Parenting of at-risk infants in the face of uncertainty: home apnea monitoring of subsibs.

This article describes the experiences of a group of parents in New Zealand who lost infants to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and who monitored their subsequent infants or subsibs (infants born after the death of an infant due to SIDS) at home for signs of apnea. Their caregiving experiences are explored within the framework of the substantive theory developed by Cohen (1993) that describes how another group of parents, those caring for children with chronic life-threatening illnesses, copes with living under conditions of sustained uncertainty. Attention is drawn to the similarities in both the grieving processes and coping strategies used by both groups of parents in these parallel situations.

Technical curriculum models: are they appropriate for the nursing profession?

The technical view of curriculum epitomized by the Tylerian objectives-based model focuses on measurable, quantifiable outcomes. Partly because of the drive to legitimize nursing as a profession, nursing education has accepted the Tylerian approach to demonstrate acceptable levels of competence for nursing practice. This paper examines the appropriateness of the behavioural measurement of outcomes for nursing in the present decade, using the framework of Habermas' knowledge-constitutive interests. It is contended that nursing educational practices have not kept pace with changes in the ethos of nursing practice in the 1990s. Nursing education must shift its focus from the technical curriculum to encompass humanistic principles and critical reflection, compatible with currently accepted nursing values.