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The Fundamentals of Care is a conceptual framework, grounded on the nurse establishing a relationship with the patient to enable the integration of physical, psychological, and relational aspects of nursing to deliver essential patient care. There is an imperative on schools of nursing to teach and assess nursing students to achieve clinical competency. The Nursing Council of New Zealand provide schools of nursing with an educational framework to guide how nursing students are educated. However, curricular content specific to fundamentals of care (FoC) is minimally researched, making areas of strength or gaps in curricula unclear. This paper provides a national overview of undergraduate pre-registration nursing curricula in Aotearoa New Zealand exploring what and how schools of nursing teach and assess FoC. This was achieved using a cross-sectional descriptive survey. Survey responses were received from 17 course coordinators and involved completing an online anonymous questionnaire. Data was collected between July 2019 and February 2020 and analysed using descriptive statistics. Data analysis revealed variations in how FoC is taught and suggests that the FoC curriculum is non-standardised. Schools appear to design their own curricula and individually decide the educational approaches they use to teach and assess FoC. Furthermore, while mouth and general skin care are commonly featured across FoC teaching, there was a limited focus on eye and perineal care. This study highlights the variance in how FoC is taught and the non-standardised design approach used by schools of nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Knowing this, provides schools of nursing and the Nursing Council of New Zealand with an opportunity to discuss and potentially develop a national evidenced-based FoC education strategy. Collaborating with international nursing councils could enhance the development of such a strategy.

The incidence of stroke in younger adults is rising, especially among women. This study aims to explore the experiences of younger women who have had a stroke to understand their experience and support needs. This study used a qualitative description approach, recruiting eligible women through a snowball method. A focus group discussion was conducted to collect data, which was then analysed using thematic analysis. The five participants were 18 to 64 years old when they experienced their stroke and six to 18 years post-stroke when they participated in a focus group discussion in 2021. Four themes and 11 sub-themes emerged during the data analysis: 1) impacts of stroke (stroke onset and early experiences, physical and psychosocial effects, and changes to their roles and careers); 2) women’s reproductive health (pregnancy, on the contraceptive pill, and effect of anticoagulants on menstruation); 3) self-management (being a woman, healthcare monitoring, and self-care); and 4) support (internal and external support). The younger woman’s burden after stroke is complex due to their risk factors, symptoms, and recovery needs. Therefore, developing specific long-term rehabilitation strategies for younger women are needed for more effective stroke rehabilitation and recurrent stroke prevention. TE REO MĀORI TRANSLATION Ngā wheako o ngā wāhine taitamariki o te roro ikura: He rangahau whakaahua kounga Ngā Ariā Matua E piki haere ana te pānga o te roro ikura i waenga i ngā pakeke āhua taitamariki, otirā he tino pērā mō te wahine. E whai ana tēnei rangahau kia tūhuratia ngā wheako o ngā wāhine taitamariki kua pāngia e te roro ikura kia mārama kē atu ō rātou wheako me ō rātou hiahia tautoko. I whakamahia e tēnei rangahau tētahi ara whakamārama whakaahua kounga, nā te rapu haere i ngā wāhine āhei mā tētahi huarahi torotoro tangata. I whakahaeretia tētahi hui whakawhiti kōrero hei kohikohi raraunga, ā, ka tātaritia i muri mā te tātari ā-tāhuhu. Ko te pakeke o te hunga whakauru kei waenga i te 18 ki te 64 tau i te pānga o tō rātou roro ikura, ā, e ono ki te tekau mā waru tau i muri i te roro ikura ka whai wāhi ki te hui whakawhiti kōrero, i te tau 2021. E whā ngā tāhuhu, 11 hoki ngā tāhuhu whāiti i puta i roto i te tātaritanga raraunga: 1) ko ngā pānga o te roro ikura (te ekenga mai o te roro ikura me ngā wheako tuatahi, ngā pānga ā-tinana, ā-wairua, ā-hinengaro hoki, ngā panonitanga ki ō rātou tūranga mahi, ara mahi hoki); 2) te hauora whakaputa uri o ngā wāhine (te hapūtanga, te pire ārai hapū, te pānga o ngā rongoā whakakūtere toto ki te ikura wahine); 3) te whakahaere i a ia anō (te noho hei wahine, te aroturuki manaakitanga hauora, te taurima a te tangata i a ia anō); me te 4) tautoko (whakaroto, whakawaho anō hoki). He matatini ngā āhuatanga o ngā kawenga mō te wahine taitamariki i muri i te ikura, nā ngā āhuatanga tūraru, ngā tohu o te mate, me ngā hiahia mātūtū. Nā reira, me whakatupu rautaki whakamātūtū mō te wā roa mō ngā wāhine taitamariki, e kaha ake ai te whai hua o ngā mahi whakaora i muri i te roro ikura, me te ārainga i te pānga anō o te roro ikura. Ngā kupu matua: ngā wheako roro ikura; ngā pānga roro ikura; te whakamātūtūtanga i muri i te roro ikura; ngā tūraru roro ikura; mōrehu nō te roro ikura; ngā wāhine taitamariki

Stroke has the highest global burden of any neurological disease. Many studies investigate secondary stroke prevention strategies, but the outcomes remain poor, and the rates of recurrent stroke st...

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Mobile mental health apps are increasingly being used by both mental health nurses to promote individual self-managemental of mental health conditions and by consumers. Perceptions about specific apps are known, but the overarching acceptability and usability of mental health apps in general less understood. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This paper identified consumer perceptions of mobile mental health apps. Six key areas were identified that future mobile app developers should consider to maximize consumer engagement with mental health apps. Consumers also highlighted that apps do not replace traditional mental health nursing-rather these supplement existing care. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: This review found that mental health apps are generally viewed positively by consumers; however, factors such as ease of use, usefulness of content and privacy need to be considered to maximise and sustain app engagement. ABSTRACT: Introduction There is increasing interest in the use of mobile mental health applications (apps) to manage mental health conditions. Understanding user perceptions is key to maximise app engagement and inform how apps can be used to support mental health nursing care. Aim This integrative review explores consumers' perceptions of mobile mental health apps to gain insight into user preferences and acceptability. Methods This integrative review was based on searching four databases: CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline, PsycInfo. Inclusion criteria were: (i) articles published after 2000; (ii) focused on apps for mental health disorders; (iii) explored consumers' perception of using a mental health app. Abstracts were screened and eligible papers reviewed. Data on user perceptions were extracted and analysed thematically. Results Seventeen articles were identified. Overall, consumers did not feel that app use replaced traditional health care. Six themes were identified: "Helpfulness," "Improvements/enhancements," "Technical issues," "Easy to use," "Satisfaction with the app" and "Perceived issues." Consumers indicated a preference for personalization for the app to meet individual needs. Discussion and Implications for Practice Mental health apps are generally viewed positively by consumers; however, factors such as ease of use, usefulness of content and privacy need to be considered to maximise and sustain app engagement.

In New Zealand, a store-and-forward telemedicine programme is implemented in schools to address common health conditions. This study aimed to investigate perceptions of the non-clinical school staff involved on this telemedicine model of care. Interviews and analysis were framed by sociotechnical theory under constructs of identities, affiliations, interactions and environments. Findings show that telemedicine aligned with identities of staff as carers. Affiliations via close relationships with children and community support enabled the programme. Delivering telemedicine enhanced interactions with children. Environments related to practices and physical characteristics of the school were viewed as constrainers and enablers for delivery. School-based telemedicine delivered by school staff is perceived as an acceptable model of care. Benefits include empowerment, school cohesion and potential improvement in health literacy, with no major issues perceived. Telemedicine may be effective for treating common health conditions in school children, with potential for community members to be involved in health care.

Healthcare is challenged by providing high-quality, equitable and timely access to care for older adults. Telehealth can address these challenges, however, a level of eHealth literacy is required. This integrative literature review sought to understand the experiences of older adult patients with poor eHealth literacy who use telehealth. Results include that older adults with less eHealth literacy have many concerns engaging with telehealth and irrespective of their eHealth literacy, most need support to use telehealth.

One of the most important skills students need to learn in applying pharmacotherapeutics is clinical reasoning. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of virtual collaboration in scriptwriting as a teaching approach to develop clinical reasoning skills. Data was from student feedback (n=102). Discussing conceptual questions in a collaborative learning environment with peers proved to support the development of clinical reasoning skills as the activity increased interactivity, improved understanding and retention. Findings show that the development of clinical reasoning skills were enhanced with the use of scriptwriting as a virtual collaborative activity.

Providing effective medicines information to individuals can improve outcomes, yet little is known about what information mental health service users need and want about their medicines, and how best to deliver this. The aim of this study was to explore the medicines information needs of mental health service users. Adults (n=30) under the care of acute mental health services in a New Zealand hospital were invited to take part in semi-structured interviews or a focus group to explore preferences for medicines information. Interview data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Six key themes were identified: 1) personalisation of information, 2) adverse and beneficial effects, 3) relationships and trust, 4) informed choice, 5) use of reliable internet resources and 6) involvement of family and support people. Preferences on content, timing, provider and format of information delivery were highly individualised indicating the need for information to be personalised to the needs of the service user. A trusted relationship with their healthcare provider was essential . Making informed decisions reduced confusion or fear about medicines. Understanding medicines information needs of patients can help improve the education health professionals provide on medicines, thus potentially improving patient engagement and outcomes.

Background Medicines are one of the most common healthcare interventions, yet evidence shows patients often do not receive the information they want about their medicines. This affects their adherence and healthcare engagement. There is limited research exploring what information patients want about their medicines, from whom and in what format. The aim of this study was to determine the medicines information needs of patients admitted to the general medical service of a large New Zealand (NZ) hospital, and identify the barriers and enablers to meeting these needs. Methods A descriptive exploratory approach using semi-structured interviews was used to understand the needs and preferences of patients for information about their regular medicines and the barriers and facilitators to obtaining this information. Patients admitted to a general medical ward at a large NZ hospital, aged 18 years and over, prescribed one or more regular medicines, and self-managing their own medicines prior to hospitalisation were included. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant (n = 30) and transcribed, then analysed using a general inductive thematic analysis approach. Results Five overarching themes captured the medicines information needs of patients: (1) autonomy; (2) fostering relationships; (3) access; (4) communication; and (5) minimal information needs. Patients desired information to facilitate their decision-making and self-management of their health. Support people, written information, and having good relationships with health providers enabled this. Having access to information at the right time, communicated in a clear and consistent way with opportunities for follow-up, was important. A significant portion of participants were satisfied with receiving minimal information and had no expectations of needing more medicines information. Conclusions Although patients’ medicines information needs varied between individuals, the importance of receiving information in an accessible, timely manner, and having good relationships with health providers, were common to most. Considering these needs is important to optimise information delivery in general medical patients.

This chapter provides examples of digital capability preparation for nurses across Europe, Australia and New Zealand through the inclusion of informatics in the nursing curriculum. Nurses have a unique role in health care, they are the health profession most in contact with the patient and as such collect, store and use patient data as a core function of their role. In the twenty-first century it is impossible to work without technology and thus nursing informatics is not a ‘speciality’, but rather a feature of being a health professional in the modern age, however it must be recognized that there is a difference between being digitally capable and being credible in terms of informatics. The three exemplars in this chapter provide responses to the challenges posed through acknowledging the differences between digital capability and informatics credibility.

Background Preparing emerging health professionals for practicing in an ever-changing health care environment along with continually evolving technology is an international concern. This is particularly pertinent for nursing because nurses make up the largest part of the health workforce. Objective This study aimed to explore how health informatics can be included in undergraduate health professional education. Methods A case study approach was used to consider health informatics within undergraduate nursing education in New Zealand. This has led to the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice. Results The process used to develop nursing informatics guidelines for entry to practice in New Zealand is described. The final guidelines are based on the literature and are refined using an advisory group and an iterative process. Conclusions Although this study describes the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice, the challenge is to move these guidelines from educational rhetoric to policy. It is only by ensuring that health informatics is embedded in the undergraduate education of all health professionals can we be assured that future health professionals are prepared to work effectively, efficiently, and safely with information and communication technologies as part of their practice.

The widespread use of telehealth brings benefits to improve access to healthcare for rural and remote populations.This study explores what nurses considered important to confidently and competently participate in telehealth.A descriptive qualitative approach was selected.Nine New Zealand Registered Nurses who worked in different clinical settings who use telehealth were identified through snowball sampling, and participated in single semi-structured interviews, which were thematically analysed using a general inductive approach.The nurses' experience of using telehealth, from novice to becoming more proficient, was the main theme identified, with sub-themes of: Initial use of telehealth, hands-on training, specialty experience, mentorship and technological know-how. The confidence of nurses using telehealth in this study may reflect their clinical nursing experience.Recommendations include the need for more telehealth education and preparation, including incorporating telehealth in under and postgraduate nursing programmes. Additionally, specific telehealth nursing competencies are warranted.

Background The ubiquitous use of the internet sees patients increasingly look online for information about their medicines. Objective This study aimed to understand the use of internet to meet medicine information needs of a sample of New Zealand patients. Method Using a descriptive exploratory approach 60 mental health and general medical adult patients at one large urban were interviewed. These semi-structured interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and coded for inductive thematic analysis. Findings This study found that the internet is frequently used to meet the medicines information needs of patients. Despite the ease of access to information on the internet patients need guidance to locate credible and trustworthy online resources. Conclusions Implications from this study relate to both practice and policy, and include the need for health professionals to have enhanced communication skills as they become information brokers who provide supplementary, reliable sources of patient-centric medicines information. Having a New Zealand specific website that includes an extensive section on medicines is a policy recommendation of this study, as is identifying tools to readily identify patients’ needs and preferences for medicines information.

The internet is increasingly used to provide health information. Supporting older people to access on-line health information requires understanding their current usage and possible barriers and facilitators. Methods involved searching three databases. Inclusion criteria were: (i) articles published within 10 years; (ii) people aged >65; (iii) explored reasons for older people accessing on-line health information and (iv) in English. Eight articles met these criteria. Older people use on-line health information to learn about a disease, medication, treatment, or healthy living. Factors influencing usefulness of on-line health information included demographics, health status, trust in the information, lack of skills using the internet and attitudes of health professionals. Findings indicate that while older people access on-line health information there are barriers: Low trust, financial barriers, lack of familiarity with the internet and low health literacy levels. Implications for nursing include working in partnership with older people to assist them to identify appropriate on-line information.

In the past, nursing informatics has tended to focus on the implementation of systems [...]

Background Medical, nursing, and allied health students, and professionals are using online environments such as social media to communicate and share information. However, some have difficulty differentiating between their professional and personal roles and can behave inappropriately online. Better education and training may help prevent these issues from arising. Objective Identify and synthesise literature on educating healthcare students and practitioners about digital professionalism on social media. Method Four databases i.e., CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE and PubMed were searched using relevant terms. Five hundred and twenty-two articles were found and screened. Data extraction and critical appraisal were conducted. Analysis followed Braun and Clarke’s six phases of thematic analysis. Results Eleven studies were included in the review. Digital professionalism was taught across medicine, nursing, and allied health education using a number of pedagogical approaches including traditional face-to-face teaching, as well as fully online, and blended methods. Its impact on learning centred on acquiring knowledge about communicating appropriately on social media which appeared to change how some students and practitioners behaved online, while improving confidence and information literacy. Developing and delivering education on digital professionalism tended to be affected by the amount of time faculty and trainers had to create curricula, organise and deliver teaching, and support students and clinicians. The design of the online platform seemed to be important as some had more functionality than others, allowing for greater interaction, which appeared to keep learners engaged. Discussion and conclusion This review provides the first synthesis of literature on educating the medical, nursing, and allied health professions on digital professionalism on social media. The results identify potential issues, knowledge gaps, and highlight implications for future educational interventions. Recommendations include setting clear boundaries and pedagogical instructions, understanding and applying privacy settings online, and utilising co-creation approaches with students and practitioners to improve the quality of health education.

Background: Medication management has long been a role for nurses. Yet how new graduate nurses apply pharmacology knowledge to practice has been an issue not well identified in the literature. This article reports a survey undertaken in 2013 in one large urban New Zealand hospital that explores new graduate nurse's perception of applying their pharmacology knowledge to the clinical practice of medication management. Method: Survey research was employed for this study with a postal survey in 2013 distributed to 128 nurses who had graduated within the previous 24 months. Twenty-five questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 19.53%. Results: Newly graduated nurses were found to understand the importance of applying pharmacology knowledge in their practice but also acknowledged the need to increase their knowledge of the medications they are administering. However, understanding of how medications work and are eliminated was a concern. Conclusion: This study highlights the need for ongoing support and education for newly graduated nurses as they continue to develop and apply their pharmacology knowledge. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(6):276–281.

BACKGROUND Preparing emerging health professionals for practicing in an ever-changing health care environment along with continually evolving technology is an international concern. This is particularly pertinent for nursing because nurses make up the largest part of the health workforce. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore how health informatics can be included in undergraduate health professional education. METHODS A case study approach was used to consider health informatics within undergraduate nursing education in New Zealand. This has led to the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice. RESULTS The process used to develop nursing informatics guidelines for entry to practice in New Zealand is described. The final guidelines are based on the literature and are refined using an advisory group and an iterative process. CONCLUSIONS Although this study describes the development of nursing informatics guidelines for nurses entering practice, the challenge is to move these guidelines from educational rhetoric to policy. It is only by ensuring that health informatics is embedded in the undergraduate education of all health professionals can we be assured that future health professionals are prepared to work effectively, efficiently, and safely with information and communication technologies as part of their practice.

This pilot study aimed to provide students with a learning activity to develop a global perspective of health care. Senior nursing students from New Zealand and the United Kingdom (n=15) were allocated to eNetwork small-groups. Students met weekly for one month via audio/video-conferencing for discussions. Students reported that this collaborative activity enabled them to engage purposefully with other students. While cultural differences were noted, similarities were also found and multiplestudents expressed interest in working overseas.

Communities of practice are frequently described and discussed in academic literature and within education. They are depicted as groups of people with a shared interest coming together and in a higher education setting this shared interest relates to the practice of teaching and learning. The establishment of a cross-discipline faculty-wide community of practice to support educators in higher education is novel. This paper describes the establishment of a community of practice within one university faculty uniting educators across multiple disciplines within the Faculty. Data spanning thirty months since the inception of a teaching and learning community are presented. The findings illustrate a growing community of practice, along with perceived benefits and future directions. The creation of an interprofessional faculty-wide community of practice illustrates how educators can be drawn together because of their common passion for teaching and learning and a mutual concern of how to maximise student learning.

IntroductionHealthcare providers recognise, but continue to be challenged by the demands of providing quality services in a dispersed environment. This issue is compounded by rapid technological advances, increasing public expectations and an aging healthcare workforce (National Health Board, 2010). Information and communication technology (ICT) is recognized as a key component in meeting future healthcare needs (National Health Board, 2010). One of the technology-based approaches gaining recognition as being able to provide more accessible healthcare is telemedicine. Telemedicine is defined as using "communications networks for delivery of healthcare services and medical education from one geographical location to another, primarily to address challenges like uneven distribution and shortage of infrastructural and human resources" (Sood et al., 2007, p. 576). Tele-consultation, which is a subset of telemedicine, is described as "seeking medical advice or information from someone at a distance" (Kerr & Norris, 2004, p.2). For example, a nurse working in a tertiary service may tele-consult with another nurse or staff in an area where staff do not have specialised knowledge, and this can be with or without the patient being present. How the communication takes place is dependent on the type of interaction needed, but common mediums include telephone, texting, email and videoconferencing. Nurses, as the largest health professional group, are ideally placed to provide healthcare at a distance mediated by ICT. Currently little is known about New Zealand (NZ) nurses experience of using tele-consultation. This study examines the experiences of nine NZ Registered Nurses (RNs) who provide secondary and tertiary services to patients and healthcare teams using tele-consultation as part of their nursing practice. These nurses use tele-consultation in a variety of ways. Some use tele-consultation due to geographic isolation from a tertiary centre and others use tele-consultation because they provide a specialty service to an area that is rural or remote.Telemedicine and tele-consultationTelemedicine has arisen from the advancement of ICT and the application of these technologies to healthcare. The term telemedicine was first mooted in the 1970s (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2010). The last two decades have heralded growth of telemedicine in most countries because of the widespread availability and improved speed of the internet (Bashshur, Shannon, Krupinski, & Grigsby, 2013). Telemedicine services that focus on diagnosis and clinical management are now offered routinely in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, North America and Australia (WHO, 2010). Telemedicine offers a different mode of healthcare delivery, that is of particular interest to health professionals who work in rural settings, as a tool to address health accessibility and equity issues (Di Cerbo, Morales-Medina, Palmieri, & Iannitti, 2015). Teleconsultation is a subset of telemedicine, and when teleconsultation is undertaken by nurses it may be considered a type of tele-nursing, which Canadian nurses define as the "delivery, management and co-ordination of care and services provided via information and telecommunication technology" (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009, p.3).Nurses and tele-consultationInternationally nurses have been using tele-consultation as part of their practice for some time. For example, in Scotland an 11 year study that started in 1998 found nurses were enthusiastic about using tele-consultation and they had higher levels of job satisfaction (Harvey, Peterkin, & Wootton, 2010). Similarly in Canada more than 15 years ago, nurses were considering the potential benefits and risks of telemedicine (Canadian Nurses Association, 2000). Some of these benefits and risks will now be identified.It has been suggested that tele-consultation may facilitate and support nurses practicing at more autonomous and advanced levels (Harvey et al. …

In-service education (ISE) in nursing is teaching that occurs in the workplace. Internationally, ISE activities have been evident in nursing for many years because it has been seen as a convenient and cost-effective way to deliver education to nurses with minimal disruption to staffing levels and the delivery of patient care. ISE-related literature was sought to address the aim of tracing development and focus of nursing ISE in New Zealand. A key finding of this literature review is that ISE has been adapted in New Zealand and internationally to meet the demands of evolving nursing practice, and for this reason it remains relevant and essential to nurses. The embeddedness of ISE within clinical environments also supports its relevance. Future research is called for to establish which aspects of ISE are critical to ensuring its ongoing success. [ J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(7):313–318.]

Summary Background: While health informatics recommendations on competencies and education serve as highly desirable corridors for designing curricula and courses, they cannot show how the content should be situated in a specific and local context. Therefore, global and local perspectives need to be reconciled in a common framework. Objectives: The primary aim of this study is therefore to empirically define and validate a framework of globally accepted core competency areas in health informatics and to enrich this framework with exemplar information derived from local educational settings. Methods: To this end, (i) a survey was deployed and yielded insights from 43 nursing experts from 21 countries worldwide to measure the relevance of the core competency areas, (ii) a workshop at the International Nursing Informatics Conference (NI2016) held in June 2016 to provide information about the validation and clustering of these areas and (iii) exemplar case studies were compiled to match these findings with the practice. The survey was designed based on a comprehensive compilation of competencies from the international literature in medical and health informatics. Results: The resulting recommendation framework consists of 24 core competency areas in health informatics defined for five major nursing roles. These areas were clustered in the domains “data, information, knowledge”, “information exchange and information sharing”, “ethical and legal issues”, “systems life cycle management”, “management” and “biostatistics and medical technology”, all of which showed high reliability values. The core competency areas were ranked by relevance and validated by a different group of experts. Exemplar case studies from Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, Taiwan/China, United Kingdom (Scotland) and the United States of America expanded on the competencies described in the core competency areas. Conclusions: This international recommendation framework for competencies in health informatics directed at nurses provides a grid of knowledge for teachers and learner alike that is instantiated with knowledge about informatics competencies, professional roles, priorities and practical, local experience. It also provides a methodology for developing frameworks for other professions/disciplines. Finally, this framework lays the foundation of cross-country learning in health informatics education for nurses and other health professionals.

Objectives The purpose was to determine the feasibility of using a standardized language, the Omaha System, to describe community-level strengths. The objectives were: (a) to evaluate the feasibility of using the Omaha System at the community level to reflect community strengths and (b) to describe preliminary results of community strengths observations across international settings. Design and sample A descriptive qualitative design was used. The sample was a data set of 284 windshield surveys by nursing students in 5 countries: Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Turkey, and the United States. Measures An online survey included a checklist and open-ended questions on community strengths for 11 concepts of the Omaha System Problem Classification Scheme: Income, Sanitation, Residence, Neighborhood/workplace safety, Communication with community resources, Social contact, Interpersonal relationship, Spirituality, Nutrition, Substance use, and Health care supervision. Themes were derived through content analysis of responses to the open-ended questions. Results Feasibility was demonstrated: Students were able to use the Omaha System terms and collect data on strengths. Common themes were described among the five countries. Conclusions The Omaha System appears to be useful in documenting community-level strengths. Themes and exemplar quotes provide a first step in developing operational definitions of strengths at a more granular level.

Students expect to use technology in their study just as they use technology in other aspects of their life. Technology is embedded in the day-to-day work of nursing, and therefore needs to be integrated in education to prepare students to assume professional roles and develop skills for lifelong learning. A quantitative descriptive study, using an anonymous survey, explored how undergraduate student nurses from one New Zealand school of nursing, access information and communication technologies for their learning. In total 226 completed questionnaires were returned (75%). Nearly all students (96%) have smart phones, all students have a computer and 99% use the university learning management system daily or several times a week. The search engine most commonly used to find information for assignments was Google Scholar (91%), with only 78% using subject specific academic databases. Implications from this study include the need for charging stations and further education on information searching.

This presentation will be in a workshop format with a panel of presenters representing five countries. All speakers will address the question of how are health information tools helping the profession of nursing, thereby giving an international perspective, before inviting the audience to discuss and share their views. Health information tools are numerous, yet little consideration is sometimes given as to how these tools help nursing. Nursing, in this context includes the nurses at the bedside or nurses who work directly with individuals, families or communities, as well as nursing administration, management, research and education. The panel will describe how health information tools help nursing using numerous examples and the following five point framework: Access to evidence-based resources; improved communication; monitoring of patients; improved safety and increased efficiency.

Summary Background: While health informatics recommendations on competencies and education serve as highly desirable corridors for designing curricula and courses, they cannot show how the content should be situated in a specific and local context. Therefore, global and local perspectives need to be reconciled in a common framework. Objectives: The primary aim of this study is therefore to empirically define and validate a framework of globally accepted core competency areas in health informatics and to enrich this framework with exemplar information derived from local educational settings. Methods: To this end, (i) a survey was deployed and yielded insights from 43 nursing experts from 21 countries worldwide to measure the relevance of the core competency areas, (ii) a workshop at the International Nursing Informatics Conference (NI2016) held in June 2016 to provide information about the validation and clustering of these areas and (iii) exemplar case studies were compiled to match these findings with the practice. The survey was designed based on a comprehensive compilation of competencies from the international literature in medical and health informatics. Results: The resulting recommendation framework consists of 24 core competency areas in health informatics defined for five major nursing roles. These areas were clustered in the domains “data, information, knowledge”, “information exchange and information sharing”, “ethical and legal issues”, “systems life cycle management”, “management” and “biostatistics and medical technology”, all of which showed high reliability values. The core competency areas were ranked by relevance and validated by a different group of experts. Exemplar case studies from Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, Taiwan/China, United Kingdom (Scotland) and the United States of America expanded on the competencies described in the core competency areas. Conclusions: This international recommendation framework for competencies in health informatics directed at nurses provides a grid of knowledge for teachers and learner alike that is instantiated with knowledge about informatics competencies, professional roles, priorities and practical, local experience. It also provides a methodology for developing frameworks for other professions/disciplines. Finally, this framework lays the foundation of cross-country learning in health informatics education for nurses and other health professionals.

IntroductionMedical prescribing, in terms of both education and practice, has been extensively researched but this has not been the case with nurse prescribing (Coombes, Mitchell, & Stowasser, 2008; Franson, Dubois, de Kam, Burggraaf, & Cohen, 2009; Garbutt et al., 2006; Gwee, 2009). One reason for this is that internationally, prescriptive authority differs between countries, and hence the educational preparation for nurses to prescribe also varies. This has detracted from consistent research into the educational preparation and practice of nurse prescribing despite the fact that registered nurse prescribing is well established in some countries, notably the United Kingdom and is generally regarded positively (Latter et al., 2010).This article describes the pedagogical underpinnings of one of the first postgraduate programmes developed for nurse practitioners to gain prescriptive authority. Nurses intending to become nurse practitioner prescribers were interviewed to gain an understanding of their experiences of undertaking these postgraduate prescribing programmes.BackgroundNurse prescribing in New Zealand: A brief historyIn New Zealand, the nurse practitioner role was introLim, duced to improve patient access to health care services (National Health Committee, 2000). The introduction of the nurse practitioner role also represented a significant advance for professional nursing and positioned nurses to practice autonomously. Autonomous practice for nurse practitioners includes performing comprehensive health assessments, clinical diagnosis and prescribing treatments. The introduction of nurse prescribing in New Zealand has developed concurrently with the role of the nurse practitioner (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2005). Since 1999, nurse practitioners in New Zealand can prescribe as long as they have completed the necessary educational preparation (Lim, Honey, & Kilpatrick, 2007).Prescriptive authority in New Zealand is outlined in the Medicines Act of 1981 and in the Medicines Regulation of 1984. Under the Act, health professionals with prescriptive authority (authorised prescribers) can prescribe all medicines from Part 1A or Part 1B of the Schedule 1 of the Medicines Regulations. Three health professional groups were authorised prescribers (doctors, dentists and midwives) until 1999 (Medicines Amendment Act 1999) when prescriptive authority for nurses was considered by the New Zealand government and the legislation was amended.Educational preparation for prescribing was included in the undergraduate programme for doctors, dentists and midwives, which was not the case for nurses. Therefore the term, designated prescribers, was added in the amendments to the Act. Unlike authorised prescribers, designated prescribers are required to undergo additional education in pharmacology and therapeutics to become prescribers. Since 1999, further amendments to the Act (in 2011) extended prescriptive authority to pharmacists and diabetes nurse specialists, so that pharmacists, diabetes nurse specialists and nurse practitioners could become designated prescribers. The extension was further refined in 2013 (Medicines Amendment Act 2013), when nurse practitioner prescribers gained the same prescriptive authority as doctors, dentists and midwives as authorised prescribers, and a new category of prescribers called delegated prescribers was added to the Act. There are now three levels of prescriptive authority in New Zealand: authorised, designated and delegated. These legislative changes bring challenges and potential for confusion to nurse prescribing roles.Educational preparation of nurses for prescribing has always been considered in the changes to the legislation. Educational preparation includes knowledge of applied biological sciences, advanced assessment and diagnoses, pharmacology and therapeutics, alongside a prescribing practicum where the knowledge is applied within a clinical context. …

Aims To describe trends from 2006–8 to 2016 in demographic, education and work settings of the primary health care nursing workforce who provide diabetes care in the Auckland region. Methods A total of 1416 practice, Accident and Medical, district and diabetes specialist nurses were identified who provide community-based care. Of those, 459 were randomly selected and 336 were interviewed in 2016, and were compared with 287 nurses interviewed in 2006–8. Results A 73% response rate was attained in 2016. Compared with nurses in 2006–8, primary health care nurses in 2016 were younger, less experienced, more likely to be Asian, undertook more post-graduate education, worked more in Accident and Medical Clinics and worked in larger practices with ≥4 doctors. However, less worked with a dietitian or received visits from specialist nurses compared with nurses in 2006–8. Significantly more nurses in 2016 had their own room for administrative work and the ability to email patients suggesting greater autonomy. Conclusions Major demographic, educational and workplace changes have occurred in the Auckland primary health care nursing workforce from 2006–8 to 2016. A significant increase in practice nurses and a large decrease in the number of diabetes specialist nurses were evident, in the Auckland region.

The advances in social media offer many opportunities for developing understanding of different countries and cultures without any implications of travel. Nursing has a global presence and yet it appears as though students have little knowledge of the health and social care needs and provision outside their local environment. Our collaboration across three countries, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States of America, brought the two themes together with the aim of senior student nurses having a communication channel to explore public health issues in each country. Using a closed Facebook™ page, third year undergraduate adult nursing students were invited to take part in a three month pilot study to test the feasibility of virtual collaboration through exchanging public health issues. Here we report upon the collaboration, operation of the social media, and main findings of the study. Three core areas will be reported upon, these being the student’s views of using social media for learning about international perspectives of health, seeing nursing as a global profession and recommendations for future development of this positively reviewed learning technique. To conclude consideration will be given to further development of this work by the collaborative team expanding the countries involved.

The increasing use of social media is revolutionizing the way students learn, communicate and collaborate. Many of the skills used with social media are similar to those needed to work in a knowledge-based society. To better understand student nurses’ use of social media in relation to their learning, an anonymous survey was distributed to all undergraduate nursing students enrolled at one nursing school in New Zealand in 2015. A 75% response rate (n = 226) found that almost all (99%) students use social media outside their studies. However, in relation to their study, 61% use social networking sites (such as Facebook) on a daily basis and only four students (2%) do not use social media at all. Professional networking sites are used far less in relation to study, with 65% not using these networks at all. The most common digital option used to communicate and work with fellow students was online groups and document sharing sites, such as Google docs, were also popular. The study provides a useful baseline on social media use by student nurses. Implications from this study include opportunities for educators to incorporate social media into teaching and learning activities, including its safe and ethical use.