Kaye Milligan

Citation

Thesis Title
Clinical Decision Making by Registered Nurses in Residential Aged Care: A critical realist case study

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Registered nurses make many clinical decisions that affect the health and outcomes of care for residents living in residential aged care. Ms Milligan’s research described the clinical decisions and explained the causative factors that intersect to influence them. Causative factors included the relationships the registered nurses developed with the resident, their family, and the general practitioner; and the individuality of each registered nurse whose knowledge and agency affected their concern for, and management of, the residents. Another causative factor was the specific context of the residential aged care sector in which risk aversion, financial constraints, and limited support for the development of the registered nurses prevailed. Some clinical decisions were situated within a zone of certainty where the registered nurse was sure about how to act. Others were situated within a zone of uncertainty. The causative factors have shown a complexity inherent in this specific context.

Supervisors
Associate Professor Jean Gilmour
Professor Annette Huntington