REVEALING STORIED LIVES -
LIFE STORY NARRATIVE INQUIRY
IN NURSING AND MIDWIFERY:
AN INTERVIEW WITH ROSE McELDOWNEY
Pamela J. Wood, RGON, PhD, Associate Professor
Graduate School of Nursing and Midwifery,
Victoria University of Wellington
Lynne S. Giddings, RGON, RM, PhD, Associate Professor
School of Nursing, Auckland University of Technology
Abstract
Narrative inquiry is a methodology encompassing a range of research approaches such as autobiography, biography, life history, oral history and life story. As nurses and midwives engage significantly with people through stories, it is not surprising that narrative inquiry has found a place in the repertoire of nursing and midwifery research methodologies. This article is the tenth in a series based on interviews with nursing and midwifery researchers, designed to offer the beginning researcher a first-hand account of the experience of using particular methodologies. It focuses on life story narrative inquiry as the methodology used by Rose McEldowney (RCpN, BA, MEd, ADN) in her PhD research about the experiences of nurse educators teaching for social change in nursing programmes in New Zealand.
Key Words: Research methodologies, narrative inquiry, life story.
Article Order No: 192A
EXPERIENCES OF FIRST TIME HOSPITALISATION
FOR ACUTE ILLNESS
Colette Blockley, MA (Nursing), RGON, Dip. Teaching (Tertiary),
Dip. Religious Studies and Spirituality.
Lecturer, School of Nursing, Otago Polytechnic
Abstract
First time hospitalisation for acute illness can be a traumatic experience yet little research has been conducted on the ways in which it impacts on patients. One small research study (involving twelve patients) using semi-structured interviews and thematic content analysis to explore patient experiences, revealed that information and support play a significant role in this phenomenon. The present article describes the patient experiences in relation to the themes of information and support during three periods: pre-admission, admission and ward stay, and discharge. Indications are that when adequate information and support are provided in each of these phases, emotional trauma is reduced.
Key Words: Acute hospitalisation, information, support, powerlessness
Article Order No:192B
GENETICS AND NURSING: PREPARING FOR
FUTURE HEALTH CARE DEVELOPMENT
M. J. (Nick) Nicol, RGN, RPN, BSc(Hons), PhD, MRSNZ,
Senior Lecturer, School of Health Science,
Massey University, Albany Campus, Auckland
Abstract
Incorporation of molecular and clinical genetics into routine health care is likely to be one of the most important issues that nurses will face in the third millennium. Discoveries associated with the human genome project are already having a major influence on health care. Increasingly nurses will be exposed to this new genetic knowledge and challenged to integrate it into their clinical practice in order to ensure that patients and families receive the best health care available. In order for them to fully participate in the health care environment that will develop as a result of these significant advances in the understanding of the human genome, nurses will need to be educated in the fundamental principles of molecular genetics and the clinically relevant areas of genetics. The impact of the ‘new genetic knowledge’ on medicine, health care and society in general will be of such significance that if genetics is not given greater emphasis in nurse education and clinical practice, then almost certainly genetics-related health care will be taken up by other health
professionals.
Key Words: Nursing education, genetics.
Article Order No: 192C
A CRITIQUE OF PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING IN
NURSING EDUCATION AND THE CONTRIBUTION IT
CAN MAKE TOWARD BEGINNING PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE - Part One
Esther Vallance, MA, BN, RCpN, Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing
Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, Christchurch
Sue Scott, MA, BA, RGON, RM, Senior Lecturer/BN Programme Co-ordinator
Wellington Campus, Massey University, Wellington
Abstract
Within New Zealand nursing education there appears to be a widespread acceptance of problem-based learning (PBL) and an assumption that the strategies it uses are unproblematic. A review of the literature however, reveals that PBL has drawbacks that may inhibit the achievement of desired graduate outcomes. It seems timely for nurse educators to exercise caution in uncritically accepting PBL approaches and using them as the predominant approach to teaching and learning. To this end, a two-part critique of this teaching and learning method will be presented. Part one critiques the methods of PBL and Part two explores the philosophical underpinnings of PBL, and the so-called ‘fit’ within nursing.
Key Words: Problem-based learning, self-directed learning, nursing education, group process.
Article Order No: 192D
