Thomas Harding
Swimming against the Malestream:Men Choosing Nursing as a Career
Stuart McDonald, Gail Willis, Willem Fourie & Bronwyn Hedgecock
Graduate Nurses’ Experience of Postgraduate Educatioon within a Nursing Entry to Practice Programme
Sandra Richardson, Tracey Williams, Annette Finlay & Marrilyn Farrell
Senior Nurses’ Perception of Cultural Safety in an Acute Clinical Practice Area
Judee Ventura-Madangeng & Denise Wilson
Workplace Violence Experienced by Registered Nurses: A Concept Analysis
SWIMMING AGAINST THE MALESTREAM:
MEN CHOOSING NURSING AS A CAREER
Thomas Harding, RN, PhD, Deputy Head, School of Nursing (NSW & ACT),Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia
Abstract
This article reports on one aspect of a larger study, which used qualitative methods to critically explore the social construction of men as nurses. It draws upon literature pertaining to gender and nursing, and interviews with 18 New Zealand men to describe the factors underpinning decisions to turn away from malestream occupations and enter a profession stereotyped as ‘women’s work’. Five thematic groupings are revealed to be significant with respect to the decision-making process: formative experiences, the Call, expediency, personal acquaintance with a nurse and personal fulfilment. These factors, however, do not necessarily operate in isolation. The reasons for becoming nurses are complex and multifactorial.
In comparison to the experiences reported in the international literature, the men in this study were more focused on human caring and the transformational potential for personal fulfilment rather than a focus on the barriers to their engagement with nursing.
Key Words: Nursing, men, gender, ‘women’s work’, qualitative research.
Article Order Code: 253 A
GRADUATE NURSES’ EXPERIENCE OF
POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION WITHIN A NURSING
ENTRY TO PRACTICE PROGRAMME
Stuart McDonald, RN, MHSc, Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing
and Health Studies, Manukau Institute of Technology, Auckland
Gail Willis, RN, PGDip (Health Science), Nurse Co-ordinator: Nurse Entry
to Practice Programme (NETP) and Undergraduate Placements,
Counties Manukau District Health Board, Auckland
Willem Fourie, RN, PhD, FCNA(NZ), Deputy HOD and Research Leader, Departmentof Nursing and Health Studies, Manukau Institute of Technology, Auckland
Bronwyn Hedgecock, RN, MHlth.Sci.Ed., Lecturer, School of Nursing,
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland
Abstract
The first year of practice is usually a challenging time for nursing graduates. In New Zealand most undertake a Nursing Entry to Practice (NETP) programme aimed at socialising them into their new role and work environment. Some of these programmes now have embedded postgraduate courses. This means that graduates undertake higher education while at the same time adjusting to a new role and work environment. Using a cross-sectional survey design the purpose of this study was to explore graduate nurses’ experiences of postgraduate education within a NETP programme. Overall, participants felt well prepared for postgraduate studies at academic, personal and professional levels, although most suggested that NETP programmes could allow for a stand-down period of three to four months before postgraduate education is introduced. This would give the graduate an opportunity to adjust to the clinical environment. They also highlighted the importance of making expectations clear from the outset. This study revealed that the number and nature of postgraduate courses offered in a NETP programme requires further investigation.
Key Words: Graduate nurse; nursing entry to practice programme; postgraduate education; cross-sectional survey.
Article Order Code: 253 B
SENIOR NURSES’ PERCEPTIONS OF CULTURAL
SAFETY IN AN ACUTE CLINICAL PRACTICE AREA
Sandra Richardson, RN, BA, Dip Soc Sci, Dip Hlth Sci (PG), Nurse Researcher,Canterbury District Health Board and Senior Lecturer, University of Otago,Christchurch
Tracey Williams, RN, PG Cert, Associate Clinical Nurse Manager,
Emergency Department, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch
Annette Finlay, Quality and Risk Co-ordinator & Privacy Officer,
Nurse Maude, Christchurch
Marrilyn Farrell, Cultural Safety Educator, Nurse Maude, Christchurch
Abstract
Cultural safety is a concept that emerged within the New Zealand nursing context. The purpose is to ensure that nursing practice is congruent with the aims and objectives of the Treaty of Waitangi (the founding document between Maori and the Crown) and so facilitates the nursing of patients regardful of all that makes them unique and individual. While cultural safety has continued to develop since its inception in the 1980s, there remains relatively little research looking at its application in practice. This is due in part to the core element that recognises that only the recipient of care can determine if cultural safety has occurred. There are inherent difficulties in questioning patients about the quality of their care from a cultural safety perspective. One of these is the uncertainty around the public perception and understanding of cultural safety together with the implications of asking a vulnerable group to comment on this aspect of care. An alternative to asking patients to comment on whether they received culturally safe care is to consider the perceptions of health care professionals regarding this concept. This paper presents the results of a small study aimed at eliciting the beliefs and attitudes of a group of senior nurses with respect to the concept of cultural safety, and their perception of its role in clinical practice. It was undertaken as a preliminary to a wider survey.
Key Words: Cultural safety, attitudes and beliefs, senior clinical nurses, nursing perceptions.
Article Order Code: 253 C
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE EXPERIENCED BY
REGISTERED NURSES: A CONCEPT ANALYSIS
Judee Ventura-Madangeng, RN, MN (Hons), Emergency Department,
Canterbury Hospital, NSW, Australia
Denise Wilson, RN, PhD, FCNA(NZ), Senior Lecturer in Nursing
(Maori Health), Massey University – Auckland
Abstract
Workplace violence toward nurses has increased during the last decade with serious consequences that may extend beyond individual nurses to an entire health care organisation. The variety of definitions of workplace violence experienced by registered nurses contribute to a lack of clarity about what it constitutes, which in turn jeopardizes the reporting of incidences by nurses. Drawing on the relevant literature from 1990 to 2005, a concept analysis using Walker and Avant’s framework was undertaken to develop an operational definition of this phenomenon as experienced by registered nurses (excluding mental health nurses). Having a clear understanding of workplace violence assists with the creation of strategies aimed at preventing and/or resolving this problem.
Key Words: Workplace violence, registered nurses and violence, concept
analysis.
Article Order Code: 253 D
