1995 in Iceland saw the inauguration of a different kind of conference on nursing. Rather than having a narrow specialist focus, the first International "Connecting Conversations" Conference brought together educators, clinicians, students, researchers and administrators from across specialties, disciplines and countries to create a unique forum for the presentation and respectful discussion of the most pressing issues in Nursing and Midwifery. The success of Iceland has been built upon in subsequent conferences in New Zealand in 1997, Madison, USA in 1999, and in Adelaide, Australia in 2000. This volume includes 117 papers in English by scholars from all over the world.