School of Nursing
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This collection contains Honours, Masters and Ph.D by coursework theses from University of Adelaide postgraduate students within the School of Nursing. The material has been approved as making a significant contribution to knowledge.
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Browsing School of Nursing by Advisors "Cusack, Lynette"
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Item Open Access Factors that assist undergraduate nursing students to cope with the experience of their first clinical placement(2016) AlShahrani, Yousef Mohammed; Cusack, Lynette; Rasmussen, PhilippaBackground: Nursing schools prepare nurses for their future career, therefore academic nursing programs need to be well-developed and structured with both theoretical and practical components to ensure they graduate competent nurses. Clinical placement is an essential component in nursing education that integrates theoretical knowledge with clinical nursing skills which cannot be gained by classroom education alone. The first clinical placement can be an extremely stressful experience for some undergraduate nursing students which may lead to negative consequences for students, the profession, healthcare settings or patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify factors that enable a positive experience of the first clinical placement for first year undergraduate nursing students. This aim was achieved by adopting three research objectives including: identifying factors from the literature that were facilitators or barriers to first clinical placement for first year undergraduate nursing students; identifying a framework in which to explore and discuss how first year undergraduate nursing students coped with their experience of their first clinical placement and identifying coping strategies first year undergraduate nursing students used to overcome any barriers or to prevent negative experience of their first clinical placement. Significance of the study: Results of this research will offer academics in nursing schools further insight regarding coping strategies of nursing students in their first clinical placement, which in turn, will assist in supporting these students to cope with the experience of their first clinical placement, continue with their studies and enter the nursing profession. Method: This study adopted a concurrent mixed method design and was conducted using an online questionnaire that involved both quantitative and qualitative questions. Adaptation and content validity was assessed by piloting the questionnaire in order to ensure that the tool was understandable, relevant and well-designed. The study participants were all first year undergraduate nursing students at a higher education facility in South Australia. There were no ethical considerations or risks associated with this study. Findings: There were fifty-eight first year nursing students of one hundred and fifty-four that responded to the questionnaire. The majority of participants were female, aged less than twenty years old, local students with no previous work experience as healthcare professionals. Most participants had a level of anxiety ranging from moderately to extremely anxious about their first clinical placement due to several reasons. These reasons included being worried about making mistakes that could harm patients, providing direct care and speaking to patients for the first time. Some participants were also worried about being assessed by nursing staff and clinical lecturers, as well as inadvertently breaking the rules of clinical placement institutions. Factors that assisted participants to cope with their anxiety and have a positive experience of the first clinical placement included supportive clinical lecturers and nursing staff, co-operative patients, adequate preparation before the clinical placement, effective communication between nursing schools and clinical institutions, and constructive feedback from nursing staff and clinical lecturers. Participants developed different strategies that assisted them to cope with their first clinical placement, including talking to different people about the experience of the first clinical placement, adopting positive attitudes, asking nursing staff questions, providing help to nursing staff and asking for help if unsure about their competence in their nursing task. Conclusion: There are a range of strategies that can be put into place by the nursing students, clinical lecturers and nursing staff that will enable nursing students to cope well with their first clinical placement and to have a positive experience. The research shows that preparation for the first clinical placement is very important for all concerned. Once on placement, then support and encouragement by clinical lecturers and nursing staff is critical in building the nursing students’ confidence in the new work environment. It is also essential that nursing students are provided with opportunities to reflect and debrief with colleagues and with friends and family about their experiences during their first clinical placement, being mindful of patient confidentiality. This study confirms the findings of other research of the importance of using a range of supportive approaches for nursing students undertaking their first clinical placement to enable them to have a positive experience that will boost their confidence as they commence their career in nursing.Item Open Access How mental health clinicians assess and manage the risk of violence from mental health consumers: a descriptive exploratory research investigation(2016) Smit, Jacqueline Teresa; Cusack, Lynette; School of NursingThe advent of deinstitutionalisation has increased the number of mental health consumers in the community. Consequently, community mental health clinicians (CMHC) now play an increasingly important role in caring for mental health consumers, which raises the question of how CMHCs maintain their safety. The overall aim of the research was to improve the safety of CMHCs when caring for mental health consumers. In light of this question, a literature search was conducted to investigate how CMHCs assess and manage the risk of violence from mental health consumers in the community. The literature search provided background information about deinstitutionalisation but also revealed there was a paucity of research about the subject of risk assessment and management by CMHCs. This research was conducted to gain an understanding of the strategies of risk assessment and management in community mental health. A descriptive exploratory qualitative research methodology was selected. The research was conducted in a community mental health centre in a metropolitan region of South Australia. Individual interviews of eleven CMHCs provided data, which was thematically analysed and interpreted. The main themes that emerged were: preparing to meet the consumer; intervention strategies for safety; and organisational management. There were several strategies that were consistently upheld by CMHCs such as gaining information about a consumer; appraisal of the environment; careful attention to exit strategies; and appropriate interaction with the consumer according to their mental state. Concurrently, the research findings raised awareness of the need for improvement in certain areas relating to: communication within the team; training requirements for CMHCs; and awareness of the policies and procedures and Work Health and Safety Standards. This research has also highlighted new areas of interest for future research.Item Open Access "It's busy .... but I love it": the experience of nurses providing abortion care in a specialist setting.(2013) Coombe, Brigid Ann; Cusack, Lynette; Hetzel, Sue; School of NursingAim: This is a report of a study to understand the subjective experience of nurses whose role it is to provide nursing care for women seeking abortion services in a specialist clinic. Background: Abortion is a very commonly provided health service in Australia but remains morally and politically controversial and associated with judgment and stigma. Nurses are integral to the provision of abortion services for women. Research attention to the subjective experience of nurses providing abortion care in specialist abortion services has been limited, particularly in Australia. Methods: A qualitative research design, informed by feminist research principles was developed to explore the experience of nurses caring for women in a gendered and marginalised area of health care. A small sample of nurses, working in a specialist clinic in SA, participated in an in depth interview with the researcher, and a workshop to validate initial thematic data analysis. Results: Nurses choose to work in a specialist abortion clinic for a range of reasons. A commitment to self-determination in health care decision-making facilitates the nurses’ work in the contested environment of abortion. Four themes emerged from the data analysis. The participants’ experience was revealed, through their voices, in the themes of: with woman, finding balance, relating with care and intention and silences. Conclusion: Providing abortion care for women in a specialist setting is a rewarding and challenging experience for nurses. Doing important work that directly helps women is rewarding for nurses who have a wide scope of practice with organisational and team supports. This study confirms the findings of other research of the importance of supportive frameworks for nurses working in abortion care. Future research to develop supervisory and reflective frameworks should include the development of appropriate language to discuss the difficult aspects of work in the second trimester. Decriminalisation of abortion laws would enable nurses to provide woman centred care based on clinical guidelines, taking account of the complexities of women’s lives and responsibilities.