'Back to the bedside': graduate level education in critical care.

The need for post registration education for nurses practising at specialty level in critical care environments is widely acknowledged in nursing and educational literature. There is also clear consensus that the ultimate aim of educational preparation and practice development is to improve the delivery of nursing care to patients who are critically ill and provide support for their families. Yet the 'right' approach to educational delivery and evaluation is less clear and stimulates considerable debate amongst nursing educators, care providers, learners and regulatory bodies.

Development of the New Zealand nursing workforce: historical themes and current challenges.

Development of the New Zealand nursing workforce has been shaped by social, political, scientific and interprofessional forces. The unregulated, independent and often untrained nurses of the early colonial period were succeeded in the early 1900s by registered nurses, with hospital-based training, working in a subordinate role to medical practitioners. In the mid/late 1900s, greater specialisation within an expanding workforce, restructuring of nursing education, health sector reform, and changing social and political expectations again reshaped nursing practice.

A review of research literature addressing male partners and smoking during pregnancy.

Objective: To gain a more complete understanding of cigarette smoking and cessation during pregnancy by examining the men's role in supporting smoking cessation of their pregnant partners.

Data Sources: A search of online data included CINAHL, Medline, and PsychLit databases.

Study Selection: Studies published in the last 10 years, in English language, included three phenomena: pregnancy, male partners, and cigarette smoking.

Meningococcal B: tell me everything you know and everything you don't know. New Zealanders' decision-making regarding an immunisation programme.

Aims: To describe parents' decision-making process and investigate what factors influenced decisions regarding children's participation in the MeNZB immunisation programme.

Method: 10 parents who consented to their children receiving the vaccine, 10 parents who did not consent to immunise their child, and 1 parent who chose to immunise only 1 of their 2 children all participated in a semi-structured interview. A qualitative descriptive thematic analysis was thereafter undertaken.

Australasian trends in intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation weaning: results of a postal survey.

Objective: To generate baseline data describing Australasian intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) weaning practice.

Methods: A five-part questionnaire was mailed in April 2005 to all 192 intensive care units in Australia and New Zealand.

Results: 116 ICUs responded (response rate, 60%), and 54 reported using IABP.

Computer literacy: Where are nurse educators on the continuum?

Computers are becoming ubiquitous in health and education, and it is expected that nurses from undergraduate nursing programmes are computer literate when they enter the workforce. Similarly nurse educators are expected to be computer literate to model the use of information technology in their workplace. They are expected to use email for communication and a range of computer applications for presentation of course materials and reports.

Electrochemical detection of wild type Saccharomyces cerevisiae responses to estrogens.

The presence of an estrogen binding protein (EBP) and an endogenous ligand in three yeast species was first reported in 1982/1983. The ligand was shown to be 17beta-estradiol and the binding affinities of EBP were demonstrated to be similar to those of rat estrogen receptors. This report describes detection of the behaviour of a putative estrogen binding protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a double mediator electrochemical detection system.

Invisible borders: sexual misconduct in nursing.

Sexual misconduct can occur when nurses practise in close physical or emotional proximity with patients. Nurses, however, have a professional responsibility to maintain professional boundaries to avoid the potential for sexual misconduct to occur. In New Zealand, there is evidence that some nurses have been involved in sexual misconduct, resulting in disciplinary proceedings against them.

Women maintaining physical activity at midlife: contextual complexities.

Health benefits associated with being active are well recognised and yet for many, particularly women at midlife, how this activity is maintained is both complex and poorly understood. This paper describes a qualitative feminist study in which 10 midlife women participated in two semi-structured interviews to explore factors influencing their ability to maintain physical activity over time. A thematic analysis uncovered participants' beliefs and behaviours regarding their experience of, and strategies used to maintain, regular activity.

Integrative review of parenting in nursing research.

Purpose: To synthesize and critically analyze parenting research in nursing.

Design: Qualitative, integrative review of nursing research studies about parenting 1993-2004.

Methods: Studies published by nurse researchers in peer-reviewed journals were systematically searched using CINAHL and Medline databases.

Understanding intraaortic balloon pumping.

Nurses are accountable for their care. Understanding the physiology and process behind any intervention improves patient care, while also increasing nursing satisfaction and skill and IABP is no exception. An awareness of IABP will facilitate sound nursing care, ensure early identification of possible complications or patient compromise, and lead to patient and relative satisfaction.

Discourse analysis of newspaper coverage of the 2001/2002 Canterbury, New Zealand mental health nurses' strike.

In late 2001 Canterbury, New Zealand mental health nurses undertook a variety of strike actions after stalled industrial negotiations with the local district health board. One response to these actions was the temporary reduction of many of the regions metal health services. Unsurprisingly, the print media responded by publicizing the crisis in mental health services on an almost daily basis.

The meaning of effective education for critical care nursing practice: a thematic analysis.

Continuing education and practice development are integral components of specialist nursing practice in environments such as intensive and critical care. Previous studies have examined the 'effectiveness' of various approaches to teaching and learning in critical care, yet few have considered how effective education affects the relationship between education and practice development. Using thematic analysis, this study explored the phenomenon of effective education (for critical care nursing practice) by asking: What does effective education for critical care nursing practice mean to nurses currently practising in the specialty? Eighty eight critical care nurses from the South Island of New Zealand provided written descriptions of what effective education for critical care nursing practice meant to them.

Quality of life: information and learning resources in supporting people with severe life-changing injuries to return to independence.

This paper reports the first stages of the development of an integrated care model for people with massive sudden change in their lives with special reference to spinal cord injuries. The model aims to be holistic by placing the patient at the centre of the service. In addition to providing medical care for physical injuries, the model emphasises at the outset that regaining a good quality of life postinjury is expected.

The use of yeast and moulds as sensing elements in biosensors.

Whole cell biosensors are able to provide information that sensors based on single and multiple types of molecules are unable to do. For example, broad-spectrum catabolite analysis, cell toxicity and genotoxicity are best detected in the context of a functioning cell. Most whole cell sensors have used bacterial cells as the sensing element.

Quality of life: a case report of bullying in the workplace.

The literature on bullying in the workplace describes the mental and physical ill health suffered by the victims and their families as the consequences of the bullying. The literature also discusses methods of bullying such as overt and covert physical and psychological abuse. The implications are that the consequences of abuse go far beyond the intended target; from impact on the working environment to individuals' health to economic and financial loss.