The evolving challenges of specialist gynaecological cancer nurse roles - A qualitative study.

Aims: To determine how specialist gynaecological cancer nurses experience and perceive their role.

Design: An Interpretive Description qualitative study employing semi-structured interview methods was conducted.

Methods: Specialist nurses working in Australia or New Zealand were recruited via the Australia and New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group and the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia to contribute to focus group, dyadic and/or individual interviews.

"Our nurse is the glue for our team" - Multidisciplinary team members' experiences and perceptions of the gynaecological oncology specialist nurse role.

Purpose: To determine how members of gynaecological oncology multidisciplinary teams experience and perceive the specialist nurse role.

Methods: Members of gynaecological oncology multidisciplinary teams were recruited via two professional organisations to participate in an online qualitative survey. Survey responses were subjected to an inductive content analysis and categorised according to meaning.

Differences in meconium stained amniotic fluid in an Australian population: A retrospective study.

Background: Meconium stained amniotic fluid commonly occurs postdates ( >40 weeks gestation) indicating fetal maturity. Previous literature indicates that different ethnicities mature at different rates.

Aim: To compare the rate of meconium stained amniotic fluid of Australian-born and non-Australian born women.

Core competencies for diabetes educators: a scoping review protocol.

The purpose of the proposed review is, firstly, to map the core competencies for diabetes educators, as reported in the literature, and secondly, to review currently used criteria for core competencies in the assessment of diabetes educators.

Maternal and child health nurses work with refugee families: Perspectives from regional Victoria, Australia.

Aims And Objectives: To explore service provision for Victorian regional refugee families from the perspective of maternal and child health nurses.

Background: Increasingly, more families from a refugee background are resettling in regional Victoria. The refugee journey has significant effect on families.

Experiences of gynecological cancer patients receiving care from specialist nurses: a qualitative systematic review.

Background: The care needs of women with gynecological cancer are complex and change over the course of their cancer journey. Specialist nurses are well positioned to play a role in meeting the needs of women with gynecological cancer although their role and scope of practice have not been well defined. As patients are a key stakeholder, understanding their experience of care is an important step in better defining the role and scope of practice of specialist nurses in gynecological oncology in Australia and New Zealand.

New midwives' experiences of transition support during their first year of practice: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

The current review aims to investigate new midwives' experiences of transition support during their first year of practice as registered midwives. A further objective is to identify the social support experiences of new midwives during their first year of practice as registered midwives.Specifically, the review question is: How do new graduate midwives experience transition and social support during their first year of practice?

Nurses' experiences of supervising nursing students who demonstrate unsafe practices in clinical placements: a systematic review protocol.

This review explores the experiences of nurses who have supervised nursing students on clinical placement who demonstrate unsafe practices. The primary objective is to identify and synthesize the best available evidence on the experiences of nurses supervising students who demonstrate unsafe practices in clinical placements. The secondary objective is to explore why nurses award pass grades to students who demonstrate unsafe performance in clinical placements.

Exploration of the role of specialist nurses in the care of women with gynaecological cancer: a systematic review.

Aim And Objective: To evaluate the role and interventions used by specialist nurses in caring for women with gynaecological cancer.

Background: Evidence evaluating the efficacy of specialist nurses in the gynaecological-oncology setting is limited and fragmented.

Design: Systematic review including both randomised controlled trials and nonrandomised studies.

Japanese men's success in altered fatherhood role in a foreign country.

This study explores the meaning of the lived experience of childbirth and parenting of Japanese men who became fathers in a foreign country. Japanese men have been raised to maintain very strict gender roles, excluding them from sharing with their wives the experience of childbirth and the day-to-day parenting of young children. The study employed a descriptive phenomenological approach with in-depth interviews.

Undergraduate midwifery students' sense of belongingness in clinical practice.

Background: Clinical placements form a large and integral part of midwifery education. While much has been written about nursing students' clinical placements, less is known about clinical experiences of undergraduate midwifery students. In nursing, belongingness has been demonstrated to be a key factor in clinical learning but little is known about this in midwifery education.

Exploring the impact of clinical placement models on undergraduate midwifery students.

Background: Learning undertaken through clinical placements provides up to 50% of the educational experience for students in pre-registration midwifery courses. However little is known about of the impact various models of clinical placement have on the learning experiences of undergraduate midwifery students. Two clinical placement models have been employed for undergraduate midwifery students at Monash University, including the block placement model and the continuous two days per week model.

Safety of non-medically led primary maternity care models: a critical review of the international literature.

The Australian government has announced major reforms with the move to a primary maternity care model. The direction of the reforms remains contentious; with the Australian Medical Association warning that the introduction of non-medically led services will compromise current high standards in maternity services and threaten the safety of mothers and babies. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical review of the literature to determine whether there is convincing evidence to support the safety of non-medically led models of primary maternity care.

Managing projected midwifery workforce deficits through collaborative partnerships.

To address workforce shortages, the Australian Government funded additional nursing and midwifery places in 2009 pre-registration courses. An existing deficit in midwifery clinical placements, combined with the need to secure additional clinical placements, contributed to a serious shortfall. In response, a unique collaboration between Midwifery Academics of Victoria (MIDAC), rural and metropolitan maternity managers (RMM and MMM) groups and Department of Health (DOH) Victoria was generated, in order to overcome difficulties experienced by maternity services in meeting the increased need.

Critical discourse analysis: understanding change in maternity services.

This paper provides an example of the use of critical discourse analysis (CDA) in the area of maternity care policy and describes the process of CDA as an effective research method for understanding the influences of change in the context of Australian maternity services. CDA is a methodological approach that examines how discourse is formed and given power, as a result of how power is used, who uses it and the context within which this usage takes place. The application of CDA is described in this study for the purpose of examining key-stakeholder use of knowledge and power for the purpose of influencing the direction of the maternity services reform.

The struggle for contested boundaries in the move to collaborative care teams in Australian maternity care.

Background: the maternity services reforms announced by the Australian government herald a process of major change. The primary maternity care reforms requires maternity care professionals to work collaboratively as equals in contrast to the current system which is characterised by unequal relationships.

Aim: critical discourse analysis (CDA) using neoliberalism as an interpretive lens was employed to determine the positions of the respective maternity care professionals on the proposed reform and what purpose was served by their representations to the national review of maternity services.

Primary maternity care reform: whose influence is driving the change?

Background: in 2009 the Australian government announced a programme of reform that will change the way maternity services have traditionally been delivered. A shift to a primary maternity care model has occurred despite strong challenges from medicine and a general public that has embraced high technology in all aspects of life including childbirth.

Aim: a critical analysis was undertaken for the purpose of identifying discourses that have influenced the direction of the Australian maternity care reform agenda.

National review of maternity services 2008: women influencing change.

Background: In 2009 the Australian government announced a major program of reform with the move to primary maternity care. The reform agenda represents a dramatic change to maternity care provision in a society that has embraced technology across all aspects of life including childbirth.

Methods: A critical discourse analysis of selected submissions in the consultation process to the national review of maternity services 2008 was undertaken to identify the contributions of individual women, consumer groups and organisations representing the interests of women.

Shaping public opinion on the issue of childbirth; a critical analysis of articles published in an Australian newspaper.

Background: The Australian government has announced a major program of reform with the move to primary maternity care, a program of change that appears to be at odds with current general public perceptions regarding how maternity care is delivered.

Methods: A critical discourse analysis of articles published in 'The Age', a newspaper with national distribution, subsequent to the release of the discussion paper by the Australian Government in 2008 was undertaken. The purpose was to identify how Australian maternity services are portrayed and what purpose is served by this representation to the general public.

Hidden costs associated with the universal application of risk management in maternity care.

This paper presents a critical analysis of risk management in maternity care and the hidden costs associated with the practice in healthy women. Issues of quality and safety are driving an increased emphasis by health services on risk management in maternity care. Medical risk in pregnancy is known to benefit 15% or less of all pregnancies.

Factors associated with early breastfeeding cessation in Frankston, Victoria: a descriptive study.

Current exclusive breastfeeding rates in Victoria do not meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommended standards. This study describes the reasons for early cessation of breastfeeding from the perspectives of the mothers, midwives and maternal and child health (M&CH) nurses in Frankston, Victoria. Interviews were conducted with women who had ceased to breastfeed within three weeks of birth.

What over-the-counter preparations are pregnant women taking? A literature review.

Aim: This paper presents an overview of current literature relating to over-the-counter and herbal preparations use, with a focus on pregnancy.

Background: Internationally, there has been a shift towards self-medication through over-the-counter release of many prescription-category drugs and wider acceptance and use of herbal preparations. The general community perception that these preparations are safe may lead to inappropriate use, especially during pregnancy.

Werna Naloo -'We Us Together': the birth of a midwifery education consortium.

Aim: The metaphor of a journey will be used to describe the process covering 2 years of development of a Bachelor of Midwifery curriculum shared between a consortium of three universities in Victoria, Australia.

Background: The landscape or background against which this journey took place is described, providing a context for understanding the political and pragmatic steps necessary to achieve common vision and processes. This journey has necessitated a convergence of our thinking about what constitutes the living theory and philosophy of the new midwifery in the Australian context, and how this fits with international trends.