Description:
Introduction: The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused global devastation since its initial spread in December 2019, with over 775 million cases and 7 million deaths currently reported by June 2024. Since the initial spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a reported impact on frontline healthcare workers wellbeing, with the emergency department (ED) nursing population experiencing impacts on their mental, physical, and social wellbeing, as well as their professional identity and capacity. Aims: This PhD research project aimed to explore the lived experiences of Victorian ED nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The researchers were interested in understanding what the lived experiences (e.g., feelings, attitudes, and perceptions) of Australian nurses working in the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic were, and what impacts working during the COVID-19 pandemic had on this frontline nursing population. Furthermore, this project aimed to understand the individual experiences of ED nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, how their experiences evolved as the pandemic evolved, and ascertain whether the role and experience level of the ED nurse would impact the evolution of their lived experiences. Methods: This longitudinal qualitative study employed an interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological framework, using rich, repeated dialogue with participants to develop new understandings of the ED nurse COVID-19 lived experience phenomena. A total of 10 Victorian ED nurses were recruited for this study, with 28 individual semi-structured interviews undertaken across three time periods; 2020, 2021 and 2022. The experiences of a graduate ED nurse, an ED nurse educator, and an ED NUM from the sample of 10 participants were analysed using a case analysis approach (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2021) to determine how role and experience level may have impacted their lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analysed using a Braun and Clarke (2022) thematic analysis approach, which aligned to the hermeneutic circle of understanding (Gadamer, 1960/2003). Results: Significant impacts to the personal and professional lives of the 10 Victorian ED nurses were identified in this study. Majority of participants either reduced their clinical hours, moved roles within the nursing profession, or left the nursing profession entirely. Using an integrated discussion approach (Lewis et al., 2021), five outcome themes were identified, including (1) wellbeing impacts on ED nurses, (2) ethical and moral challenges for ED nurses, (3) impacts on ED nurse professional identity, (4) comradery and teamwork within the ED, and (5) the impacts of department and organisational culture on ED nurses. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, significant impacts to the personal and professional lives of ED nurses were identified. Development of discipline specific recommendations pertaining to Practice, Education, Leadership, Policy, and Research for the ED nursing profession may assist in supporting a sustainable healthcare workforce, encouraging resilience and positive holistic wellbeing.
Description:
Introduction: The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused global devastation since its initial spread in December 2019, with over 775 million cases and 7 million deaths currently reported by June 2024. Since the initial spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a reported impact on frontline healthcare workers wellbeing, with the emergency department (ED) nursing population experiencing impacts on their mental, physical, and social wellbeing, as well as their professional identity and capacity. Aims: This PhD research project aimed to explore the lived experiences of Victorian ED nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The researchers were interested in understanding what the lived experiences (e.g., feelings, attitudes, and perceptions) of Australian nurses working in the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic were, and what impacts working during the COVID-19 pandemic had on this frontline nursing population. Furthermore, this project aimed to understand the individual experiences of ED nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, how their experiences evolved as the pandemic evolved, and ascertain whether the role and experience level of the ED nurse would impact the evolution of their lived experiences. Methods: This longitudinal qualitative study employed an interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological framework, using rich, repeated dialogue with participants to develop new understandings of the ED nurse COVID-19 lived experience phenomena. A total of 10 Victorian ED nurses were recruited for this study, with 28 individual semi-structured interviews undertaken across three time periods; 2020, 2021 and 2022. The experiences of a graduate ED nurse, an ED nurse educator, and an ED NUM from the sample of 10 participants were analysed using a case analysis approach (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2021) to determine how role and experience level may have impacted their lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analysed using a Braun and Clarke (2022) thematic analysis approach, which aligned to the hermeneutic circle of understanding (Gadamer, 1960/2003). Results: Significant impacts to the personal and professional lives of the 10 Victorian ED nurses were identified in this study. Majority of participants either reduced their clinical hours, moved roles within the nursing profession, or left the nursing profession entirely. Using an integrated discussion approach (Lewis et al., 2021), five outcome themes were identified, including (1) wellbeing impacts on ED nurses, (2) ethical and moral challenges for ED nurses, (3) impacts on ED nurse professional identity, (4) comradery and teamwork within the ED, and (5) the impacts of department and organisational culture on ED nurses. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, significant impacts to the personal and professional lives of ED nurses were identified. Development of discipline specific recommendations pertaining to Practice, Education, Leadership, Policy, and Research for the ED nursing profession may assist in supporting a sustainable healthcare workforce, encouraging resilience and positive holistic wellbeing.
Description:
Technology use in higher education teaching has become widespread and ubiquitous, affecting many areas of teaching and learning (Bond et al., 2020). Nurse education has been impacted by this shift with increasing use of technologies in the classroom (Koch, 2014). Although there has been a large research focus relating to students’ elearning, there has been less focus on the academic and their elearning role, in particular, how academic attitudes influence technology use in teaching (Drysdale et al., 2013; Martin, Polly, et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to explore nurse academics’ attitudes to technology and the influence attitude has on their use of technologies in teaching. There were three objectives: 1) To investigate nurse academics’ attitudes to technology through the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2). 2) To develop an understanding of how and why nurse academics engage with technology through individual interviews. 3) To integrate the quantitative (Objective 1) and qualitative (Objective 2) findings in order to gain a holistic understanding of academics’ use of technologies in teaching. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases was used to address the aim. The first phase was a survey based on a previously validated, 16 item questionnaire, the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2), which was distributed to Australian nurse academics. The second phase included semi-structured individual interviews focussed on academics’ use and attitudes to technology, incorporating elements from the survey. The Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2) was used in this study for the first time with nurse academics. The phase one findings indicate that nurse academics were technology ready, had higher overall TRI mean score than the general population (Parasuraman & Colby, 2015), but with similar outcomes to previous nurse academic research. Of note was that TRI was significantly associated with frequency of technology use, number of technologies used and self-rated confidence to use technology. The findings revealed three main Technology Readiness groups, representing three attitudes to technology in teaching: Explorers, Sceptics and Hesitators. Explorers were found to be innovative, positive and confident in their use of technology; Sceptics showed aversion to technology, were cautious when considering the impact on pedagogy and concerned about the impact on interpersonal skills; Hesitators showed preference for traditional teaching and distrust and were anxious about technology use. Overall, attitudes were found to be complex, based on experience and the potential impact technology may have on nursing students. The groups identified in this thesis explain behaviours and enable institutes to support academics in their engagement with technology. Recommendations include flexible training to meet the needs of academics, the use of simple and reliable technology across TR groups and adjusting workloads to account for the time-consuming nature of technology. There is also a need for academics to consider their attitudes to technology and the impact this may have on their teaching. This thesis demonstrates that technology engagement is not a binary choice but a complex process based on attitudes and other factors.
Description:
Technology use in higher education teaching has become widespread and ubiquitous, affecting many areas of teaching and learning (Bond et al., 2020). Nurse education has been impacted by this shift with increasing use of technologies in the classroom (Koch, 2014). Although there has been a large research focus relating to students’ elearning, there has been less focus on the academic and their elearning role, in particular, how academic attitudes influence technology use in teaching (Drysdale et al., 2013; Martin, Polly, et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to explore nurse academics’ attitudes to technology and the influence attitude has on their use of technologies in teaching. There were three objectives: 1) To investigate nurse academics’ attitudes to technology through the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2). 2) To develop an understanding of how and why nurse academics engage with technology through individual interviews. 3) To integrate the quantitative (Objective 1) and qualitative (Objective 2) findings in order to gain a holistic understanding of academics’ use of technologies in teaching. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases was used to address the aim. The first phase was a survey based on a previously validated, 16 item questionnaire, the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2), which was distributed to Australian nurse academics. The second phase included semi-structured individual interviews focussed on academics’ use and attitudes to technology, incorporating elements from the survey. The Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2) was used in this study for the first time with nurse academics. The phase one findings indicate that nurse academics were technology ready, had higher overall TRI mean score than the general population (Parasuraman & Colby, 2015), but with similar outcomes to previous nurse academic research. Of note was that TRI was significantly associated with frequency of technology use, number of technologies used and self-rated confidence to use technology. The findings revealed three main Technology Readiness groups, representing three attitudes to technology in teaching: Explorers, Sceptics and Hesitators. Explorers were found to be innovative, positive and confident in their use of technology; Sceptics showed aversion to technology, were cautious when considering the impact on pedagogy and concerned about the impact on interpersonal skills; Hesitators showed preference for traditional teaching and distrust and were anxious about technology use. Overall, attitudes were found to be complex, based on experience and the potential impact technology may have on nursing students. The groups identified in this thesis explain behaviours and enable institutes to support academics in their engagement with technology. Recommendations include flexible training to meet the needs of academics, the use of simple and reliable technology across TR groups and adjusting workloads to account for the time-consuming nature of technology. There is also a need for academics to consider their attitudes to technology and the impact this may have on their teaching. This thesis demonstrates that technology engagement is not a binary choice but a complex process based on attitudes and other factors.
Description:
Although the idealisation of nurses as advocates is popularised in nursing literature and supported within nursing frameworks, codes and standards, there has been little critical examination of these ideas within contemporary Australian healthcare settings and nursing practice. The Australian Healthcare system is a complicated system of interacting service providers and consumers. Institutions that regulate healthcare professionals and organisations normalise understandings of nursing and nursing practice, including conceptualisations of the importance of autonomy and advocacy and how each is to be supported and/or practised. This study used the perceptions of practising Registered Nurses (RNs) to examine the actualities of advocacy and support for autonomy as they are carried out within clinical practice, and to highlight, problematise and then analyse differences between the rhetoric and realities of practice. Firstly, a phenomenological lens, including an ethnographic model of observation, was used to thematically map and examine the RNs’ lived experience of their practice, paying particular attention to their conceptions of and responsibilities toward advocacy and autonomy. This thematic analysis brought to the fore a range of assumptions that, although clearly normative within nursing practice, are in evident tension with one other. These were then re-examined using a range of Michel Foucault’s concepts concerning the construction and maintenance of regimes of truth. Designed to unpack the operations of power and knowledge, and to make visible the techniques of disciplinarity and governmentality that inform and support them, an engagement of these concepts has allowed this thesis to critically examine the normative constructions and enactments of nursing practice with regards to ideas and practices concerning advocacy and autonomy. What this thesis provides is a detailed examination of the contrasting constructions of power and knowledge within nursing practice in relation to advocacy and autonomy, how and why these concepts have been operationalised within nursing practice, and how they could be re-visioned into the future.
Description:
Although the idealisation of nurses as advocates is popularised in nursing literature and supported within nursing frameworks, codes and standards, there has been little critical examination of these ideas within contemporary Australian healthcare settings and nursing practice. The Australian Healthcare system is a complicated system of interacting service providers and consumers. Institutions that regulate healthcare professionals and organisations normalise understandings of nursing and nursing practice, including conceptualisations of the importance of autonomy and advocacy and how each is to be supported and/or practised. This study used the perceptions of practising Registered Nurses (RNs) to examine the actualities of advocacy and support for autonomy as they are carried out within clinical practice, and to highlight, problematise and then analyse differences between the rhetoric and realities of practice. Firstly, a phenomenological lens, including an ethnographic model of observation, was used to thematically map and examine the RNs’ lived experience of their practice, paying particular attention to their conceptions of and responsibilities toward advocacy and autonomy. This thematic analysis brought to the fore a range of assumptions that, although clearly normative within nursing practice, are in evident tension with one other. These were then re-examined using a range of Michel Foucault’s concepts concerning the construction and maintenance of regimes of truth. Designed to unpack the operations of power and knowledge, and to make visible the techniques of disciplinarity and governmentality that inform and support them, an engagement of these concepts has allowed this thesis to critically examine the normative constructions and enactments of nursing practice with regards to ideas and practices concerning advocacy and autonomy. What this thesis provides is a detailed examination of the contrasting constructions of power and knowledge within nursing practice in relation to advocacy and autonomy, how and why these concepts have been operationalised within nursing practice, and how they could be re-visioned into the future.
Description:
"The major criticism by hospital trained clinical nurses is that university graduates are perceived as not being competent practioners as a result of limited time spent in clinical areas. This lack of clinical experience is thought to contribute to new graduates' sense of occupational stress."--leaf xii.
Description:
"The major criticism by hospital trained clinical nurses is that university graduates are perceived as not being competent practioners as a result of limited time spent in clinical areas. This lack of clinical experience is thought to contribute to new graduates' sense of occupational stress."--leaf xii.
Description:
"Improved survival rates for premature infants have resulted in extended hospital stays in neonatal nurseries with consequent challenges for mothers assuming a parental role. Additionally, maternal medical complications associated with surgical birth, and a need to locate themselves in unfamiliar clinical environments, exacerbate women's experiences and transition to a maternal role competes with other roles at this time. For women living in rural and regional areas, who experience premature birth, there is additional hardship due to isolation, distance and limited support services. There has been little research on women's experiences with infants in special care nurseries in regional Australia."--(leaf ii).
Description:
"Improved survival rates for premature infants have resulted in extended hospital stays in neonatal nurseries with consequent challenges for mothers assuming a parental role. Additionally, maternal medical complications associated with surgical birth, and a need to locate themselves in unfamiliar clinical environments, exacerbate women's experiences and transition to a maternal role competes with other roles at this time. For women living in rural and regional areas, who experience premature birth, there is additional hardship due to isolation, distance and limited support services. There has been little research on women's experiences with infants in special care nurseries in regional Australia."--(leaf ii).
Description:
"This is a study on perceptions of women for services provided by Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning (MCH/FP) Centre in Tongatapu of the Kingdom of Tonga. The purpose of the study is to provide information that will assist the Tongan Health Authority to develop strategies and services that are responsive, effective and accessible to women who utilize the services."
Description:
"This is a study on perceptions of women for services provided by Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning (MCH/FP) Centre in Tongatapu of the Kingdom of Tonga. The purpose of the study is to provide information that will assist the Tongan Health Authority to develop strategies and services that are responsive, effective and accessible to women who utilize the services."
The experiences which influence the decisions made by third year undergraduate nursing students to choose psychiatric nursing as a speciality area of practice
Description:
The purpose of this study is to look at the reasons why few students are choosing to enter the field of psychiatric nursing. The aim is to identify issues of concern and make recommendations to rectify the situation regarding the shortage of psychiatric nurses.
Description:
The purpose of this study is to look at the reasons why few students are choosing to enter the field of psychiatric nursing. The aim is to identify issues of concern and make recommendations to rectify the situation regarding the shortage of psychiatric nurses.