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Continuing education is now recognized as essential if nursing is to develop as a profession. United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) consultations are currently seeking to establish appropriate preparation for a 'higher level of practice' in the United Kingdom. The relevance of Masters level education to developing professional roles merits examination. To this end the results of a 10-year follow-up study of graduates from the Masters programme at the University of Edinburgh are reported. The sample was the entire cohorts of nurses who graduated with a Masters degree in the academic sessions from 1986 to 1996. A postal questionnaire was designed consisting of mainly closed questions to facilitate coding and analysis but also including some open questions to allow for more qualitative data to be elicited. The findings indicated clearly that the possession of an MSc degree opened up job opportunities and where promotion was not identified, the process of study at a higher level was still perceived as relevant to the work environment. This applied as much to the context of clinical practice as to that of management, education or research. The perceived enhancement of clinical practice from a generic Masters programme was considered a significant finding. Also emerging from the data was an associated sense of personal satisfaction and achievement that related to the acquisition of academic skills and the ultimate reward of Masters status. The concept of personal growth, however, emerged as a distinct entity from that of satisfaction and achievement, relating specifically to the concept of intellectual sharing, the broadening of perspectives and the development of advanced powers of reasoning.

This study aimed to assess the psychological impact of screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier status in a population of pregnant women.

The aim of this article is to illustrate in detail important issues that research beginners may have to deal with during the design of a qualitative research proposal in nursing and health care. Cristina Vivar has developed a 17-step process to describe the development of a qualitative research project. This process can serve as an easy way to start research and to ensure a comprehensive and thorough proposal.

Chronic illness in childhood affects family functioning, and professional support is required when the child is being cared for at home. The focus of concern for this study is the nursing contribution to the support of the family. A longitudinal ethnographic study of the experience of four families caring for a child with cystic fibrosis provided data. Analysis of the four case studies provides insight to the effect of cystic fibrosis on family interaction. The genetic aspects and the life-threatening nature of the illness are seen to have a profound effect on the parents' lives. The experience of crisis and the chronic burden of care are described. The context of long-term care requires the nurse to share the illness trajectory with the families and to help family members to travel it together. This is seen to require a high level of interpersonal skill and considerable emotional investment. The issues for nursing are examined. The research arose from practice, and it contributes to theoretical explanation of nursing interaction, and the relationship of systems thinking to understanding of the nursing situation. The case for the development of family nursing practice to meet contemporary health care needs is argued.

Therapeutic nursing interventions should be planned and provided to both patients with recurrent cancer and their family members. Family nursing can play an important role in helping families master the impact of the recurrent illness.

Families caring for a chronically-ill child are known to experience a significant degree of stress that often is not fully understood by health professionals. The purpose of this study was to examine, cross culturally, the experience of families caring for children with chronic conditions both in terms of the impact on their lives and the nature of the support received. The responsibility of caring for a child with a chronic condition had considerable impact on family life in both groups, with the disturbance to harmony possibly being felt more keenly in the Hong Kong group. Effective communication with parents was seen in both countries as key for effective practice. Expectations of health services differed between cultures. Implications can be drawn for the design of future health services addressing the specific health needs of families with children with chronic illness.

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