This qualitative study investigates patients' awareness of the relational work done by nurses. Relational work, a component of many women's jobs, is the work involved in dealing with, and managing, feelings and emotions. It is said to be invisible because it is unnoticed, undervalued, or taken for granted. Patients expect relational care but few classify it as work. They value it personally but do not see how it contributes to medical or technical work in the hospital. Patients attribute the skill involved in doing this work to personality, link the motivation for doing it to altruism, and overlook the constraints which determine how nurses provide emotional care. This research provides a comparison to studies which examine relational work done by women in other roles and raises questions about how work is defined.

This study focuses specifically on nurses' actions related to pain. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2000

Thesis (MNursing (Advanced Practice))--University of South Australia, 1996.

Thesis (MNursing (Advanced Practice))--University of South Australia, 1996

Thesis (MNursing (Advanced Practice))--University of South Australia, 1996.

It is now twenty years since the Federal Government mandated the transfer of nurse education to the tertiary sector. The conflict surrounding the issue of educational preparation for entry to professional nursing practice remains, supported by the oft-repeated comment that "graduates should hit the ground running". Student nurses/graduates are key stakeholders in nursing education and their perceptions are a valuable source of information as they experience the Bachelor of Nursing Program. To contribute to the body of knowledge, this evaluative study focused on the perceptions of students/graduates in relation to their preparation for beginning professional practice. Illuminative evaluation, supported by a qualitative interpretive approach, constructivist learning theory and a quantitative approach, was used to help understand and describe how students/graduates constructed ideas about their preparation for beginning professional practice. Data were collected from the participants in two stages, before and after the completion of the Bachelor of Nursing program, using questionnaires, open-ended questions, documentary information, reflective writings and semi-structured interviews. The participants for both Stages were drawn from the same student cohort. Following thematic analysis of the data it emerged that ninety-nine percent of the participants believed they were adequately prepared for beginning professional practice at an advanced beginner level. The study highlights that context is an important factor in relation to learning and that the theory/practice gap is a natural phenomenon in the learning process. Students experience difficulty in transferring knowledge and skills from one context to another. Also, a real tension exists between preparing a well educated nurse and preparing a practitioner who, on graduation, will not be fully prepared to deal with all the complexities and diversities of the nursing practice setting. Nurse clinicians, administrators and academics have a responsibility to ensure beginning practitioners are prepared for beginning professional practice at an advanced beginning level.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 13, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-50).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Linda Muzzin.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2007 / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-78).

Thesis (Ph.D.) in History--University of Maine, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-123).