Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand articles from April 2008

Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand archives from April 2008

Slow progress on safe staffing and healthy workplaces.(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... NZNO's theme for International Nurses' Day (IND) on May 12 is centred on safe staffing and healthy workplaces and continues the focus on a programme of work begun in the early years of this decade. [The International Council of Nurses' theme...

School clinics need direct funding.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I read my Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand from cover to cover fast month, as usual It always contains something relevant to my nursing practice, even now I am a school nurse. A large section of the March 2008 issue covered nurse practitioners...

Offering Vietnamese children a future.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I am a registered nurse, working part time at Ascot Hospital in Auckland. Next month I will begin participating in a Vietnam volunteer programme through Global Volunteer Network (GVN), a non-government organisation which gives people a range of...

Advocacy for NZNO issues important.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... Congratulations to registered nurse Rosemary Minto on her editorial in the February 2008 issue of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, urging nurses to "get political in election year". NZNO staff member Iain Lees-Galloway is leading from the...

Lapsed annual practising certificates.(NOTICE TO MEMBERS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (HPCA) Act 2003, the Nursing Council is responsible for issuing all registered nurses with an annual practising certificate (APC). However, the legislation states it is nurses themselves, as...

Court convictions and registration.(NOTICE TO MEMBERS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Under the previous legislation governing nurses' registration, the Nurses Act 1977, the threshold for Nursing Council involvement in a case of a nurse's conviction was for an offence that attracted a penalty of two years' imprisonment. Under...

Election year blues: in the true spirit of democracy, the Te Henga Section of the Marxist Nurses' Union invited representatives of various political parties to talk about their health policies. It was an enlightening affair.((A) MUSING ON NURSING)
April 1, 2008... "Democracy is the worst form of Government..." Winston Churchill (1) The Te Henga Section of the Marxist Nurses' Union had its election year special the other night. Representatives of all major parties came along, had a bowl of Olga's...

NZNO takes safe staffing approach to IND celebrations.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation)(International Nurses' Day)
April 1, 2008... By the end of the 20th century, nurses' employment conditions in New Zealand had deteriorated, leading to increased nursing shortages and some nurses choosing to leave the profession. By 2003, around 4450 registered nurses and midwives with...

ICN calls for support for UN women's agency.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(International Council of Nurses)(United Nations )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... On International Women's Day last month, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) called attention to the increasing violence against women, particularly in areas of conflict; to the imperative of having women involved in peace talks; and...

NZNO wants support for Pacific nurses.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation )
April 1, 2008... "Like gold"--that was the reaction of the Samoan Nurses' Association (SNA) Siloma Masina when she heard Pacific-registered nurses did not have to sit the International English Language Test (IELT) as a prerequisite for registration in New...

11,000 signatures gathered.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... In a first for the organisation, NZNO and employer representatives of Maori and iwi health care providers will jointly present an 11,000-strong petition to Parliament next month. The petition calls for extra government funding to ensure pay...

Petition calls for staffing regulations.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A petition calling on the government to introduce regulations to ensure safe staffing in residential aged-care facilities was launched as part of NZNO's National Caregivers' Week last month. (See industrial focus,...

Improving breastfeeding rates.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
April 1, 2008... The National Strategic Plan of Action for Breastfeeding, launched last month, aims to improve breastfeeding rates through a coordinated approach at local, regional and national levels, with a well trained, well supported and effective...

Nurse to lead rural general practice network.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
April 1, 2008... Rural nurse specialist, Kirsty Murrell-McMillan (pictured right), has been elected chair of the New Zealand Rural General Practice Network. She succeeds GP Tim Malloy, now deputy chair. A nurse practitioner candidate and senior nurse...

Reviewing the HPCA--moving to the next stage.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Health Practitioners Competence Assurance )
April 1, 2008... The Ministry of Health (Moll) has now analysed the 114 responses it received on the review of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (HPCA) Act 2003. The MoH initiated the review last October by circulating a survey for response....

Counties Manukau programme to improve nursing satisfaction.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
April 1, 2008... A new programme aimed at empowering nurses and giving them more time at patients' bedsides is being rolled out at Counties Manukau District Health Board. Called Whai Manaaki--More Time, Better Care, the programme has been adapted from a...

Celebrating achievements on International Working Women's Day.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
April 1, 2008... Women have come a tong way on the road to equality, but, with a 12 percent pay gap between men and women, there is still much progress to make. This message from Minister of Women's Affairs Steve Chadwick set the tone for last month's...

World TB theme focuses on stopping TB.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Tuberculosis)(Report)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The World Health Organisation (WHO) marked World TB Day last month (March 24) with the start of a two-year campaign aimed at stopping TB. According to the Ministry of Health, New Zealanders can do their bit to help stop what remains one of the...

'Flu vaccines underway.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... For the first time in New Zealand, community pharmacists will take part in the National Influenza Strategy Group's (NISG) campaign to encourage influenza immunisation. Pharmacies will be provided with a special Pharmacy Influenza Kit,...

Getting nurse prescribing back on the legislative agenda.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... New Minister of Health David Cunliffe has offered his support to get updated legislation on nurse prescribing back on the legislative agenda after this was stalled with the Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill last year. Nurse...

Home-visiting key to successful nursing model: next month's International Nurses' Day theme is Delivering Quality, serving communities: nurses leading primary health care. One Hamilton nurse provides an outstanding example of the theme in practice.(PROFILE)(Cover story)
April 1, 2008... Hamilton East Medical Centre mobile practice nurse Gill George says she has found the ideal job, one she has been on a journey towards for decades. "I guess my passion for primary health care (PHC) began when I started home visiting at the...

Robust nursing workforce information--chasing an elusive dream? Accurate information on the nursing workforce, and the health workforce generally, is notoriously difficult to come by. Thus planning for future work force needs is an inexact science. But efforts are underway to improve the situation.(NEWS FOCUS)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Media headlines have tracked the nursing shortage for years. Nurses know only too well the reality of the shortage and what it means for patients. There is considerable international research linking fewer nurses...

NZNO through the eyes of an Englishman: an officer with the United Kingdom's Royal College of Nursing makes some interesting observations based on his seven weeks' sabbatical leave spent with NZNO.(VIEWPOINT)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation)
April 1, 2008... I have just completed seven weeks' sabbatical leave with NZNO from my post at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in the United Kingdom (UK). Having had the experience of a life time white at NZNO, I think it appropriate to share some insights...

Exploring the links between the lack of nursing leadership and poor care: inadequate care during a recent hospital admission to a medical ward has made one nurse fear perioperative nursing standards will go the same way.(VIEWPOINT)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I am now 66 and recently retired, with nearly 50 years' nursing experience in operating rooms, post anaesthetic care units and infection control in a number of North Island hospitals. In the tater decades, I have...

The changing role of charge nurses: has the clinical component of the charge nurse role been lost in new management structures? What does that mean for nursing standards and patient care?(VIEWPOINT)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Recent trends in the New Zealand public heath sector have led to title and role changes for charge nurses (CNs). Restructuring and consolidation of services have resulted in increased responsibility and...

What does it take to be a nurse educator in New Zealand? What competencies are required of nurse educators to ensure the future nursing workforce is well prepared?(EDUCATION)
April 1, 2008... A casual conversation one day among several nurse educators broached the topic of the different approaches to practice among our peers. The educators agreed that examples of both best practice and unsafe practice co-existed in this area, as is...

Nurses have an important role in managing intermittent claudication: nurses working in primary care, aged-care and the community have an important role to play in identifying and managing intermittent claudication--exercise-induced leg pain. Correct diagnosis and treatment can markedly improve a person" quality of life.(PRACTICE)(Disease/Disorder overview)
April 1, 2008... What is intermittent claudication? Claudication is derived from the Latin word "claudicatio", meaning to limp (1,2) and refers to exercise-induced leg pain. Clinical manifestations of arterial disease range from intermittent claudication at the...

Sharing responsibility for safe staffing: there are many barriers to overcome before the principles of safe staffing and healthy workplaces become fully part of the practice environment.(PROFESSIONAL FOCUS)
April 1, 2008... Sharing responsibility for an issue or task means each participant contributes knowledge and possible solutions equally. Being able to participate requires an environment that supports openness and a willingness for change to occur. The...

What's wrong with staffing regulations in aged care? Unsafe staffing in aged-care facilities, which compromises the care of elderly residents, continues. But action to improve staffing also continues.(INDUSTRIAL FOCUS)
April 1, 2008... Last month, NZNO ran three very successful regional training days for caregivers working in aged care, to mark NZNO's National Caregivers' Week. In Wellington there were so many enrolments, a bigger venue was needed. The high attendance at...

Te Rau Kokiri negotiations drawing to a close.(SECTOR REPORTS)
April 1, 2008... Te Rau Kokiri (TRK) negotiations scheduled for later this month are expected to be the last negotiations until NZNO and the Maori and iwi health care providers know the outcome of joint lobbying for extra funding for the multi-employer...

Settlement reached at Brackenridge Estate.(SECTOR REPORTS)
April 1, 2008... After eight months of negotiations and a two-day strike in January, a multi-union collective agreement (MUCA) has been achieved at Brackenridge Estate, an intellectual disability residential facility in Christchurch. The MUCA covers...

Support group set up for Filipino workers.(SECTOR REPORTS)
April 1, 2008... A group to support Filipino workers in their employment and more generally, has been established in Wellington. The group, Wellington Kiwi Pinoy [an accepted informal term for FilipinoEd.] co-ordinator, Mary Ellen O'Connor, said the most urgent...

For healthy government vote well in 2008.(SECTOR REPORTS)
April 1, 2008... The problem of safely staffing health services is an international issue. Many years ago NZNO forecast a nursing shortage crisis by the mid 2000s. Sadly, this has proven to be true, as evidenced by the shrinking numbers of appropriately skilled...

Delegates get into spirit of St Patrick's Day.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Three aged-care delegates, who attended NZNO's caregivers seminar in Auckland last month, returned to their workplace in Kaikohe determined to raise awareness of issues besetting the sector. They decided one way of doing this was to wear NZNO's...

Successful delegate training day at counties Manukau DHB.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Counties Manukau District Health Board )(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Last month 35 NZNO delegates from Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) gathered for a day of training and information sharing with their organisers, Christina Carlyle and David Wait. The day was paid for by CMDHB and similar delegate...

Famous miner's strike commemorated.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Hundreds of trade unionists, former residents and descendants of early miners, gathered at Blackball on the West Coast over Easter weekend, to commemorate the centenary of the famous "crib time" miners' strike. The strike was primarily to...

Nursing studies lead to cultural discovery.(TE RUNANGA)
April 1, 2008... Ko Hikurangi me Motatau nga Maunga Ko Nga Toki Matawhaorua te Waka Ko Taumarere te Awa Ko Ngati Hine te Hapu Ko Nga Puhi te Iwi Ko Te Miria me Mohinui nga Marae Ko Valmai Gill toku Whaea Ko John Tauatri...

Making a difference to Tauira.(TE RUNANGA)
April 1, 2008... The media has recently highlighted the tow umbers of Maori nursing students in our nursing schools. In most kura, Maori make up between five and ten percent of any given intake. Only half will make it to graduation. There are many reasons for...

Reflecting infection control practice.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Since August last year, the National Division of Infection Control Nurses' (NDICN) committee, led by Viv McEnnis, has met twice to execute activities, agreed at the AGM, on behalf of members. At our August meeting, we farewelled two...

Society aims to meet the health needs of young people.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Late last year, a group of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals held the inaugural meeting of the Society of Youth Health Professionals Aotearoa New Zealand (SYHPANZ). The society has been established in response to a growing...

Updating the research database.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The nursing research section (NRS) held its first meeting for the year in March and the three new committee members met the three existing members. The committee is aware it still has work to complete from its 2001-2006 strategic plan. High on...

Consulting district nurses.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The draft consultation document Key Indicators for a Quality District Nursing Service in New Zealand: A Tool for Future Planning is now available on the NZNO website. Log on to www.nzno.org.nz, go to quick links on the right hand side, click...

The Dissector now bound and indexed.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Thirty years of publication of The Dissector, the quarterly journal of the Perioperative Nurses' College of NZNO, have now been bound and indexed, and will be available to members as a reference resource from NZNO's library at national office...

NMAC works on NZNO position statements.(NZNO COMMITTEES)(Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Committee )(New Zealand Nurses Organisation )
April 1, 2008... The Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Committee (NMAC) has begun its new term with several new projects on its agenda. These include the Wellness in the Workplace and Degenerative Back Disease position statements and the recently completed draft...

Events 2008.(Calendar)
April 1, 2008... 1 May Respiratory Nurses Section inaugural Symposium/AGM Rotorua www.nzno.org.nz/Site/Section/default.aspx 15-17 May Inaugural Paediatric Surgical Nurses & Auckland Anaesthetic Technicians Conference ...