The concept of cure in cancer care

The concept of cure is often used in health care practices without thought to the social, cultural and psychological implications of its meaning. Frequently measured in terms of years of disease-free survival, this measure is inadequate in evaluating treatment. Iatrogenic toxicities and illness implications may linger for many months or years after a person experiences cancer. The subcultural perspectives of cure for clinicians may be very different. Historically, the clinician's concept of cure has been the focus and reported outcome of cancer treatment and research. A more dynamic view is encouraged in exploring this concept in relation to the outcomes of nursing practice.     

Establishing good practices in continuing care: a descriptive study of community nursing services for people with HIV infection

This paper presents findings from a 2-year study of community nursing services for people affected by HIV infection in six health authorities in England The research, commissioned by the Department of Health, England, aimed to identify the main bridges and barriers to effective home nursing care, focusing on discharge co-ordination, district nursing and multi-agency collaboration Using a triangulated, case study approach, the main methods of data collection included non-participant observation, case note analysis, semi-structured staff interviews, a postal questionnaire of district nurses and a series of focus groups with service users Study sites included three cities and surrounding districts in the north west, north and south east of England Findings suggest there is considerable room for improvement in discharge planning and that good practice is not the preserve of specialist units District nurses are shown to be willing providers of the majority of home nursing care to this client group, but there is a need for more focused training, greater use of care co-ordinators and more emotional and managerial support     

Organizational culture: a useful concept for nurse managers?

The use of the term culture, in the context of health care organizations, has become commonplace in a wide range of literature, however, the exact meaning intended when this word is used is not always clear. This paper questions the current widespread recourse to the concept of organizational culture as a way of explaining all 'soft' organizational issues and suggests a greater degree of clarity is necessary if the concept is to retain its explanatory utility. Using three components of the concept as an organizing framework to guide the analysis, its application to health care organizations, and nursing in particular, is examined. This demonstrates how the concept can be effectively utilized without losing an appreciation of its inherent complexity. The dimensions of the concept identified for this purpose are: instrumental; cognitive; and interpretive. It is argued that, when clearly defined and appropriately applied, culture can be a useful concept for nurse managers in that it increases understanding of, and thereby contributes to, the effective management of complex health care organizations.     

The theory/practice 'gap': taking issue with the issue

Theory/practice issues have a long-standing history in nurse education, and are a chronic source of controversy to which there is no easy or perfect solution We have argued that it is the tension between theory and practice and research which can be usefully exploited in teaching and research Students need to be introduced to the debates surrounding the genesis and generation of nursing knowledge They need to gain an appreciation of what counts as nursing knowledge at different points in time and the politics which drive the legitimation of nursing theory and practice Such an approach has much to offer in helping students deal with reality shock and make sense of their experience as they confront the ambiguities, uncertainties and contradictions that characterize the stock-in-trade of professional life     

Women in the 'developing world' and their perceptions of health: an area for examination by the nurse from the 'developed world'

The aim of this paper is to consider how nurses from the 'developed world', in this instance Great Britain, may assist women from the 'developing world', specifically from Pakistan, to meet their and others' health needs To explore nurses' understanding of women from Pakistan and its translation into delivery of nursing care, a number of topics require exploration These include culture, health, origins of Pakistani women who have settled in Britain, clarification of the geographical area under discussion and a brief introduction to two studies that have investigated the health beliefs of communities in Pakistan, in particular the health beliefs of women Appreciation of studies that illustrate women's beliefs about health can provide a basis upon which further examination can take place Ideas can then be assimilated into a framework for nursing care centred around anthropological and holistic approaches to women from Pakistan The outcome of this should be an examination of women's beliefs within a cultural context in relation to nursing care and management     

Nurse teacher's clinical work: a survey report

This paper reports on the results of a survey of nurse teachers in four colleges of nursing in England (n = 126) Data were collected using a questionnaire survey In this survey a five-point Likert scale was developed from an earlier study, to explore nurse teachers' perception of their clinical role The findings indicate that a number of factors may be influential in the way in which nurse teachers approach their clinical activity This includes personal factors such as age, educational grade and the length of time spent working in nurse education Organizational factors also appear to make a difference in the teacher who worked in an organizational model which ensured a smaller number of link ward areas were more likely to exhibit a positive orientation towards clinical work Factor analysis of the clinical scale resulted in loading of items relating to confidence in clinical role, preparation for the role, influence in clinical area and supervision of students in clinical areas The implications of these findings are discussed