"This is how it's got to happen"
- Authors: Northam, Holly , Cruickshank, Mary , Hercelinskyj, Gylo
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Transplant Journal of Australasia Vol. 23, no. 1 (2014), p. 9-13
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Organ transplantation is the most effective treatment for end-stage organ failure and is a much sought-after therapy. Efforts are under way to maximise the number of families who agree to organ donation on behalf of a newly deceased relative in Australia, with the hope of easing the burden for dying and incapacitated patients and to reduce health care costs. Objective: To present initial findings from a study which asked families who had been required to make a deceased organ donation decision about their experience, and the factors that contributed to their decision to either agree to or decline organ donation. Methods: Following ethics approval, an exploratory multiple case study was conducted. Twenty-two family members from nine families who had experienced the death of a relative within the previous three years from five of Australia's state and territories contributed to the study in 17 recorded, transcribed and analysed interviews. Findings: Broad themes emerged that included the importance of time and location, perceptions of suffering, information and help for the families, and the need for families to assure themselves that the deceased's needs were addressed before and after death. Conclusion: The findings suggest families require trust that their family member was not suffering before and after death. The affirmation of this trust was helped by prior information about the organ donation process and sensory affirmation that their loved one was at peace. Family decisions about organ donation, hopes and 'deep hopes' were dependent on this trust.
Perceptions from the front line : Professional identity in mental health nursing
- Authors: Hercelinskyj, Gylo , Cruickshank, Mary , Brown, Peter , Phillips, Brian
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Mental Health Nursing Vol. 23, no. 1 (2014), p. 24-32
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In the context of a growing population of people experiencing mental illness worldwide, mental health nurses are a crucial workforce. Their recruitment and retention, however, is in decline. Drawing on qualitative data obtained from interviews with mental health nurses () in ictoria, Australia, the paper employs a range of concepts from role theory to explore professional identity within mental health nursing. The data highlight three key issues in relation to the future recruitment and retention of : (i) the ambiguity of the role; (ii) the weak definition and lack of understanding of the scope of the role by nursing students; and (iii) a lack of communication about as a profession to a wider audience. These findings indicate three avenues through which recruitment and retention in mental health nursing could be improved: (i) public communication; (ii) training and educating of the next generation of ; and (iii) more accurately defining the role of the MHN.