Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

History As Reflective Practice: A Model For Integrating Historical Studies Into Nurse Education, Kylie M. Smith, Angela M. Brown, Patrick A. Crookes

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The role of history in developing professional identity in nursing is well known, and the discipline of nursing history research continues to flourish. Yet this work often struggles to find its way into undergraduate university nurse education courses. We put forward a model for "history as reflective practice" in which we suggest that historical studies can be used as a form of evidence to develop critical thinking and clinical reasoning, as well as situate nursing practice within its social and political context. In this model, we draw on historical scholarship related to the profession, practice and person, focusing on work …

"Stress Wasn't A Word": Australian Nurses' Recollections Of War-Related Trauma, Kylie M. Smith, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Lorna Moxham

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Aim: This research explores the recollections of Australian nurses in regards to psychological injury among those who served in World War II (WWII) and the Vietnamese conflict.

Methods: Existing oral histories from WWII and Vietnam held by the Australian War Memorial were explored for recollections of issues related to psychological injury. A constant comparative method was used to allow themes to emerge across both cohorts of interviews.

Results: Findings indicate that nurses from both conflicts witnessed trauma among their patients in the field and experienced it among themselves upon their return from service. Three main themes emerged which related …