Indigenous Nurses Research Articles

Kuwaiti High School Students' Perceptions of Nursing as a Profession: Implications for Nursing Education and Practice

The shortage of nurses in Kuwait is attributed to low production of indigenous nurses, resignation and emigration of foreign nurses, and expansion of health care facilities. This study explored Kuwaiti high school students' perceptions of nursing as a profession, their sources of information about nursing, and factors that affected their choice of nursing as a future career. Questionnaires from 289 students attending seven all-female high schools in Kuwait were analyzed. The results revealed that all of the participants were knowledgeable about the functional aspects of the nursing profession, and 35% of them received this information through contact with nurses during hospital visits. However, only 19% indicated they might consider nursing as a future career. The implications of the study for nursing education and practice, and strategies to attract and retain indigenous high school graduates into nursing programs in Kuwait are discussed.

Heroines of lonely outposts or tools of the empire? British nurses in Britain's model colony: Ceylon, 1878-1948.

In 1878 two 'Nightingale' nurses arrived in the British colony of Ceylon to initiate a training programme for indigenous women in the skills and values of what was then termed 'scientific nursing'. These two women were the first of a succession of British women who went to the colony to nurse in its hospitals and to train Ceylonese women for the profession. Using the official records of the colonial government held in the National Archives, Kew and the records of the Overseas Nursing Association in the Rhodes House Collection, Oxford, this paper explores both the professional and social experiences of these women. This paper also analyses the role that these representatives of the colonial state played in the development of an indigenous nursing profession and concludes that their presence in the colony ultimately left an ambiguous legacy. In their role as trainers of indigenous women, they furthered the development and spread of a Western nursing profession in the colony's hospitals. At the same time, however, their continuing dominance of training and the positions of responsibility was an inhibiting factor in the ability of indigenous nurses to organise and professionalise. Whereas the doctors, trained in the colony's Medical College, achieved registration as early as 1905, the nurses had to wait until 1949, a year after independence, before their qualification was recognised and protected. Nursing remained throughout the colonial period therefore, even more so than at the metropolitan centre, the 'Cinderella' of the medical professions.

Riting" cultural safety within the postcolonial and postnational feminist project: toward new epistemologies of healing.

The concept of cultural safety, developed by indigenous nurses in the postcolonial climate of New Zealand, has not been widely examined in North America. In this article we explicate the theoretical and methodological issues that came to the forefront in our attempts to use this concept in our research with different populations in Canada. We argue that this concept prompts us to "think critically" about ourselves and our patients, and to be mindful of our own sociocultural, economic, and historical location. This critical reflection has implications for how we live, relate to one another, and practice in our various professional disciplines. On the basis of our findings, we discuss how the concept might be rewritten within a critical postcolonial and postnational feminist discourse.

The tree of life: a midwife's experience in the Philippines

The purpose of this article is to describe the experience of a student on an international transcultural nursing programme that took place in the developing world. The programme was of 7weeks duration and was a total immersion into the bio/psycho/socio/cultural constructs of the host country. The area of concentration was childbearing women and their children; usually a very neglected segment of society. Students worked with indigenous nursing students, nurses, midwives and ancillary personnel both in the community and the hospital. They practiced their profession in hospitals equipped with few amenities and technological devices. They worked with perinatal clients whose experiences in labour and delivery vastly contrasted with the women in the developed world. This article describes the author's experience in a very poignant and compelling manner; an event that has had profound effects in both her life and professional practice.

Indigenous nurses and professional education: friends or foes?

While the importance of cultural issues in nursing practices has been recognized, little attention has been directed to evaluating to what extent nursing education respects the cultural norms and values of students from diverse populations. A survey was used to explore the educational experiences of 40 Native American nurses. Respondents indicated that cultural content in their education was quite limited, they wanted more cultural content, and sometimes they obtained it from other sources. Many respondents found no support for their cultural identity during their nursing education. Those who did find support found it mainly through student groups, tribal or Native-specific programs, and through informal peer support. Many respondents identified struggles with culture shock and cultural differences, stereotypes and racist attitudes, isolation, and assumptions about their own cultural identity. This study makes an important contribution by bringing voices of indigenous nurses to the attention of the profession and by moving beyond practice wisdom to join with the growing body of research that is adding an empirical dimension to transcultural nursing literature.