition of this type of health service as an integral part of health care has been linked to changes in the provision of acute care services, advances in medical technology, improvements in the management of trauma and an ageing population. Despite this, little attention has been paid to nursing's contribution to patient rehabilitation in Australia. The aim of this grounded theory study, therefore, was to collect and analyse nurses' reports of their contributions to patient rehabilitation and to describe and analyse contextual factors influencing that contribution. Data were collected during interviews with registered and enrolled nurses working in five inpatient rehabilitation units in New South Wales and during observation of the nurses' everyday practice. A total of 53 nurses participated in the study, 35 registered nurses and 18 enrolled nurses. Grounded theory, informed by the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism, was used to guide data analysis, the ongoing collection of data and the generation of a substantive theory. The findings revealed six major categories. One was an everyday problem labelled incongruence between nurses' and patients' understandings and expectations of rehabilitation. Another category, labelled coaching patients to self-care, described how nurses independently negotiated the everyday problem of incongruence. The remaining four categories captured conditions in the inpatient context which influenced how nurses could contribute to patient rehabilitation. Two categories, labelled segregation: divided and dividing work practices between nursing and allied health and role ambiguity, were powerful in shaping nursing's contribution as they acted individually and synergistically to constrain nursing's contribution to patient rehabilitation. The other two categories, labelled distancing to manage systemic constraints and grasping the nettle to realise nursing's potential, represent the mutually exclusive strategies nurses used in response to segregation and role ambiguity. From exploration of the relationship between the six categories, the core category and an interactive grounded theory called opting in and opting out emerged. In turn, this grounded theory reveals nursing's contribution to inpatient rehabilitation as well as contextual conditions constraining that contribution. The significance of these findings is made manifest through their contribution to the advancement of nursing knowledge and through implications for nursing practice and education, rehabilitation service delivery and research.

Acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) are a new addition to the Canadian health care system, having been introduced in the Canadian health care system in the late 1980s. While some authors have suggested that nurse practitioners offer “something special” to patient care, no evidence to date has substantiated this claim. The findings of this grounded theory study offer a theory (Acute Care Health Professional-Patient Relationship (ACHPPR) Theory) to describe how three types of health care professionals establish relationships with patients in acute care settings (Figure 7). This qualitative study explored relationships that ACNPs, physicians and staff nurses establish with patients in a large urban multi-site university-affiliated hospital. Six quartets (patient, ACNP, physician, staff nurse) were recruited and interviews, using a semi-structured guide were audio-taped and subsequently transcribed verbatim. Each type of relationship was found to have a unique focus; ACNPs focus on making connections with patients, physicians focus on managing patients’ diseases and staff nurses focus on meeting patients’ needs. In order to establish relationships with patients, readiness conditions must be met. Health professionals use strategies to influence the achievement of readiness conditions as well as to move forward with relationship development. Each type of relationship varies in the range of potential intensity that can be achieved, which is influenced by various dimensions. Relational intensity ranges from the uncommon clinical relationship, which focuses on the patient’s disease, through the more typical professional relationship characterized by a comfortable rapport and then finally to the most relationally intense, but rare, personal relationship. If a relationship reaches professional or personal levels of relational intensity, relational products become evident. When comparing these three health professional-patient relationships, similarities and differences have been identified. Analysis of patient interviews yielded themes that substantiate the ACHPPR theory. The ACHPPR theory offers a beginning understanding of the complementary nature of three types of health professional-patient relationships in the acute care setting and has the potential to influence practice, education, theory development and future research related to ACNP-patient relationships.