Why did I become a nurse? Personality traits and reasons for entering nursing.

Aims: This article is a report of a mixed method study of the association between personality traits of nurses and their reasons for entering nursing. Background.  The worldwide nursing shortage prompts research into better understanding of why individuals enter nursing and may assist in exploring ways to increase their recruitment and long term retention.

A systematic review of Registered Nurses; experiences of the influence of workplace culture and climatic factors on nursing workloads.

Background: Nursing workload is an issue that effects both the recruitment and retention of nurses, and patient safety. Historically, measurement has focussed on the delivery of direct patient care and excluded workload of facilitating hands-on care and supporting the organisation via duties that reflect organisation cultural and climate needs. Qualitative research is appropriate to understand this complexity.

A systematic review of the experiences of undergraduate nursing students choosing to study at an English speaking university outside their homeland.

Background: Increasingly overseas students are attending university nursing programs in English-speaking countries to gain additional tertiary qualifications that may not be available in their homeland and also to fill the international nursing shortfall. For these students, some common issues identified and affirmed in qualitative research papers include loneliness, discriminatory experiences, developing communication, and academic skills. This systematic review will help identify and synthesise current issues through exploring the existing literature, giving an insight into the lives of international nursing students.

'Once I became a pensioner I became a nobody - a non entity': the story of one woman's experience of the health care system.

This article highlights one socially isolated older person's experiences of ageing in a large metropolitan Australian location and the problems she encounters in attempting to access appropriate and timely health care. As society moves into a phase of rapid demographic ageing, this personal account provides health professionals with an in-depth insight into what it can be like to live in social isolation as one ages and needs ever increasing health care. Win is part of a larger study investigating difficulties encountered by socially isolated older people in accessing health care needs, and preferred her real name to be used for this article.

A comprehensive systematic review of age-friendly nursing interventions in the management of older people in emergency departments.

Background: The growing demand on health services due to an ageing population and people living with complex chronic illnesses necessitates an integrated and evidence based care approach. In times of acute illness, trauma or difficult life situations, for many older people the Emergency Department is the first port of call. Despite the benefits of presenting to the Emergency Department, this environment can also be challenging for the older person, particularly those who are frail and have cognitive impairments.