Dr Adams' research identified that fragmented health service organisations and the ongoing policy commitment to doctor-led care limited the opportunity to improve primary health care services and use nurse practitioners to meet the health needs of rural communities.
Five staff members were conferred with doctoral degrees among the more than 1200 graduates across the six Auckland ceremonies this week.
New Zealand has more people living with long-term health conditions, an increasing older population and health inequalities that continue to persist, particularly for Māori and poorer communities. But despite the declining rural medical workforce, New Zealand has been slow to develop nurse practitioner services.
In her thesis, Dr Sue Adams, a senior lecturer from the School of Nursing, explored the experiences of rural nurses on their journey to becoming nurse practitioners. Dr Adams researched how the development of nurse practitioners in rural communities was restricted by the structure and organisation of health services, including general practice.
Internationally, it has been demonstrated that nurse practitioners are an effective and appropriate health workforce delivering primary health care services to underserved and rural populations. Dr Adams’ research identified that fragmented health service organisations, and the ongoing policy commitment to doctor-led care, limited the opportunity to improve primary health care services through using nurse practitioners to meet the health needs of rural communities.
Dr D'Souza's research into the cyberbullying of nurses has lessons for other professions
Research by School of Management lecturer Dr Natalia D’Souza into workplace cyberbullying has found that nurses not only experience bullying by other staff, but also by patients and their families.
Dr D’Souza says the nurses who participated in her study described specific differences between cyberbullying and traditional face-to-face bullying, including the ability for people outside their organisation to bully them constantly.
While her thesis focused on the nursing profession, she says its implications would apply in other workplaces.
“One of the things that clearly emerged from my research is that cyberbullying is still an unknown problem and organisations are not sure how to deal with it. A lot of organisations have social media policies that outline what staff can and can’t do, but they don’t have policies to protect staff from external abuse.”
She recommends explicitly including cyberbullying in workplace bullying and harassment policies.
Dr Holley-Boen's research has resulted in the development of a framework to define what success and wellbeing mean for specialist teachers and to accommodate the complex demands and issues they face.
For her PhD research, Institute of Education lecturer Dr Wendy Holley-Boen followed 14 practising specialist teachers over their two-year training in the Specialist Teaching Programme – a boutique postgraduate programme jointly offered by Massey University and the University of Canterbury.
Dr Holley-Boen has developed a new framework to define what success and wellbeing mean for specialist teachers and to accommodate the complex demands and issues they face.
Through individual interviews and group discussions, study participants explored their changing perspectives on identity, practice and wellbeing.
What resulted from these conversations is what Dr Holley-Boen calls “practicing fiercely”, a framework for finding fulfilment and wellbeing through blending a strong personal with a professional stance that is enacted in one’s practice. “It’s about giving and getting support across settings and having a long-term, intentional approach to maintaining one’s stamina.”
Dr Mutter's own experience as a “stay-behind family” meant writing her thesis was a very personal experience.
School of Management senior tutor Dr Jo Mutter has spent long periods over many years solo parenting her two children. Hers is one of a growing number of “stay-behind families”, where partners choose the stability and safety of home over the expatriate lifestyle of a “trailing spouse”.
Her husband Tony Mutter is a professional sailor and two-time winner of the Volvo Ocean Race. He is currently halfway through the 2017-18 race and she, as usual, is watching his progress from afar. Writing her PhD thesis on the impact global mobility has on families has been a very personal experience.
Ms Mutter says global mobility is a growing trend that applies far beyond the world of professional sport. Businesses are increasingly sending staff to offshore locations, either to work on short-term projects, as commuters (where the employee has a roster of away and at-home time), or as frequent international travellers.
“Many companies are entering emerging markets and people often don’t want to move their families due to security and other risks,” Ms Mutter says. “By keeping the family at home, they are choosing social and educational stability for their children.”
The impact on the children of stay-at-home families is less than you might think, she says. Technology has made it much easier to keep in contact, and as long as there is a consistent routine, the children are generally happy.
Dr Rychert's thesis explored the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act.
The introduction of the the Psychoactive Substances Act (PSA) in 2013 made for a fascinating thesis topic for College of Health post-doctoral fellow in alcohol and other drugs policy Dr Marta Rychert. The act was implemented in response to the prolific use of so-called “legal highs” in New Zealand and Dr Ryechert says it established the world’s first regulated legal market for “new drugs”.
“The act received significant international attention as an innovative, bold and balanced response, yet the implementation process turned out to be problematic,” she says.
The PSA is also an important piece of law that could have implications for how the legalisation of cannabis could be rolled out, should the Government go down that path.
“My research shows that a rushed policy process, without thorough consultation with communities or key stakeholders, may have dramatic implications for the success of the law change. The debate about how we want to move away from prohibition should start now, not in the days or weeks leading up to the referendum,” Dr Rychert says.