Margaret McAllister

The importance of teaching and learning resilience in the health disciplines: A critical review of the literature

This paper, based on a review of the literature, discusses resilience and the application of resilience research to nursing education. The paper advances the educational discourse on professional preparation, arguing that resilience theory should be part of the educational content and taught in a way that promotes reflection and application in order to give students strength, focus and endurance in the workplace. In addition, we argue that resilience and similar qualities ought to be emphasised in clinical experience courses, internships, work integrated learning and other work experience courses. Recommendations for building resilience in health professionals through education, training and modifications in workplace culture, as well as suggestions for priorities in research are presented.

Solution Focused Teaching: A Transformative Approach to Teaching Nursing

Nurses work in complex health care systems, which today are based not only on medical treatment and cure, but also on enabling individuals and strengthening communities. This paper describes a curriculum approach to teaching nursing in an Australian university which seeks to prepare students for this environment. Underpinned by transformative education principles, and termed Solution Focused Nursing, specific teaching and learning strategies are discussed. A goal is to cultivate critical thinkers and knowledge workers, that is, nurses who are not only able to work skillfully, strategically, and respectfully with clients, but who also demonstrate discernment, optimism, and vision about nursing and health care.

Seeking connection: family care experiences following long-term dementia care placement.

AIM To outline the experiences of family caregivers in Brisbane, Australia who have placed a relative with dementia into long-term care. BACKGROUND Whilst the aged care literature in Australia highlights the rising numbers of people with dementia admitted to long-term care, empirical research exploring family and staff relationships and their influence on quality of care remains limited. International research demonstrates that the transition to long-term care is stressful for families and the person with dementia, often resulting in ongoing family and staff conflict. DESIGN The study utilised a descriptive qualitative design. METHODS A purposive sample of 10 participants from a large study that tested an education intervention took part in the qualitative phase of this mixed method, sequential design study. Semi-structured interviews and confirmatory thematic analysis were used to identify family caregiver experiences following placement of their relative in long-term care. RESULTS The findings emphasise the increasing isolation and burden of care felt by families prior to admission, which often is perpetuated during long-term care placement and may present as dissatisfaction with care. CONCLUSIONS Improving staff-family relationships has the potential to reduce conflict and to improve the long-term care environment, relieve the pressure of work overload, decrease staff frustration and reduce negative reactions to family caregivers. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The findings highlight the crucial need for long-term care facilities to support families, as well as the person with dementia, through the transition to the care environment. The resulting improved family relationships with staff, based on negotiation and increasing knowledge of dementia care, can then provide potential to develop more specialised evidence-based dementia care and service delivery.

Coming to Autoethnography: A Mental Health Nurse’s Experience

In this article, the authors outline how a doctoral student came to use autoethnography within a narrative inquiry study exploring the experiences of being an adult child of a parent with a psychosis. Throughout the article, they discuss the researchers experiences and identify techniques they found useful in preparing for the present research process. As a qualitative research method, autoethnography is useful for making connections between researcher and participant, deepening interpretive analysis of both common and differing experiences, and producing knowledge drawn from compassionate understanding and rigorous reflection.

Factors influencing quality of life for people with dementia: A qualitative perspective

Objectives: An exploration and understanding of quality of life (QOL) can help to enhance understanding and respect for people with dementia and assist in improving care and treatment of this population. This study sought to understand the factors that influence QOL for people living with dementia in long-term care (LTC), including an understanding of how they perceived they were valued. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 32 older people with dementia from one service provider and across four large care settings, in two Australian states. Results: While these residents were either satisfied or dissatisfied with elements of their life, the factors influencing a positive QOL were related to their relationship with family and other people, and ‘things’ such as needing some control over their life and, more importantly, needing to contribute to their community. Participants reported feeling of little use and therefore of limited value to society. Conclusion: This study proposes a need to understand how relationships might be maintained and strengthened following a move into LTC and highlights the importance of control and its influence on feeling valued.

A role for mental health nursing in the physical health care of consumers with severe mental illness

There is extensive international evidence that people with severe mental illness have a lower standard of physical health than the general population. This leads to higher morbidity and mortality rates. Many of the causes for this poor physical health are modifiable. Yet the physical needs of this consumer group are neglected by healthcare systems in Australia, and elsewhere. While medical specialists are clearly integral to remedying this, nurses are well placed to play a key role in focused prevention and early intervention in the physical well-being of consumers with mental health problems. This paper outlines the specifics on how mental health nurses can be sensitized, prepared and empowered to help turn this serious health issue around. In particular, mental health nurses could be trained in and then utilize a new physical health check and response system in the UK (called the Health Improvement Profile) if adapted for use within Australia. This profile will be briefly introduced, and then its value to improving health care discussed.

Quality of life and dementia: The voice of the person with dementia

Although we know that quality of life (QOL) can greatly influence a persons well-being, the measurement of QOL in individuals with dementia has, unfortunately, been largely ignored as a result of conceptual, logistical and measurement difficulties inherent in this population. To enable the voice of the person with dementia to be heard, a triangulated approach was adopted using survey data that aimed to assess the quality of life-Alzheimers disease (QOL-AD) in Australian residential aged care and unstructured interviews with a small sample of participants (n = 33). This article presents the survey results and demonstrates there were significant differences in QOL-AD scores between length of stay in the care setting groups, interpersonal relationship quality and self-esteem. Groups with greater physical impairment had lower QOL scores. It is concluded that the participants in this study were able to provide meaningful commentary on their QOL and that the findings may be useful when planning education of care staff and may contribute to theoretical models of dementia care.

Adopting narrative pedagogy to improve the student learning experience in a regional Australian university

Abstract A growing body of work in the literature describes and explains narrative pedagogy within nursing and midwifery programs. This paper continues the conversation by explaining, with examples, how narrative pedagogy has been interpreted and applied within a new nursing faculty in Australia. The aims of our nursing and midwifery programs are to provide students with a clear professional identity and to prepare them for contemporary Australian nursing practice. As part of these aims, we want students to develop their imaginations and to consciously examine, and challenge, nursing and healthcare paradigms and practices such as the enduring illness model of healthcare and the emphasis on technique-oriented care. Members of our teaching team, working together and individually, have used narrative pedagogy in a variety of ways, developing novel teaching and learning activities for use in real time classroom settings as well as online to provide a regionally and globally relevant educational experience.

Learning contracts:an Australian experience

This paper explores the use of learning contracts - a tool that can facilitate self- directed learning that is specific to an individual students needs. Reflection on the experience of using contracts within an Australian university highlighted some perceived benefits for learning and teaching as well as potential limitations and areas of concern. Recommendations for effective use of contracts in teaching nursing include: that teachers should be adequately prepared for additional roles required in the implementation of contracts; the tool itself should be simplified and easy to read; and, students should be assisted to set realistic goals and to think about quality learning.

Addressing the needs of children of parents with a mental illness: current approaches

Abstract Children of parents with a mental illness have been identified as vulnerable to experiencing a variety of psychosocial effects arising from the impact of parental mental illness. Many children do not however, experience difficulties as a result of their parent’s mental illness and are able to thrive despite what may be an adverse situation. Until recently there has been a lack of adequate service provision in Australia for these children and their families. Recent government initiatives have led to greater awareness and recognition of the needs of children whose parents have a mental illness, and key principles and actions have been developed to assist health services to adequately care for them.The aim of this paper is to overview the risk and protective factors that may impact on the psychosocial health of children of parents with a mental illness, and provide some strategies that nurses in a range of health settings may use to assist families where parents have a mental illness.