Am I dying nurse?

Tensions exist with regard to truth-telling about dying. Attitudes and opinions of doctors and nurses impact upon patients and their families. While traditionally doctors have assumed the role of telling patients and/or families, the nurse practitioner often has a closer relationship with the patient and may be the most appropriate person to answer the question "Am I dying?" If nurses accept they have a moral obligation to tell the truth then it is imperative that clinicians, researchers, educators, and the consumers of health services, deliberate on what truth-telling is. Cultural implications of both-truth telling and dying are little understood in New Zealand. The multi-cultural nature of New Zealand provides an opportunity for nurse researchers to address the many issues raised by the question "Am I dying, nurse?"     

Am I still ethical? The socially-mediated process of nurses' moral identity

In a recent, currently unpublished, research project that sought to examine the meaning and enactment of ethical nursing practice across a variety of clinical settings, the significance of moral identity was highlighted. This article describes the findings and illuminates how the moral identities of the nurse participants arose and evolved as they navigated their way through the contextual and systemic forces that shaped the moral situations of their practice. The study revealed the socially-mediated process of identity development and the narrative, dialogical, relational and contextual nature of nurses' moral identities.     

Am I safe here?: improving patients' perceptions of safety in hospitals

Little is known about the current status of hospitalized patients' perceptions of safety or what affects them. This study analyzes safety ratings data of more than 600,000 patients. After describing how patients rate their safety in US acute care hospitals, we delineate the greatest opportunities for improving patient experiences of safety in hospitals. In addition, we offer practical strategies for planning improvements in safety-related elements of care from the patient's perspective.