MS SUSAN HEYES
PhD Candidate
Susan’s nursing qualifications have enabled her to first, work in the aged care sector as a carer whilst studying, and then as a registered nurse in acute care. Susan’s graduate nurse program took her into the areas of rehabilitation and theatre where she worked as an anaesthetic nurse in theatres at Flinders Medical Centre and Calvary, and as a recovery nurse at Calvary in the endoscopy/colonoscopy suite. At the Repatriation General Hospital, Susan worked as a scrub/scout/anaesthetic nurse in the radiology department theatres performing interventional radiological procedures. Another part of her role there was to assist with procedures such as various types of biopsies including liver and prostate biopsies and assisting with recovery of patients. Whilst there Susan started collecting data on patient outcomes which she provided to the doctors. This was the start of her interest in research and her Honours project which was a qualitative exploration of men’s experiences of prostate cancer screening. Susan’s current role includes tutoring work at Flinders University within various undergraduate nursing topics across all year levels, a post-graduate leadership topic and qualitative methods for social health research, for third year Health Sciences students. As a board member of Psi Eta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Susan is dedicated to the support of young nurses and students and their pursuit of leadership.
Current research
Susan’s PhD, titled ‘Towards an understanding of patients’ and partners’ experiences of bladder cancer,’ used a mixed methods research approach which investigated the experiences of people with bladder cancer and their partners. The use of face-to-face interviews with 10 clinical participants and 10 partners separately, allowed two versions of the same bladder cancer experience to be described. A qualitative description methodology and thematic analysis enabled four psychosocial themes to be developed. To operationalise these themes they were mapped to the four levels of Roy’s Adaptation Model towards a model of care. In addition, a sample of 119 clinical participants and 103 partners (N = 102 couples) responded to a self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire booklet comprised demographic information and four appropriate scales to measure physical and psychological adaptation to bladder cancer. Multivariate analysis and structural equation modelling identified a number of important and unpleasant encounters with the healthcare system. Of significance is the mediating effect of family and social support that negated the cognitive distress of clinical participants. From the models tested, this appeared to be the strongest most positive adaptive mechanism identified. It has shown the effects of partner support and its assistance for clinical participants’ acceptance of and adaptation to their bladder cancer. These insights culminated in a proposal for a six-step model of care, a haematuria and treatment clinic for use in urology settings. From this research an appreciation has been gained of the quality of life of participants, and an understanding of the couple’s needs and outcomes after treatment. These include sensitive issues and a requirement of collaboration with other healthcare professionals who might assist in the model of care that allows participants to move towards better adaptation to bladder cancer.