"Electronic journal helps students appreciate value of publishing", Nursing Review (October 1999, p 12).
According to nursing scholar Heather Ladd, there are a multitude of reasons why nursing students should be trained in research methods. These reasons include improving quality of client care, improving relations between the fields of nursing and medicine, allowing better utilization or decreasing costs to community health funding, and finally to allow nursing to continue to progress, into the future, as a profession.
If you’ve never heard of Heather Ladd and her work, don't worry. In years to come, you can say that you read about her first in Nursing Review. Ladd is a Year 2 Bachelor of Nursing student at the School of Nursing & Midwifery, and her scholarly article, ‘Why should nursing students study research and its methods?’ was recently published in the School’s in-house electronic journal, Nuritinga.
Nuritinga, an electronic journal of nursing, has been running now for nearly two years. The word "nuritinga" is taken from the local indigenous population's Palawa language, and means "among ourselves" or "our business". Research and publication are very much "our business" in nursing, and the journal was designed to run as an in-house forum for the publication of excellent student work - "among ourselves".
The SNM believes in fostering a research culture in nursing. This culture includes publication and dissemination of findings, but acknowledges that new graduates and new researchers often find the process of publication daunting or ‘beyond them’. Nuritinga provides a safe environment where students can learn about submitting their work for publication, and then experiencing the satisfaction of seeing their work in "print".
The journal is non-refereed, but all contributions are reviewed by three academics on the staff of the SNM before publication. Work can come from any student enrolled in the course, and draft articles are submitted either by students themselves or by staff who have been impressed with the quality of the student's writing and research skills.
Nuritinga was set up on the World Wide Web by Dr P J Martyr, a lecturer at the School. Martyr teaches the Year 2 unit ‘Scientific Perspectives in Nursing’ which teaches nursing students basic research reading, critique and methodology. "I saw very good quality student work simply going back into the filing cabinet, and it seemed a pity not to give it a wider audience," said Martyr. "And, given that our unit introduces students to the idea of publishing their work, an electronic journal seemed like the best way of combining the two ideas." Martyr designed the web site and format, including the graphics, and obtained an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for the journal via the Internet site www.issn.org. Then Martyr approached two students whose essays were outstanding, and wrote a paper of her own, and submitted all three to the editorial panel for their consideration.
These three articles formed the first issue. A second issue is now on-line as well, with four student contributions. Martyr plans to offer book reviewing as well in the near future.
And the cost? "Nothing," said Martyr, "except my time, and the time of the editorial panel who read the work." Martyr has been the SNM's webmistress since 1996, and has developed her internet programming skills in other areas, including the CAUT-funded Pictures of Health project based at James Cook University, on-line editing of the H-ANZAU discussion list, and working as Book Reviews editor of the Electronic Journal of Australian and New Zealand History.
Download Nuritinga Issue No. 3 (PDF 649KB)
Total: 7 articles
Julie Carr, BN Student, Year 1, University of Tasmania
This essay will explore the view that the body becomes problematic in nursing due to the dominance of the biomedical model and its representations of the body. This model effectively renders much of the work that nurses do with the body invisible. The characteristics of the biomedical model and its representations of the body will be described. The central role of the body in nursing will be established and a contemporary concept of gender discussed. I will then briefly describe the historical construction of nursing and medicine that I believe has produced the gendered and hierarchical workplace that presently exists. Cartesian dualism and the development of a dominant discourse that defines the body scientifically will be examined in greater detail. My personal experiences both as a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit and an experience as a patient in a neurosurgical unit will be examined in the light of these issues.
Heather Ladd, BN Student, Year 3, University of Tasmania
Every time I looked up I noticed I was the only person not wearing a uniform -I felt so powerless. The other students all looked the same, they were a group, and I was different. I was alone. [As] the class began, the lecturers immediately began to discuss the significance of professionalism and how we looked and behaved affected our professionalism. They also discussed the significance of first impressions and how first impressions can never be taken away. So, by not wearing my uniform was I automatically presumed to be unprofessional and had I ruined my first impressions? But more importantly what does all this mean to clients? (Ladd, 2000, Journal).
Dale O'Brien, BN Student, Year 2, University of Tasmania
The definition of child health can be ambiguous. The meaning of 'child' can be viewed in many different ways, and therefore difficulty is encompassed when trying to pinpoint what a child is. A broad definition of 'child' defines a child as being between the age of infancy and puberty (Moore, 1997:222). As the age of puberty differs between people, therefore so does the definition of child. It should also be noted that a person is always somebody's child, at any age (Moore, 1997:222). The definition of health, adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (WHO, 1974:1, cited in McMurray, 1999:7). It should also be noted that health is not a static entity, but rather that it is ever changing. Health is also the extent to which people define themselves as healthy: health is relative (McMurray, 1999:7).
Lisa Sydes & A. Towns, BN Students, Year 2, University of Tasmania
This seminar traces a [hypothetical] patient through the identification of symptoms of diabetes, diagnosis and hospitalisation and finally his discharge and education. Parts 1 and 2 of the seminar should provide you with an idea of some of the symptoms associated with diabetes in addition to basic information in regard to the associated clinical diagnostic tests. Parts 3 and 4are more nursing orientated and focus on the hospitalised care of the newly diagnosed diabetic and the post hospital education and information required by the patient.
Karen Turnbull, BN Student, Year 2, University of Tasmania
The role of nurse as researcher has undergone large-scale transformation in recent nursing history (Beanland, et al. 1999). The transition to university-based study necessitated the development of research studies from both within nursing itself and in collaboration with other disciplines (Morse 1994). For the purposes of this assignment an essential taxonomy of research literacy has been developed showing the progression of knowledge and capabilities. Three levels of research literacy are examined, and are classed as: procedural, critical and participatory stages. A functional definition of each stage is provided in conjunction with desired outcomes. In addition to fundamental research literacy, it is proposed that there are more far-reaching concerns about student's research knowledge. An exploration of the rationale supporting future directions to enhance researcher behaviour beyond the student experience is presented.
Yvette Sneddon, University of Tasmania
This is a commercially produced film, billed as "a romantic comedy". It may well be asked, why should it be reviewed in a nursing journal?
The film is the true story of a period of time in the life of a young woman suffering from motor neurone disease (MND).
Jane, a 25 year old woman with MND lives at home with her mother who is her full time carer. Her speech is failing and her mobility is limited to the use of an electric wheelchair. As it unfolds, the film touches on many issues of relevance to nurses, in a relatively involving way. Unlike a traditional educational film, these issues are not belaboured, but fit naturally as part of the story.
Sharyn Hope, BN RN, University of Tasmania
Sharyn graduated with a BN from the TSON in December 1998. She wrote this poem as part of her coursework in Health Care Where People Live and Work (CNA 125). It has been recommended for publication because it shows a high level of genuine empathy with the patient/client, expressed in a creative way.
Authorised by Head of School, Nursing and Midwifery
1 April, 2011
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