Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand articles from June 2008

Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand archives from June 2008

The aggressive pursuit of research funding.(EDITORIAL)
June 1, 2008... Exploring the main funding options for nursing education--the Ministry of Education's Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and the Ministry of Health's Clinical Training Agency (CTA)--has been a fraught exercise. Information is spread far and...

Is nursing care an anachronism?(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... Is nursing care an anachronism? In the April issue of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand I read Heather Giles' article "Exploring [inks between the lack of nursing leadership and poor care" (p18-1g), and was appalled at how far nursing care and...

Pondering the real meaning of care?(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... What is care--really? I enjoyed reading Anne Brinkman's professional focus in May's Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand (p24) and found it scarily accurate. Are we teaching our new nursing graduates to "care" or simply filling them full of...

Firefighter proud to be an NZNO member?(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... I am writing this Letter as a member of both NZNO, and the New Zealand Fire Service. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff members from Hamilton's NZNO office who stood proudly in support of the Hamilton Fire District in its...

Barriers on nurse practitioner journey.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... I would like to thank Gaff Phillips for writing such a well balanced critical analysis of the current nurse practitioner (NP) pathway. (See Challenges remain on the nurse practitioner journey, Kai Tiald Nursing New Zealand, March 2008, p14.) I...

Appreciating the value of Filipino nurses.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... I feel quite strongly about the very real value and worth of those Filipino nurses with whom I have worked; they were second-to-none. There have been some recent correspondence and articles about Filipino nurses and their training. (See "A plea...

Wanting to bridge a communication gap.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... As a second-year nursing student, I wonder how much communication goes on between the hospitals that students attend for their clinical placements and nursing schools, and how much, if any, district health board (DHBs) input there is? Do the...

Papua New Guinean nurse seeks penfriend.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... I am a nursing officer in the Department of Health in Papua New Guinea. I am 36 years old and married with three children. I work at my clinic as the second immediate supervisor. Mental health nursing is perceived as the lowest in my work...

Nurse organising fund-raising event.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2008... As a nurse for some 34 years, I have, for a long time, been passionate about improving the quality of life for all patients who come under my care, while at the same time improving the working conditions and support services for my nursing...

Correction.(LETTERS)(Correction notice)
June 1, 2008... The full name of NZNO's nominee on the Accident Compensation Corporation's Social Rehabilitation Providers' Liaison Group is Jan Henry. Her first name was omitted in a story in last month's issue (p8).

Budget funding doesn't include pay boost for aged-care workers.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
June 1, 2008... Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts... one could be forgiven for thinking nothing else was announced in this year's Budget. But away from the fanfare and singular media focus, there was a range of health funding announcements that affect nurses,...

The management academic complex-Ike was right! According to Nick, a bit of a hot head in the Te Henga Section of the Marxist Nurses' Union, nurses need to be very aware of the machinations of the Management-Academic Complex.((A)MUSING ON NURSING)
June 1, 2008... I can disclose to the Te Henga Section of the Marxist Nurses' Union (THSotMU) the awful truth about a shadowy organisation that controls nursing. This is the Management-Academic Complex [MAC]. The facts are veiled in burqas of secrecy and...

Pay parity needed to ensure 'hard mahi' continues.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Cover story)
June 1, 2008... Pay parity for the staff of Maori and iwi health providers is essential to ensure the sustainability of those organisations. That message was given to Health Minister David Cunliffe during the historic presentation of an 11,000-plus petition at...

Southland nurses recognized for practice excellence.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
June 1, 2008... Six Southland nurses received a $1000 scholarship each in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the community. The inaugural Southland Nursing Excellence Awards were held on International Nurses' Day (IND), May 12. The winners...

Canterbury exhibition tracks changes in nursing practice.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An exhibition, called Love and Duty, on display in the Canterbury Museum visitor lounge, is a major feature of the Canterbury Trained Nurses' Association centennial celebrations, beginning next month. Opening on...

NZNO president addresses World Health Assembly.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation)
June 1, 2008... NZNO's inclusion in the New Zealand Government's official delegation to the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva Last month was very significant, according to NZNO chief executive Geoff Annals. NZNO's representatives, president Marion Guy and...

Pacific nurses seek meeting with Nursing Council.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Pacific nurses are seeking a meeting with Nursing Council chair Bey Rayna and chief executive Marion Clark over the Council's decision last month requiring English language testing for all overseas trained nurses where English is not the first...

Exploring democracy at NZNO's annual conventions.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation )
June 1, 2008... Exercising democracy was the theme of NZNO's nine regional conventions held over the last two months. They began in Dunedin in early May, continuing on to Canterbury/West Coast, Bay of Plenty/Tairawhiti/Midlands, Tai Tokerau, Greater Auckland...

How does NZNO work for you?(NEWS AND EVENTS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... NZNO is in good shape and good heart, according to NZNO's board of directors. However, when things are going well is also a good time to reflect on how NZNO might improve the way it works, so its members benefit and feel involved. The board has...

De-escalation plans.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Safe staffing, workloads and staffing systems, and district health board (DHB) support were the three themes explored at last month's national Safe Staffing/Healthy Workplaces Unit workshop in Wellington. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Call for 'occupational justice'.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Occupational therapists are calling on the government to address the anomalies created by the two-tier ACC/Ministry of Hearth disability funding systems. This sees inequitable funding for those disabled by illness, compared with those who have...

New research grants to boost nursing knowledge.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
June 1, 2008... Research projects focusing on mental health and chronic conditions are among the ten projects funded in the first round of the Strategy to Advance Research (STAR), funded through the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). The $2.7 million...

Care for children at home.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... This year's national children's community nursing conference attracted 58 children's community nurses (CCNs) from throughout the country. Hosted by Waitemata Homecare for Kids, the conference in March was the second to be held and is proving a...

Focus on men's health.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... International Men's Health Week, held earlier this month, aims to increase awareness of men's health issues and encourage health initiatives aimed at promoting and enhancing men's health. Activities held around the country included free...

Herpes-myth versus fact.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Dispelling the myths around herpes is the aim of a six-week education campaign launched by the New Zealand Herpes Foundation and continuing this month. According to foundation manager Claire Hurst, up to 30 percent of New Zealanders who...

Implementing NZNO's safe staffing agenda.(NEWS FOCUS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nearly 200 nurses--from staff nurses to duty managers, charge nurses to clinical nurse specialists and directors of nursing--gathered in Wellington last month at NZNO's celebration of International Nurses' Day (IND)....

Remembering achievements and identifying challenges.(NEWS FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... Proudly wearing his "very shiny and new" New Zealand registered nurse badge, Ministry of Health chief nurse Mark Jones (pictured right) began his address on IND with a tribute to some nursing Luminaries--Florence Nightingale; her contemporary,...

Being prepared to think differently.(NEWS FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Life in health care sometimes feels like being Christopher Robin's bear coming down the stairs, said director of the safe staffing unit, Vicky Brewer. "Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump,...

Greater collaboration needed.(NEWS FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... 'What other sort of care could there be but patient-centred care?" asked Health and Disability Commissioner Ran Paterson as he began his presentation. Patients wanted to be treated with respect; they and their families wanted to be involved in...

Unsafe practice in aged care.(NEWS FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... Can caregivers give out morphine, as prescribed by a doctor, to a patient with un stable angina? This was the subject of one of the stories told by NZNO professional nursing adviser (PNA) Margaret Cain to illustrate the relevance of safe...

Finding strength in unity.(NEWS FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... There is a paucity of ethical and moral debate in discussions on safe staffing, decried Massey University senior nursing lecturer Martin Woods during a panel discussion concluding the symposium. Nurses faced one moral crisis after another,...

Language requirements exclude overseas nurses from practice: the Nursing Council's English language requirements are excluding a pool of highly skilled overseas nurses from working here. Why is this happening?(NEWS FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... A pool of highly skilled overseas-trained nurses is unable to work in New Zealand because of the Nursing Council's English language requirements. All overseas-trained nurses must pass either the International English Language Testing System...

Supporting your education needs: thanks to resources available through NZNO's library, no member needs to remain ill informed.(Report)
June 1, 2008... A lack of time prevents many nurses from accessing and reviewing evidence-based information or, indeed, any information. However, members can turn to the NZNO library to help them locate and evaluate relevant literature to assist with their...

Pursuing the study pathway to growing clinical confidence: through ongoing study, a nurse discovers her passion for mental health nursing has deepened.(EDUCATION)(Report)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I have never regarded myself as an A-grade student. But, over the years, I have come to appreciate that it is study that has brought me to where I am today. At the end of 2006, I was very keen to undertake...

Reflections on a pioneering nursing journey: Judith Christensen has been a pioneering figure in New Zealand nursing--the youngest person to receive the Flora Cameron Award; the head of one of the first polytechnic nursing schools; and the first nurse in the country to be awarded a doctorate in nursing.(PROFILE)
June 1, 2008... Leaving school at 16, nursing training at Greenlane Hospital, undertaking a two-year social work traineeship, completing an undergraduate degree with a double major in history and social anthropology, and teaching nursing at Auckland and...

Practicing the art and science of nursing 'Kiwi style': working in aged care while on a working holiday in New Zealand was an eye-opener for one experienced UK nurse.(VIEWPOINT)(Viewpoint essay)
June 1, 2008... In the early 1990s, I was given the opportunity to experience overseas nursing firsthand in the USSR (the old Soviet Union), an opportunity I thought would never be repeated. However, in the autumn of 2007, when the opportunity to visit New...

Recommending over-the-counter medicines--what is involved? Although recommending an over-the-counter medication is not considered prescribing, nurses need to question whether doing so is part of their scope of practice.(PROFESSIONAL FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... A question was raised in a recent nursing forum regarding registered nurses (RNs) giving advice to consumers about the administration of "over-the-counter" (OTC) medicines. The questioner wanted to know whether this activity could be...

Pay equity reveal pay gaps but where's the action? Pay and employment equity reviews in district health boards have revealed a considerable gender pay gap. A report on the reviews includes a range of responses to bridge this gap.(INDUSTRIAL FOCUS)(Report)
June 1, 2008... There is a yawning gender pay gap in the public health sector, according to the results of pay and employment equity (PaEE) reviews carded out in district health boards (DHBs) last year. The reviews were carried out in five DHBs and the...

Preparations for second national Primary Health Care MECA begin.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Report)
June 1, 2008... Bargaining was initiated last month for the 2008 Primary Health Care (PHC) Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) and 82 new workplaces want to join the MECA. Bargaining was initiated with the original 577 parties from the inaugural MECA...

Deal at Howick Baptist Health an example to all employers.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Report)
June 1, 2008... An Auckland religious and welfare based aged-care provider is leading the way in industrial relations in the sector, fostering a respectful and productive relationship with their workforce that has resulted in enviable staff retention rates,...

Hospice members secure pay parity.(SECTOR REPORTS)
June 1, 2008... Around 400 NZNO members working at 15 hospices around the country have achieved pay parity with district health board colleagues, following ratification of their multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) last month. Ratification meetings were...

Nurse Maude negotiations underway.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement covering NZNO members employed by Nurse Maude in Christchurch have been underway since April. NZNO organiser Kay Squires said there had been four meetings so far. "Slowly, we are making...

For healthy government vote well in 2008.(SECTOR REPORTS)
June 1, 2008... Population aging and technological changes are anticipated to increase the demand for health care services, while feminisation of some sectors, new working patterns and an aging health workforce may result in a reduction in the supply of...

Winning as One campaign underway.(SECTOR REPORTS)(multi-employer collective agreement )(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The Winning as One campaign in aged care got underway last month with multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) endorsement meetings in sites that have not previously achieved a MECA in their workplace. This campaign to negotiate a MECA across...

Safe staffing--getting it right now.(SECTOR REPORTS)
June 1, 2008... Getting it RIGHT now! That's the message of NZNO's developing safe staffing campaign: getting the right nurses and midwives, with the right competencies, delivering the right care in the right place at the right time. The campaign's first...

District nurses take to the picket line.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] District nurses employed by HealthCare of New Zealand picketed the company's Christchurch offices last month to protest at the company's 2.1 percent pay offer for each year over two years. (See Sector Reports, Kai...

College name change embraces primary health care nurses.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Conference notes)
June 1, 2008... "Maid to masters--the heights and the hurdles 10 years on" was the theme of last month's Cortege of Practice Nurses' annual conference in Tauranga, attended by around 300 people. The theme provided an opportunity to reflect on the changes in...

Seminar to look at reducing health inequalities.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... "Public health nurses reducing health inequalities" is the subject of the public health nurses' (PHNs) section one-day seminar and AGM on August 15 in Wellington. Keynote speaker is Maori health researcher Bridget Robson from the Eru Pomare...

Focus on long-term impacts of smoking.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
June 1, 2008... Rotorua hosted the inaugural respiratory nurses' symposium in April, organised by NZNO's Respiratory Nurses' Section and attended by 100 nurses, and a number of physiotherapists and asthma educators. The theme was "Facilitating respiratory...

Expert advisory group seeks input.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
June 1, 2008... The multidisciplinary diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) expert advisory group (EAG), chaired by Otago University professor Jim Mann, has recently published its quality improvement plan (QIP). As clinical nurse specialist diabetes at...

Critical Care Nurses seek member involvement.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The Critical Care Nurses' Section's new national committee met in Wellington last month. The committee represents more than 600 members throughout New Zealand who work in or have an interest in critical care nursing. The new committee comes...

Reflective practice expert to address conference.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Conference news)
June 1, 2008... The 14th international reflective practice conference will be held in Rotorua in early September, the first time the conference will be held in the southern hemisphere. The theme is "Unfurling knowledge" Keynote speaker is internationally...

Nurses for children and young people plan satellite meeting.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Conference news)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The focus of Nurses for Children and Young People of Aotearoa's national committee meeting last month was to continue planning for the satellite meeting to be held before the Paediatric Society's 60th annual scientific meeting in late October...

'Illegal, immoral, unethical and dishonest conduct' leads to cancellation of registration: Bruce William Hewson, RN.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... A registered nurse who stole a number of vials of morphine, pethidine and fentanyl from a locked drug safe, removed some of the contents for his own use and returned the vials to the safe to maintain inventory integrity, has had his...

Nurse steals fentanyl for own use: Dan Erik Hansson, RN.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Stealing approximately 120 ampoules of fentanyl for his own use has resulted in registered nurse Dan Erik Hansson having his registration cancelled. The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, in a decision in September last year,...

Nurse used document for pecuniary advantage: Karen Fogarty, EN.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)
June 1, 2008... Working as an enrolled nurse (EN) without a practising certificate and convictions for using a document for pecuniary advantage have resulted in Karen Fogarty having her registration as an EN cancelled. The Health Practitioners Disciplinary...

Nurse's conduct a 'gross breach of trust': Megan Clare Adair, EN.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Removing two 10 milligram (mg) ampoules of morphine from the controlled drug safe and retaining them for her own use has cost Megan Clare Adair her registration as an enrolled nurse (EN). The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, in a...

Nurse defrauds ACC of over $200,000 and loses registration: Rosina Mary Healey, EN.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)(Case overview)
June 1, 2008... Claiming ACC payments for loss of earnings and the unemployment benefit while employed as an enrolled nurse (EN), has resulted in Rosina Mary Healey having her registration cancelled. The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, in a...

Nurse's dishonesty contrary to maintaining professional standards: Mary Stewart, RN.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... A registered nurse (RN) who, while employed at two separate hospitals, falsely claimed she was sick and/or unable to work at one hospital while working at the other, has been censured and suspended from practice for two months. In its...

Prison nurse censured for supplying Tramadol to corrections officer: Diana Hayward, RN.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... While employed at a prison, registered nurse Diana Hayward supplied approximately 16 Tramadol tablets without prescription to a corrections officer and/or to his landlady/wife. The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, in a decision in...