School of Nursing

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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/84545
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 "Donnelly, Francis Patrick"

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    The Factors Associated With the Occurrence of Medication Errors in the Ministry of Health Hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study of Nurses
    (2017) AL Qrishah, Mohammad Hassan; Donnelly, Francis Patrick; Wiechula, Richard John; School of Nursing
    Aim: to investigate the factors associated with occurrence of medication errors (ME) in Ministry of Health hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Objective: To investigate nurses’ views on factors that contribute to medication errors. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was undertaken. A convenient sample of 152 nurses from three hospitals was obtained. Respondents were asked to determine factors associated with the occurrence of medication errors Results: A total of 152 of 300 (50.7%) questionnaires were returned. Exactly half of the respondents had been involved in medication errors once or more during their nursing career, with 26.97% (n= 41) having reported one or more medication errors at some point in their nursing career. A significant number (n= 131 86%) of respondents identified that unclear writing or illegible medication orders or prescriptions was the most significant factor in ME. Other highly significant factors contributing to errors included poor communication between nurses and physicians (n= 118, m=3.99), similarity in the name of medications (n= 114, m=3.92), similarity in the appearance of medications (n= 114, m=3.91), interruptions while preparing or administering medications (n= 101, m=3.71) , stressful working environments (n= 105, m=3.66), and a lack of medication safety education programs (n= 94, m=3.55). Conclusion: There are a range of factors that contribute to ME, of those the most significant is unclear or illegible medication orders or prescriptions. This study has identified a range of other factors in Saudi Arabian hospitals leading to medication errors, further research could be directed to the appropriate strategies to reduce them.
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    Nurses’ lived experience of delivering temporary epicardial cardiac pacing care: an Australian cardiothoracic intensive care finding
    (2017) Han, Matilda Kyungsook; Donnelly, Francis Patrick; School of Nursing
    There are many examples in literature concerning the effectiveness or complications associated with temporary epicardial pacing practice. While surrounding literature identifies elements essential to safe care and challenges faced by clinicians managing temporary epicardial pacing systems, no literature was identified about nurses’ experience in managing this practice. This study contributes to understanding of nurses’ experiences of managing temporary epicardial pacing. An interpretive phenomenological framework articulated by Heidegger was used to generate rich and descriptive data of this little known phenomenon. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight registered nurses who work in the specialist cardiothoracic intensive care and had responsibility for delivering temporary epicardial pacing care. The transcripts from the interviews were analysed using Smith’s Interpretive Phenomenology Analysis (IPA) method and to gain deeper interpretation, consideration of Benner’s five-stage skill acquisition theory was used as a lens to further examine the findings. The participants’ shared experiences revealed three major themes; ‘Risky business’, ‘Take time to own’ and ‘Zeroing in’. These themes were experienced in a variety of ways depending on the skill level of each participant. Furthermore, the interpretation of the study recognized that an internal motivation to use pacing at its optimal best, is characteristic of an expert. Strengths and limitations and implications for both clinical practice and education are discussed, and suggestions for future research are included.
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    PACU nurses & postoperative pain : A focused ethnography
    (2014) Nayar, Priya Susan; Donnelly, Francis Patrick; School of Nursing
    BACKGROUND: The post-anaesthetic care unit (PACU) is the first place that patients are taken following their operation and it is here that the initial recovery from their anaesthetic and surgery happens. Accordingly a significant proportion of the PACU nurse’s time is involved with the assessment and management of pain in the postoperative patient. Despite the implementation of standardised tools such as pain rating scales and medication protocols, the assessment and management of postoperative pain varies markedly from one patient to another in the PACU. Taking this into consideration, the researcher sought to understand how PACU nurses interpret pain assessment and management of the postoperative patient. AIM: To understand the processes PACU nurses utilise when assessing pain and implementing subsequent pain management in patients following surgery. METHODOLOGY: The qualitative approach of focused ethnography was used to frame this study. Focused ethnography was considered to best portray the perspectives of PACU nurses, as a culture, regarding the assessment and management of postoperative pain. METHODS: Ten PACU nurses were recruited from the PACU of a government hospital. The experience of the participants ranged from 3 years to more than 20 years in PACU nursing. James Spradley’s ethnographic research cycle was used to frame the research process. The research design employed two methods of data collection: participant observation and individual interviews. Collected data was transcribed and thematic analysis conducted. FINDINGS: Five themes emerged reflecting the perspectives of PACU nurses on the assessment and management of postoperative pain. These themes are: With Surgery Comes Pain; The Picture Beyond The Wound; Knowing; The Individual Experience; and Bridging Surgical Care. There are many complexities involved in assessing and managing postoperative pain in the PACU. Underpinning the five themes, communication was seen to be an integral aspect of assessing and managing postoperative pain from the PACU nurse’s perspective. CONCLUSION: This study represents a population of nurses who identify strongly with working in a unique clinical environment. The findings give insight to the multi-dimensional process that PACU nurses employ to be able to provide proficient care of postoperative pain to their patients; and, this study illustrates that the PACU fosters a distinct sense of culture amongst its nurses when considering the assessment and management of pain in the postoperative patient. The significance of this research is that there is no set method of pain assessment and management the PACU that could be taught from a textbook. Postoperative pain assessment and management is a highly individualised process that continuously changes with variables that are introduced by both the PACU nurse and the patient. Further research is required to develop knowledge about this particular environment.
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    A quantitative and qualitative analysis of nurses' lifestyles and community health practice in Denpasar, Bali.
    (2013) Damayanti S, Made Rini; Donnelly, Francis Patrick; School of Nursing
    Background Health promotion (HP) provision is regarded as an integral component of the health professional’s role, particularly for nurses working in a primary healthcare (PHC) context. In Indonesia, community health centres called Puskesmas serve as the main functional healthcare organisation unit. In all Puskesmas, nurses are considered to have a pivotal role in maximising the health of the general population, having sufficient knowledge, skills, positive attitudes and behaviours towards health-promoting lifestyles (HPLs). Purpose The purposes of this study were: to describe the personal health-promoting lifestyles among nurses working across all Puskesmas in the Denpasar area, Bali, Indonesia • to determine any significant differences between selected socio-demographic variables and the health-promoting lifestyles of nurses working in Puskesmas • to obtain an understanding of how nurses view, experience and integrate their personal and professional health promotion practice. Methods This study employed a parallel mixed-methods design using self-administered questionnaires and telephone interviews. The questionnaire was adapted from an existing instrument (Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II/HPLP-II), while the semi-structured telephone interview was guided by a list of questions developed through reviewing the literature pertinent to the chosen topic. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 20 for Windows, while qualitative data from eight telephone interviews were subject to in-depth thematic analysis. To generate final conclusions, inferences from each strand were linked, combined and integrated. Results It was found that based on particular socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, the means of several HPLP-II subscales were significantly different, namely, in spiritual growth (working experience, employment status, income, general health status), nutrition (employment status, income), stress management (income), and in total scale, health responsibility and interpersonal relations (general health status). Six key themes were yielded from the thematic analysis and included how the nurses view, experience and integrate their personal and professional HP practice. Conclusions Three major conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, the Puskesmas nurses showed sufficiently positive HPL patterns, except in the physical activity domain. Second, there were significant differences found in several HPLP-II subscales based on the participants’ particular socio-demographic characteristics. Finally, by integrating, combining or linking findings from the quantitative and qualitative strands, it can be concluded that there is a connection between the Puskesmas nurses’ personal and professional HP practice. More precisely, it was characterised by the notion of being imperfect role models and a blurred boundary between the nurses’ personal and professional identity.