In 1994 the School of Nursing, Northern Territory University and the Faculty of Health Science, U... more In 1994 the School of Nursing, Northern Territory University and the Faculty of Health Science, University of Central Queensland entered into a small pilot project to expand the horizons of undergraduate nursing students through the planned use of AAARNet connections. Both NTU and UCQ are relatively small and isollated universities with new basic nursing programs which are attempting to prepare future professionals who will need a broader understanding of how the principles and facts which they are learning fit into broader health care needs.The objectives of this program are to provide opportunities for peer education, comparative study and socialisation via the AARNet. A secondary set of objectives is to upgrade the computer skills of the students in preparation for their functioning in a modern health informatics environment and to provide eventual access to additional health resources through the internet. The paper will report on the initial experiences with this project
More than five generations of nurses have been educated and have practiced as caring professional... more More than five generations of nurses have been educated and have practiced as caring professionals in Australia’s recent history. Nursing education has evolved from the cultures of those who migrated to Australia over the last 200 years with very little attention being paid to the culture which developed and thrived on the continent since time began. Few of the five generations of nurses know or have sought to know about Aboriginal peoples, the original inhabitants of Australia. Contemporary education is endeavoring to address this omission, however it is attempting to do so against 200 years of institutionalized racism.
International journal of nursing practice, Jan 28, 2017
To assess the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive program for type 2 d... more To assess the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive program for type 2 diabetes by change in weight and fasting blood glucose level in Jordanian adolescents. Sixteen percent of Jordanian adults have obesity-related type 2 diabetes and 5.6% of obese adolescents examined, however one-third unexamined. Rates in Arabic countries will double in 20 years, but this can be prevented and reversed by controlling obesity. A single-blinded randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2 unisex high schools in Irbid, Jordan, in 2012. Intervention and control participants, aged 12 to 18 years, were visibly overweight/obese. They were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 205) or control (n = 196) groups. At-risk students were assessed before and after the 12-week intervention, for change in weight and fasting blood glucose level following preventive instruction and parent-supported changes. Mean age of participants was 15.3 years with equal percentages of both males ...
Jahanpour F, Sharif F, Salsali M, Kaveh MH, Williams LM. International Journal of Nursing Practic... more Jahanpour F, Sharif F, Salsali M, Kaveh MH, Williams LM. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2010; 16: 595–602 Clinical decision‐making in senior nursing students in IranClinical decision‐making is the basis for professional nursing practice. This can be taught and learned through appropriate teaching and clinical experiences. Unfortunately, it has been observed that many graduates are unable to demonstrate suitable clinical decision‐making skills. Research and study on the process of decision‐making and factors influencing it assists educators to find the appropriate educational and clinical strategies to teach nursing students. To explore the experience of nursing students and their view points regarding the factors influencing their development of clinical decision‐making skills. An exploratory qualitative approach utilizing grounded theory methods was used; focus group interviews were undertaken with 32 fourth year nursing students and data were analysed using constant com...
Evidence indicates that hospital nurse‐initiated defibrillation improves survival following cardi... more Evidence indicates that hospital nurse‐initiated defibrillation improves survival following cardiac arrest. Accordingly, hospitals are changing their policies to permit nurses to initiate defibrillation. However, if nurse‐initiated defibrillation is to be successful implemented, nurses’ beliefs about this practice need to be understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of rural nurses towards defibrillation to assist in the development of nurse‐initiated defibrillation programmes. This cross‐sectional study examined the defibrillation beliefs of registered nurses in rural areas. A proportionally stratified sample of registered nurses (n = 436) were drawn from 51 rural acute care hospitals in Australia. Most (n = 224; 52%) of the participants were not permitted to initiate defibrillation. A one‐way between‐groups multivariate analysis of variance showed that nurses who were permitted to initiate defibrillation held stronger positive beliefs towards defibr...
A growing body of work in the literature describes and explains narrative pedagogy within nursing... more 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.
In Australia, nursing educators work across three main contexts - training colleges, health servi... more In Australia, nursing educators work across three main contexts - training colleges, health services and universities. Because the pace of change for nursing has increased dramatically and the curriculum is becoming even more crowded, educators in these contexts are likely to be experiencing work-related stress. This study investigated this issue utilising a purposive sampling strategy to interview a cross section of nurse educators and those supporting educators. Eighteen in-depth interviews were completed, which included fourteen nurse educators and four key stakeholders. Qualitative analysis revealed that regardless of context, nurse educators found their role rewarding but there are common challenges. These included: Work role pressures, a non-validating culture, the pace of change, isolation and concern for the profession. There are also differences amongst the cohorts. Finally, participants elaborated on specific solutions to these problems and there is strong support for the establishment of a national community of practice to bring diverse educators together to share, support, extend and evaluate each others' work.
When transferring critically ill patients, vast distances from rural hospitals to tertiary hospit... more When transferring critically ill patients, vast distances from rural hospitals to tertiary hospitals means nurses play a key role in facilitating communication between the patient, family and health care providers in both settings. Whether nurses are communicating information that patients and the family of the patients, perceive to have meaning for them is not clear. This study identifies the common
Australian nurses are increasingly working part-time. A paucity of research based knowledge about... more Australian nurses are increasingly working part-time. A paucity of research based knowledge about this segment of the nursing workforce was the impetus for a grounded theory study that recruited a sample of part-time nurses (n=86) and nurse managers and nurse educators (n=18) to discover the ‘realities’ of part-time nursing for the regional Queensland context. Embracement of gendered identity constructs led many nurses to choose part-time employment as a means to balance family work and professional careers. It may be assumed that as nursing is a female dominated profession a feminine organisational culture would be hegemonic and female gendered discrimination would not occur. However part-time nurses, who choose their employment hours because their constructs of feminine identity value a work-family balance, are experiencing notable professional development inequities. This paper argues that though gendered discrimination is prohibited, indirect gendered discrimination may be occurring in plain sight while remaining ‘hidden’ because nursing is a predominantly female profession. The paper uses extant literature to examine study findings related to the indirect gendered discrimination of regional Queensland part-time nurses. The paper suggests that this situation is worthy of exploration because nursing represents a unique profession where females dominate at all hierarchical levels; including higher level positions. Therefore females at higher level positions are discriminating against other females who choose part-time employment because of their feminine identity constructs
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been used in hospitals for approximately 40 years. Nurses... more Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been used in hospitals for approximately 40 years. Nurses are generally the first responders to a cardiac arrest and initiate basic life support while waiting for the advanced cardiac life support team to arrive. Speed and competence of the first responder are factors contributing to the initial survival of a person following a cardiac arrest. Attitudes of individual nurses may influence the speed and level of involvement in true emergency situations. This paper uses the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour to examine some behavioural issues with CPR involvement.
Collegian: Journal of the Royal College of …, Jan 1, 2002
The Australian nursing profession has accepted the challenge to support and encourage advanced nu... more The Australian nursing profession has accepted the challenge to support and encourage advanced nursing practice role development. A critical review of national and international literature highlights that there is no singular definition or understanding of 'advanced' nursing practice. Instead difficulty with nomenclature and clarification of levels of nursing are perpetuated by unclear distinction between 'advanced', 'specialist' and 'expert' nursing practice. This paper presents the findings of a review of the literature and posits that ambiguity and lack of consistency in defining 'advanced' nursing practice is hampering the progression of the profession towards the development of consistent advanced practice roles in Australia. It is proposed that a universally accepted definition would provide a vehicle for future Australian role development so that all advanced practice roles have a common genesis and national consistency results.
In 1994 the School of Nursing, Northern Territory University and the Faculty of Health Science, U... more In 1994 the School of Nursing, Northern Territory University and the Faculty of Health Science, University of Central Queensland entered into a small pilot project to expand the horizons of undergraduate nursing students through the planned use of AAARNet connections. Both NTU and UCQ are relatively small and isollated universities with new basic nursing programs which are attempting to prepare future professionals who will need a broader understanding of how the principles and facts which they are learning fit into broader health care needs.The objectives of this program are to provide opportunities for peer education, comparative study and socialisation via the AARNet. A secondary set of objectives is to upgrade the computer skills of the students in preparation for their functioning in a modern health informatics environment and to provide eventual access to additional health resources through the internet. The paper will report on the initial experiences with this project
More than five generations of nurses have been educated and have practiced as caring professional... more More than five generations of nurses have been educated and have practiced as caring professionals in Australia’s recent history. Nursing education has evolved from the cultures of those who migrated to Australia over the last 200 years with very little attention being paid to the culture which developed and thrived on the continent since time began. Few of the five generations of nurses know or have sought to know about Aboriginal peoples, the original inhabitants of Australia. Contemporary education is endeavoring to address this omission, however it is attempting to do so against 200 years of institutionalized racism.
International journal of nursing practice, Jan 28, 2017
To assess the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive program for type 2 d... more To assess the effectiveness of a 12-week school-based educational preventive program for type 2 diabetes by change in weight and fasting blood glucose level in Jordanian adolescents. Sixteen percent of Jordanian adults have obesity-related type 2 diabetes and 5.6% of obese adolescents examined, however one-third unexamined. Rates in Arabic countries will double in 20 years, but this can be prevented and reversed by controlling obesity. A single-blinded randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2 unisex high schools in Irbid, Jordan, in 2012. Intervention and control participants, aged 12 to 18 years, were visibly overweight/obese. They were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 205) or control (n = 196) groups. At-risk students were assessed before and after the 12-week intervention, for change in weight and fasting blood glucose level following preventive instruction and parent-supported changes. Mean age of participants was 15.3 years with equal percentages of both males ...
Jahanpour F, Sharif F, Salsali M, Kaveh MH, Williams LM. International Journal of Nursing Practic... more Jahanpour F, Sharif F, Salsali M, Kaveh MH, Williams LM. International Journal of Nursing Practice 2010; 16: 595–602 Clinical decision‐making in senior nursing students in IranClinical decision‐making is the basis for professional nursing practice. This can be taught and learned through appropriate teaching and clinical experiences. Unfortunately, it has been observed that many graduates are unable to demonstrate suitable clinical decision‐making skills. Research and study on the process of decision‐making and factors influencing it assists educators to find the appropriate educational and clinical strategies to teach nursing students. To explore the experience of nursing students and their view points regarding the factors influencing their development of clinical decision‐making skills. An exploratory qualitative approach utilizing grounded theory methods was used; focus group interviews were undertaken with 32 fourth year nursing students and data were analysed using constant com...
Evidence indicates that hospital nurse‐initiated defibrillation improves survival following cardi... more Evidence indicates that hospital nurse‐initiated defibrillation improves survival following cardiac arrest. Accordingly, hospitals are changing their policies to permit nurses to initiate defibrillation. However, if nurse‐initiated defibrillation is to be successful implemented, nurses’ beliefs about this practice need to be understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of rural nurses towards defibrillation to assist in the development of nurse‐initiated defibrillation programmes. This cross‐sectional study examined the defibrillation beliefs of registered nurses in rural areas. A proportionally stratified sample of registered nurses (n = 436) were drawn from 51 rural acute care hospitals in Australia. Most (n = 224; 52%) of the participants were not permitted to initiate defibrillation. A one‐way between‐groups multivariate analysis of variance showed that nurses who were permitted to initiate defibrillation held stronger positive beliefs towards defibr...
A growing body of work in the literature describes and explains narrative pedagogy within nursing... more 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.
In Australia, nursing educators work across three main contexts - training colleges, health servi... more In Australia, nursing educators work across three main contexts - training colleges, health services and universities. Because the pace of change for nursing has increased dramatically and the curriculum is becoming even more crowded, educators in these contexts are likely to be experiencing work-related stress. This study investigated this issue utilising a purposive sampling strategy to interview a cross section of nurse educators and those supporting educators. Eighteen in-depth interviews were completed, which included fourteen nurse educators and four key stakeholders. Qualitative analysis revealed that regardless of context, nurse educators found their role rewarding but there are common challenges. These included: Work role pressures, a non-validating culture, the pace of change, isolation and concern for the profession. There are also differences amongst the cohorts. Finally, participants elaborated on specific solutions to these problems and there is strong support for the establishment of a national community of practice to bring diverse educators together to share, support, extend and evaluate each others' work.
When transferring critically ill patients, vast distances from rural hospitals to tertiary hospit... more When transferring critically ill patients, vast distances from rural hospitals to tertiary hospitals means nurses play a key role in facilitating communication between the patient, family and health care providers in both settings. Whether nurses are communicating information that patients and the family of the patients, perceive to have meaning for them is not clear. This study identifies the common
Australian nurses are increasingly working part-time. A paucity of research based knowledge about... more Australian nurses are increasingly working part-time. A paucity of research based knowledge about this segment of the nursing workforce was the impetus for a grounded theory study that recruited a sample of part-time nurses (n=86) and nurse managers and nurse educators (n=18) to discover the ‘realities’ of part-time nursing for the regional Queensland context. Embracement of gendered identity constructs led many nurses to choose part-time employment as a means to balance family work and professional careers. It may be assumed that as nursing is a female dominated profession a feminine organisational culture would be hegemonic and female gendered discrimination would not occur. However part-time nurses, who choose their employment hours because their constructs of feminine identity value a work-family balance, are experiencing notable professional development inequities. This paper argues that though gendered discrimination is prohibited, indirect gendered discrimination may be occurring in plain sight while remaining ‘hidden’ because nursing is a predominantly female profession. The paper uses extant literature to examine study findings related to the indirect gendered discrimination of regional Queensland part-time nurses. The paper suggests that this situation is worthy of exploration because nursing represents a unique profession where females dominate at all hierarchical levels; including higher level positions. Therefore females at higher level positions are discriminating against other females who choose part-time employment because of their feminine identity constructs
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been used in hospitals for approximately 40 years. Nurses... more Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been used in hospitals for approximately 40 years. Nurses are generally the first responders to a cardiac arrest and initiate basic life support while waiting for the advanced cardiac life support team to arrive. Speed and competence of the first responder are factors contributing to the initial survival of a person following a cardiac arrest. Attitudes of individual nurses may influence the speed and level of involvement in true emergency situations. This paper uses the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour to examine some behavioural issues with CPR involvement.
Collegian: Journal of the Royal College of …, Jan 1, 2002
The Australian nursing profession has accepted the challenge to support and encourage advanced nu... more The Australian nursing profession has accepted the challenge to support and encourage advanced nursing practice role development. A critical review of national and international literature highlights that there is no singular definition or understanding of 'advanced' nursing practice. Instead difficulty with nomenclature and clarification of levels of nursing are perpetuated by unclear distinction between 'advanced', 'specialist' and 'expert' nursing practice. This paper presents the findings of a review of the literature and posits that ambiguity and lack of consistency in defining 'advanced' nursing practice is hampering the progression of the profession towards the development of consistent advanced practice roles in Australia. It is proposed that a universally accepted definition would provide a vehicle for future Australian role development so that all advanced practice roles have a common genesis and national consistency results.
Uploads
Papers by Leonie Mosel Williams