Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand articles from December 2007

Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand archives from December 2007

2007--a good enough year?(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
December 1, 2007... I was recently perusing a list of common New Year's resolutions. This particular list reported people's Top 10 resolutions as: 1) Spending more time with family and friends 2) Exercising regularly 3) Losing weight 4) Stopping...

Practice nurses and clinical autonomy.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Once again, the assumption that nurses are somehow inhibited in providing superior care within a general practice setting by their employer/ employee relationship has been raised. (How employment structures affect nursing practice, by Anne...

During a pandemic I'm stayng home.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I read with interest the article What are nurses obligations in a pandemic or disaster? (See Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, November 2007, pp 27-31). I have found it interesting at disaster study days that planners seem to assume all staff...

A plea to nurses--please be quiet.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I have popped in and out of hospital a bit lately and have experienced being kept awake all night by people noise. It seemed that when the curtains were pulled around us we, the patients, did not exist. Even an eight-month-old baby knows that...

Nurse/patient ratios needed.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... The number of nurse hours available to patients is, according to one nursing researcher, unrelated to the ward workload, and the workload between wards in the same hospital varies enormously. (1) To ensure an adequate number of registered...

Seeking responses from rural nurses.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... We are group of nurses who have secured Rural Innovation Funding from the Ministry of Health to develop a workforce strategy for rural nurses working in primary and secondary care. Part of this work requires specific data collection to inform...

In praise of interest-based bargaining.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Now is an opportune time to reflect on the NZNO/District Health Board Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA), on the achievements and gains made, and also on the process and style of negotiations. Not only in terms of how the outcome was...

A critique of interest-based bargaining.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Thanks to industrial adviser Glenda Alexander for starting a discussion about interest-based bargaining (IBB) and the NZNO/District Health Board (DHB) Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA). (See The nuts and bolts of interest-based...

The president comments ...(LETTERS)
December 1, 2007... 2007 has been an exciting year, with some great achievements. Our industrial campaigns have been successful, thanks to the hard work of staff and members. The Fair Play Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) was to be signed off by DHB...

Damning report on the health of children.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... Child health advocate and GP Nikki Turner is calling for a renewed focus on child health following a damning report into the state of the nation's child health, released last month by the Paediatric Society. The report Monitoring the...

Serving the vulnerable.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... A conference seeking global health care solutions to providing services to vulnerable populations will be held at Auckland's University of Technology in mid January. It is organised by the Community Service and Development Trust of New Zealand,...

Plunket teams honoured.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Plunker teams from Canterbury and Gisborne were named the national champions at the fourth annual Eyebright Awards at Parliament earlier this month. The awards are a form of public recognition for the work Plunket...

Annals attacks cost and risk focus in health.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... As Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) Lurches from crisis to crisis, as the Minister of Health David Cunliffe considers how to intervene in management of the DHB, as Nelson Marlborough DHB proposes job and bed cuts as part of its...

Manager attends credentialing forum.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Conference news)
December 1, 2007... NZNO's professional services manager Susanne Trim, along with Nursing Council chief executive Marion Clark, attended the International Council of Nurses (ICN) ceredentialing forum in London Last month. The annual forum is a meeting of...

Bill to update public health legislation.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... A new Public Health Bill, designed to improve and protect New Zealanders' public health, was introduced to Parliament last month. Health Minister David Cunliffe said current legislation had served the country welt for more than 50 years but it...

Maori cancer nurse specialist appointed.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Lakes District Health Board has established a cancer nurse specialist--Maori health, following the establishment of its first cancer nurse specialist position in 2006, Rotorua district nurse Tirita Olsen (right), of Ngati Whakaue descent, has...

Council options will create confusion and inequity.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... Nursing Council's two options for a title for second-level nurses, who either completed or began their training before September 2004, will create greater inequity and confusion, according to NZNO. In July, the Regulations Review Committee...

Conference looks at skill mix and workforce development.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The important contribution of enrolled nurses (EN) to the health workforce was a common theme of a number of papers presented to a skill mix and workforce development conference in Melbourne Last month. The conference, attended by NZNO...

HPCA Act review underway.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(health practitioners competence assurance)
December 1, 2007... NZNO has hosted two meetings of health practitioner organisations as part of its contribution to the review of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance (HPCA) Act. At the second meeting earlier this month, Ministry of Health workforce...

Centennial issue due in January.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand celebrates its centenary next month. To mark this nursing and publishing landmark, a special centennial issue will be published. The high-quality centennial production will be delivered to NZNO members towards...

Bill enables more flexible work arrangements.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Last month's passing of the Flexible Working Arrangements Amendment Bill, sponsored by Green MP Sue Kedgley, has been heralded by workers and union leaders as ushering in a new era in more flexible workplaces and building a culture that...

Postgraduate education for practice nurses.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... A scheme to train practice nurses in caring for people with long-term conditions, supported by the Ministry of Health and piloted at the University of Auckland, will be expanded and offered from several university bases next year. Twenty-three...

Third term for Stewart.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Last months' news story on nurses elected to district health boards (DHBs) (Nurses step up for election onto DHBs, p 8) omitted third-term candidate at Whanganui DHB Ailsa Stewart. Having spent most of her career working in various roles at...

Ethics committees vacancies.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... Do you have a special interest in ethics and research? Suitably qualified members interested in these areas are encouraged to consider putting their names forward for a regional ethics committee (EC). Vacancies for hearth practitioners (HPs)...

Caring for Auckland church communities.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... A new Pacific Island church-based parish nursing and health project called Healthy Village Action Zones (HVAZ) was launched in Auckland by the then Minister of Health Pete Hodgson in October. Leaders of the Pacific church communities and...

Lavalavas for Wellington surgical patients.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... A specially designed wrap-around garment for people to wear while in hospital was launched at Capital and Coast District Health Board (DHB) last month. An initiative of theatre senior enrolled nurse Jenny Kendall, the lavalava or "wrap-around"...

Diabetes Award winners.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... Two practice nurses, Susan Dawber from Christchurch's Barrington Medical Centre and Raywyn Marston from the Hamilton East Medical Centre, are this years Lilly Partnership in Diabetes Awards winners. Dawber has specialised in diabetes for...

Tribunal nominations.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... The Ministry of Health has called for nominations for the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. There are vacancies for two nurses, three midwives and one health practitioner interested in public health. The terms of reference and on-line...

Healthline celebrates.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... Healthline, the national triage and advice telephone service provided for the Ministry of Health by McKesson New Zealand, is expecting its millionth call this month. The service began as a pilot in 1999, rolling out nationally in 2005. It...

Death and destiny in Darfur: a South African-born, New Zealand-trained nurse spent nine gruelling months in war-torn Darfur. She's written a book on her experiences there.(NEWS FOCUS)('Heart of Darfur' by Lisa French Blaker)
December 1, 2007... A wind-whipped, blistering hot desert. Round huts within beautifully swept compounds, laughing children, statuesque women in neon pink and lurid green wraps, donkeys nonchalantly chewing from the trees that shade them, sandbags studded with...

What does population-based health care really mean? What exactly does population-based health care mean? Last month more than 50 people involved in health gathered in Wellington to thrash out a definition and to hear examples of the theory of population-based health care put into practice.(NEWS FOCUS)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] population Health--Putting Theory into Practice was the theme of a two-day workshop in Wellington last month. Participants ranged from leading researchers to those involved in primary health care (PHC) at the grass...

The pivotal role of politics in advancing nursing practice 'not to engage politically is to ... limit one's capacity to nurse.' The development of the nurse practitioner scope of practice in New Zealand has been a journey through the politics of nursing, of professions and of our society.(RESEARCH)
December 1, 2007... Nursing has a history of political action, particularly in regard to campaigns to modernise its training, and lobbying for improved pay and employment conditions. Additionally, nurses have long regarded patient advocacy as one of their critical...

Health care Aotearoa nurses share common values: for the first time ever, nurses working for primary health care providers allied to Health Care Aotearoa came together to discuss their shared values and ways of working.(NEWS FOCUS)
December 1, 2007... Awesome, powerful inspirational, strengthening, informative--these were some of the comments from participants at Health Care Aotearoa (HCA) inaugural nurses' hui in Plimmerton in late October. Thirty nurses employed by community-owned primary...

Making a difference to the lives of sick and abandoned children: two kiwi nurses, working for volunteer service abroad, have made a big difference to the lives of orphans and abandoned children at Bethany Children's Home in South Africa.(NURSING OVERSEAS)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Our arrival at Bethany Children's Home was memorable, but not for the enthusiastic welcome I'd been primed to expect. Something was going on--two policemen, a nun, a teenage girl with a crying, eight-month-old baby...

Putting theory into practice in an emergency: a nurse is plagued with negative thoughts after taking part in an attempt to resuscitate a woman who had drowned.(EXEMPLAR)
December 1, 2007... Ensure safety, check responsiveness (shake and shout), send for help, open airway, check breathing, check circulation--all done in about 20 seconds. As nurses, this should be our first reaction in an emergency. If unconscious and breathing, put...

The nature of mental health nursing in the outback: working for three months as a mental health nurse in outback New South Wales was an enriching professional and personal experience for a Kiwi nurse--so much so, he keeps going back.(NURSING OVERSEAS)
December 1, 2007... The thought of working in remote Outback Australia had always appealed to me, but thinking about it was about as far as it went until Late 2005. I had accumulated about three months' Leave and contemplated doing something about my long-standing...

New electronic resources available: there are a number of new developments and projects underway in NZNO's library. And some of the latest acquisitions are profiled here.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The NZNO Library has a range of resources available to support members' information needs. In September this year, we subscribed to a suite of electronic resources, now available through the "Member Only" section...

Chalk and cheese: a postscript.(BOOKS)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Chalk and Cheese. Chick, N and Kinross, N. (2006) Self published. 168pp. Chalk & Cheese tells the story of the development of nursing education at Massey University through the eyes of its authors, Norma Chick and Nancy Kinross. In 1973,...

How and why nurses should contribute to submissions: submissions on proposed legislative or regulatory changes are an important part of the democratic process. Nurses need to make their views known in this way and nurses" stories from practice are a powerful means of doing so.(PROFESSIONAL FOCUS)
December 1, 2007... Every day your working Life is affected by systems and regulations over which you may feel you have no control--and, to some extent, you are right. This may be exacerbated by information overload that challenges you and your colleagues to...

History in the making: a piece of history was played out at St Michael's Marae in Highbury, Palmerston North, last month.(INDUSTRIAL FOCUS)
December 1, 2007... A chapter in NZNO's and New Zealand's industrial history was written at St Michael's Marae in Highbury, Palmerston North, late last month when NZNO and representatives of 60 Maori and iwi health providers began negotiations for a multi-employer...

Showcasing New Zealand nursing research.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Conference news)
December 1, 2007... The Nursing Research Section (NRS) biennial conference Showcase: New Zealand Nursing Research, held in Auckland Last month, was a real celebration of the diversity of New Zealand research. The conference was small and friendly, with...

'Inspiring' presentations at mental health nurses' conference.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
December 1, 2007... "Mental health on the move" was the theme of NZNO's mental health nurses' section conference and AGM in October, co-hosted by Manukau Institute of Technology and Waitemata District Health Board (DHB) and attended by 78 people. Waitemata DHB...

Developing partnerships key to palliative care nursing.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
December 1, 2007... Palliative Care Nurses New Zealand (PCNNZ) aims to be a professional body through which nurses can participate in key developments influencing the outcomes for those needing palliative care. It includes nurses working in both generalist and...

Nurses to care for their own spiritual health.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
December 1, 2007... Faith community nurses (FCNs) from all over New Zealand gathered in Auckland in mid October for a conference that offered a varied programme, including the required training to meet the FCN scope of practice for new practitioners. Founding...

Financial help for stomal therapy nurses.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The newly elected NZNO stomal therapy nurses' section committee held its first meeting at NZNO national office in Wellington early Last month, a great opportunity to meet the NZNO team. A conference is planned for next year, with the...

Honoraria for president and Te Runanga chair to be equal.(BOARD OF DIRECTORS)
December 1, 2007... Following Lengthy discussion at its October meeting, the board voted to make the honoraria paid to the president and chair of Te Runanga of equal monetary value. Historically, the board has set the honoraria each year, with the Te Runanga chair...

Support for CTU election campaign.(BOARD OF DIRECTORS)(Council of Trade Unions)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... With the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) about to Launch its election campaign (see news story, November issue, p6), the board agreed that $5000 be set aside as a contingency budget. This would be drawn upon as appropriate to support the CTU's...

Farewell gift for Ross Wilson.(BOARD OF DIRECTORS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The board agreed to donate $1000 towards a farewell gift for retiring CTU president Ross Wilson. A korowai was commissioned to present to Wilson in recognition of his services to unions and the CTU. These decision, compiled by Anne...

New Kai Tiaki committee member.(BOARD OF DIRECTORS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Following a recommendation from the co-editors of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, the board endorsed Counties Manukau District Health Board operating theatre nurse Carol Ashcroft as a member of the practice article review committee. Another...

CEO performance reviewed.(BOARD OF DIRECTORS)
December 1, 2007... NZNO chief executive Geoff Annals is currently completing a self appraisal of his performance this year, as part of the board's annual review of the role and performance of the chief executive. This year, the process has been more formalised,...

Sharing concerns with nursing council heads.(BOARD OF DIRECTORS)(Tertiary Education Commission)
December 1, 2007... Changes to Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) funding and the effect of this on nursing schools was one of the main agenda items during a meeting between the board and Nursing Council chief executive Marion Clark and chair Bev Rayna. The...

Te Runanga commits itself to Manaaki nursing students: the intimidation and bullying of nursing students must stop. Those who allow such behaviour to continue unchallenged are as much to blame as the perpetrators.(TE RUNANGA)
December 1, 2007... NZNO's slogan "Freed to care, proud to nurse is an inspiring vision for an organisation representing nursing. My question is: how do we do it? How do we as an organisation representing every area of nursing in the country, ensure we enable our...

Turmoil at Capital and Coast DHB--ED and district nurses under pressure.(SECTOR REPORTS)(District Hearth Board - Emergency Department)
December 1, 2007... Emergency department (ED) staff at Capital and Coast District Hearth Board (DHB), frustrated at lack of action over their patient safety concerns, wrote to managers, including the director of nursing, Cheyne Chalmers, late last month, outlining...

Eldercare staff stop work.(SECTOR REPORTS)(ElderCare of America Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Around 300 Eldercare staff attended stopwork meetings around the country late last month to hear the latest news on pay negotiations. NZNO co-advocate Jackie McGrath said Eldercare had steadfastly refused to have a national employment agreement...