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Biomedical subjects

G A Farrell

Publications and source records attributed to G A Farrell.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

From tall poppies to squashed weeds*: why don't nurses pull together more?

AIMS: To develop a conceptual framework to account for interpersonal conflict in nursing. To extend the boundaries of debate on the causes of interpersonal conflict in nursing. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: In nursing, attempts to offer an explanation for staff conflict or, as it is traditionally referred to, horizontal violence, have, nearly always, been influenced by oppression and feminist theories. Such macrolevel analyses avoid discussing the details of individual acts of aggression in favour of considering nurses' alleged disempowerment in relation to other perceived dominant groups, especially male doctors, and the violence these groups inflict in terms of the denial of power, control, and access to rewards - material or otherwise. METHODOLOGY: A critical analysis of an extended literature review adapted from a doctoral dissertation. DISCUSSION: While the oppression and feminist perspectives can be insightful they are also limiting in that they omit the finer grained-analysis necessary for a fuller understanding of staff conflict. At least three levels of explanation can be offered to account for poor staff relationships - a macrolevel, which focuses on nurses' relationships vis-à-vis dominant groups, a mesolevel analysis, which concentrates on organizational structures, including workplace practices - many of which are controlled by nurses themselves, and a microlevel analysis, which emphasizes the interactional nature of interpersonal conflict. CONCLUSIONS: It is contented that it is not only the alleged misogyny intrinsic to oppression theory that shackles and impedes nurses, but nurses themselves, who in their everyday work and interpersonal interactions, act as insidious gatekeepers to an iniquitous status quo.

Conflict, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

The Tasmanian children's project: the needs of children with a parent/carer with a mental illness.

This paper presents some of the key findings and recommendations of the report The Tasmanian Children's Project (TCP): The Needs of Children with a Parent/Carer with a Mental Illness, October, 1999. The TCP, a collaborative venture between the University of Tasmania's School of Nursing and the Mental Health Services - South, Tasmania (Department of Health and Human Services), is the first study in Tasmania to formally examine the needs of children where the parent/carer has a mental illness. The study is a modified replication and extension of the 1993/94 Victorian Children's Project. Extension aspects of the TCP included interviews with children (in addition to parents and service providers), the inclusion of data on both maternal and paternal mental illness and a broad definition of mental illness (beyond psychotic illness and major affective disorder). The report highlights the need to provide a range of programs that encourage the development of personal competency among children, parents, and other family members and those that emphasize interagency collaboration. Implications of this research for mental health nursing education and practice are also addressed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Nursing staff satisfaction on a mental health unit.

The present study set out to assess the level of nurses' job satisfaction in an acute in-patient mental health setting. All but one (n = 22) of the full-time nursing staff employed on the unit took part in the study. Unlike many previous studies where the level of job satisfaction was assessed using predetermined questionnaire items but without providing an understanding for workers' choices, the present study sought an estimation of what job characteristics nurses saw as important, an estimation regarding their current satisfaction with each characteristic and, importantly, the reasons behind their choices.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1999

Aggression in clinical settings: nurses' views--a follow-up study.

Results from this empirical study (n = 270) indicate that nurses from both the public and private sector are more worried about colleague aggression than aggression from other sources, that such aggression ranks as a major workplace distress factor for them, that different clinical settings have their own profiles of aggression, and following incidents of aggression, staff talk with colleagues and friends rather than with human resource or trade union personnel. These findings shadow those of a previous small scale qualitative study conducted by the author and they add to the growing recognition and concern that nurses, like employees in other settings, are subjected to high levels of interpersonal conflict at work.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The mental health of hospital nurses in Tasmania as measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire.

Among a sample of 270 nurses who completed the General Health Questionnaire a third had scores to indicate 'caseness'. Using principal component analysis three dimensions emerged which accounted for 64% of the variance. Preliminary findings indicate that nurses working in medical, psychiatric, surgical and pool/on call settings, in that order, had much higher rates of 'caseness' compared to their colleagues in other work settings.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The Round House Gaol: Western Australia's first lunatic asylum.

This paper is an account of the social history of the Round House Gaol in Fremantle, Western Australia and of those lunatics that were gathered together into its closed geographical space. The first permanent structure, perched on the most elevated and prominent site in Fremantle, was a gaol; the design for which was based on Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon or Inspection House, created for the purpose of surveillance and control of inmates. Visible in 1997, the Round House still stands as a dominant, physical marker of the landscape, ranking as a premier historical tourist attraction in Western Australia. But its actual use as a place for the containment of lunatics is only cursorily alluded to. This paper addresses the previously ignored period of 1830-1850.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1997

Aggression in clinical settings: nurses' views.

Although much has been written about 'aggression' from a variety of viewpoints, little systematic information has been gathered about what nurses see as 'aggression'. Also, it is not clear from previous reports just how important horizontal violence is for nurses compared with the other "aggressions' encountered at work. A qualitative approach was adopted as this was an initial exploratory study to describe nurses' views regarding the nature and extent of aggression in the clinical setting. A total of 29 nurses were interviewed. Findings indicate that nurses are most concerned about their colleagues' aggression towards them. Colleague abuse ranged from non-verbal innuendo to physical assault. Nurse managers were criticized for failing to implement supportive structures when aggression did arise (from colleagues or others) or to take appropriate action to prevent its recurrence. On a practical level much of the aggression reported can be seen as a breakdown in 'relationship rules', i.e. staff failed to respect each other's privacy, were unwilling to help out, keep confidences and so on.

Aggression↗
PubMed1997

Social science at the crossroads: what direction for mental health nurses?

We explore the current and, it would appear, the increasing opposition by some nurse academics to the notion that the traditional scientific methods are suitable for deriving knowledge of essentially social constructions and events. We caution against pursuing an anti-quantitative rhetoric and argue that a rapprochement is possible between contrasting methodologies. To argue for one methodology to the exclusion of all others is both naive and simplistic. All research traditions can be criticized for failing to do justice to social phenomena; it is therefore incumbent upon nurse researchers to be aware of the relative merits of each approach. An example is provided on how different research methodologies can be profitably combined.

Humans↗
PubMed1996

Effects of an environmental manipulation emphasizing client-centred care on agitation and sleep in dementia sufferers in a nursing home.

This study was designed to determine whether a change from a task-oriented care approach to a client-oriented care approach affects (a) the level of agitation and (b) 24-hour sleep in residents suffering from dementia in a nursing home. The levels of dementia and sleep of 33 nursing home residents were measured four times over 12 weeks (twice before and twice after the change in care approach) using the Cohen-Mansfield agitation inventory and the dementia mood assessment scale. Verbal agitation levels significantly decreased 6 to 8 weeks following the change, whereas more infrequent agitated behaviours, which were classified as 'other', significantly increased. Daytime sleep increased initially after the change but then returned to baseline levels after 6 weeks. While the main focus of the study was on residents' behaviour following an environmental manipulation, anecdotal observations of staff members interactions with residents indicated that they felt less rushed and were more tolerant of residents' behaviour following the intervention.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Who cares for the mentally ill? Theory and practice hours with a 'mental illness' focus in nursing curricula in Australian universities.

Should we be concerned about the amount of undergraduate and postgraduate theory and practice hours nurses undertake caring for people with mental illness? Information on mental health curricula was sought from all university schools of nursing in Australia. There was an 84% response rate. For undergraduate courses the findings indicated great variability among schools. In one school students had 30 hours theory and no practice hours, compared with another school's 128 hours of theory and 200 practice hours. Few courses were available at the postgraduate level and the content of these courses did not appear to reflect students' previous experience in mental health/psychiatric nursing. This implies that students could graduate with limited practical experience. Without a clearly articulated career pathway, based on nationally agreed practice and educational requirements, it is difficult to see how mental health/psychiatric nurses can continue to claim they belong to a professional specialist discipline.

Australia↗
PubMed1996

Seclusion or solitary confinement: therapeutic or punitive treatment?

This paper is a review of the age-old problem of seclusion in relation to the prison practice of solitary confinement. The article challenges the stance that seclusion is a therapeutic intervention and it questions the idea that security is compromised when seclusion practices are reduced. The paper explores what appears to be semantic rather than fundamental differences between these two containment practices and suggests that staff attitudes, including a unit's culture, remain crucial factors in determining seclusion practices and not, as one might expect, patient behaviours. Alternatives to seclusion are explored.

Aggression↗
PubMed1994

Student nurse appraisal of placement (SNAP): an attempt to provide objective measures of the learning environment based on qualitative and quantitative evaluations.

Many nurse researchers have emphasised the importance of good clinical learning environments for student nurses. However, there is less emphasis on how measures of the learning environment can be communicated clearly and objectively to educationalists and clinical staff. This paper attempts to show how the findings of a self-administered student nurse appraisal of placement (SNAP) form can be presented in both qualitative and quantitative terms. A questionnaire was specially designed to provide objective and valid feedback from students, and the learning environments of three wards were compared.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1991

How accurately do nurses perceive patients' needs? A comparison of general and psychiatric settings.

This paper examines to what extent nurses' perceptions of patients' needs correspond to the patients' views of their own needs. A questionnaire was designed to assess patients' emotional and physical needs in general medical wards and in acute psychiatric wards. Sixty patients, 30 psychiatric and 30 general, together with their 'key' nurses, took part in the study. Results indicate that, despite there being no evidence of appreciable disagreement between the 'average' psychiatric nurse and the 'average' psychiatric patient, there is little evidence that individual nurses and their patients, whether psychiatric or general, agree. The nurses' inability to perceive patients' needs on an individual basis is consistent with other studies which suggest that nurses use stereotypes when perceiving patients' needs. Implications for nursing care are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Responding to aggression; the role of significant others for student psychiatric nurses, an ethnographic study.

There is much quantitative information on the level and type of aggression towards hospital staff. Junior staff are said to be particularly at risk. In an attempt to add to our knowledge on this important subject a qualitative perspective was chosen to investigate the experiences of student psychiatric nurses when on clinical placements. This paper draws on interview data to highlight the importance significant others play for students before, during and following incidents of aggression. An ethnographic methodology was chosen as it is particularly suited to small-scale research when the research focus is not fully articulated. The validity of ethnographic evidence is discussed and suggestions made for the improvement of validity in further studies while remaining within an ethnographic perspective.

Humans↗