Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand articles from September 2007

Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand archives from September 2007

Finding recovery and hope the Maori way.(EDITORIAL)
September 1, 2007... Huritea te rito o te harakeke Kei hea to kodmako e ko Ki mai ki ahau He aha te mea nui o tenei ao Maku e ki atu He tangata, he tangata, he tangata! Mauri ora. When someone has a mental illness, it affects their family, friends, employers...

Re-orienting primary health care.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... I would like to thank Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand co-editor Anne Manchester for the article on Otara Health Inc published in last month's issue ("Empowering a community to care for itself", p12-13). The article clearly portrayed the work...

Addressing structural impediments.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... Kirsten Carey in her letter in last month's issue "Practice nurse does not need liberating" (p4) is quite correct in advising that practice nurses are professionals who endeavour to work alongside GPs to deliver "best practice" care and who...

Protecting children from abuse.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... When I flick through a magazine depicting beautiful Aotearoa, I am saddened by the knowledge there is a very ugly picture looming on our horizon. After more than 20 years in nursing, I am appalled by the increase in victims of abuse at the...

Experience as a DHB member.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... Tena koutou katoa. I hail from the Te Tai Tokerau/ Northland region and recently began my own business in Whangarei providing clinical supervision and professional development for nurses. I previously worked in smoking cessation and was a...

Raising money for rehab services.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... Throughout my 33 years as a nurse, I have been passionate about improving the quality of life for all patients I care for, and, at the same time, improving the working conditions of my nursing peers. I have discovered fundraising as a way of...

Foot clinics reach elderly.(LETTERS: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK)(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2007... Foot Clinics are a new initiative being funded by some primary health organisations (PHOs). Faith community nurses (FCNs) are setting these up as community health projects based at their churches. The benefits of this form of primary health...

Take me to your leader: Phil from Forensics has landed the Te Henga Section of the Marxist Nurses' Union in a spot of bother with his tirade against Nursing Leaders, published in an obscure communist rag.((A) MUSING ON NURSING)
September 1, 2007... "I believe I am a leader... New Zealanders don't understand leadership and I think that's amazing..." Christine Rankin talking to Michele Hewetson in the New Zealand Herald, August 11, 2007. (1) The Te Henga Section of the Marxist...

Nurses need more smoking cessation education.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
September 1, 2007... Nurses wanting to stop smoking should be supported; they should be funded to attend smoking cessation training; and a nurses' smoke free advocacy group should be formed. These are some of the recommendations in the report Smoking and...

Guidelines to help smokers quit.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Updated guidelines for health care workers to assist patients quit smoking were Launched by the Ministry of Health Last month. The New Zealand Smoking Cessation Guidelines, co-ordinated by the University of Auckland's clinical trials research...

Ending mental health discrimination.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Te Hononga 2015, Connecting for greater well-being, Launched Last month, provides a picture of mental health and addiction services in 2015, as seen by the Mental Health Commission. Te Hononga recognises that mental health is a key...

Big vote in favour of National MECA.(multi-employer collective agreement)
September 1, 2007... Nurses and midwives have overwhelmingly endorsed the second NZNO/district health board (DHB) multi-employer collective agreement (MECA). Of those who voted, 95 percent were in favour of the deal, reached through issues-based bargaining. "I'm...

Government response due.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... The Government's response to the Regulations Review Committee's (RRC) report on the title of second-level nurses trained between 2000 and September 18, 2004, was to be tabled in Parliament on September 17. The RRC upheld part of an NZNO...

Alexander running for mayor in Dunedin.(NEWS)(Glenda Alexander)
September 1, 2007... Long-time NZNO industrial stalwart Glenda Alexander (right) is contesting the Dunedin Mayoralty in next month's local body elections. Her decision to run against incumbent Peter Chin has been driven by what she sees as a lack of leadership in...

Hold on to community nursing workforce.(NEWS AND EVENTS)
September 1, 2007... New Zealand must hold on to its strong public and community health nursing workforce, according to a United States (US)-based nursing advocate Tine Hansen-Turton. In New Zealand at the invitation of Auckland University of Technology, she said...

Commissioner to name providers.(new policy for health care industry)(Ron Paterson)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... District health boards, rest-homes, private hospitals, and other health providers which breach the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights will be routinely named under a policy announced by the Health and Disability...

Disparities decreasing?(mortality rates between maori and ethinic group)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Inequalities in health between ethnic and income groups in New Zealand may have begun to stabilise and even decrease, according to the latest Decodes of Disparity report. The report, jointly published by the Ministry of Health and Otago...

Role of ENs restricted.(NEWS)(enrolled nurses)(Capital and Coast District Health Board)
September 1, 2007... Capital and Coast District Health Board (DHB) has severely restricted enrolled nurses' (EN) practice, in response to a critical Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) report, released in March this year, over the death of "Mr A" at Wellington...

October 10--World Mental Health Day.(www.wfmh.org.)(Mental health in the changing world)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... "Mental health in a changing world: the impact of culture and diversity" is the theme of World Mental Health Day on October 10. An initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health now in its 15th year, World Mental Health Day is aimed at...

PBRF process 'worthwhile' for nursing lecturer.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Performance Based Research Fund)(Tony Farrow)
September 1, 2007... A principal lecturer in mental health at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology's (CPIT) Tony Farrow is one of three nursing staff at CPIT who gained a research rating in last year's Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) quality...

Charity hospital seeks to fill gaps in service.
September 1, 2007... Christchurch's newly opened charity hospital performed its first operations on the last day of Last month--hernia operations for three people who had insufficient points to get on the hospital waiting list and who couldn't afford to have the...

New teaching model trialled in Christchurch.(NEWS)
September 1, 2007... A new way of providing support and clinical Learning opportunities to undergraduate nursing students is being trialled in Christchurch. Based on the concept of a dedicated education unit (DEU), it involves a range of clinical and academic...

Nurse explored mental health healing through art.(Heather Martin)(Biography)
September 1, 2007... Well known Dunedin nurse and artist Heather Martin became the first artist to work in a New Zealand hospital setting when she became artist in residence at Gore Hospital in 1986 with the support of the Queen Elizabeth Arts Council Her second...

100-year-old nurse.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Lily Gall's birthday celebrations)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Around 70 people attended a 100th birthday celebration in July-for-former Seddon Memorial Hospital nurse Lily Gall. One of four birthday celebrations she attended, the party was organised by her-former NZNA...

NZNO surveys nurses.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisations)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... An NZNO survey of members' education needs has so far received more than 800 responses. Project Leader, professional nursing adviser Anne Brinkman is delighted with the responses so far, though early results will not be available until late...

High nurse vacancies.(NEWS)(Brief article)(Statistical data)
September 1, 2007... Registered nurses (RNs) and caregivers are among the ten highest vacancy jobs in New Zealand, with RNs also falling into the highest vacancy high-skill jobs, according to the Department of Labour's job vacancy monitoring programme report for...

New CTU president.(NEWS AND EVENTS)(Council of Trade Unions's Helen Kelly)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... The Council of Trade Unions will have its first woman president, following Helen Kelly's formal election for a four-year term at the CTU's biennial conference in October. Kelly is currently vice-president and general secretary of the...

Getting the image of nursing right: how far has the government's primary health (PHC) strategy progressed over the past two years, what have nurses achieved and what challenges still remain? NZNO's fourth PHC nurses' conference in Auckland last month addressed some of these questions.(CONFERENCE COVERAGE)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation, primary health care)(Conference news)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 'Give me the bullets and I will fire them," challenged Ministry of Health chief nursing adviser Mark Jones in his opening address at NZNO's primary health care (PHC) nurses' conference last month. Speaking on...

Preparing for the next pandemic.(CONFERENCE COVERAGE)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... "It has been 36 years since the last pandemic [the Hong Kong influenza outbreak from 1968-69]. With global pandemics occurring periodically throughout history, New Zealand must be prepared for the next," warned Auckland Regional Public Health...

Reducing the stress of independent practice.(CONFERENCE COVERAGE)
September 1, 2007... Can nurses pull together more to establish independent practices within primary health organisations (PHOs), work creatively as a team and so reduce the stress and isolation of working alone? This was a possible way ahead for primary health...

Concurrent sessions 'pull it all together'.(CONFERENCE COVERAGE)(Evolve Wellington Youth Clinic)
September 1, 2007... Concurrent sessions were a major feature of the conference, running over both days and divided into three themes: clinical practice, readership and management, and research/education. The 27 half-hour sessions offered something for everyone,...

Delivering care to the 'silent generation'.(CONFERENCE COVERAGE)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In an ironically tiffed address "Older people need more hospitals--forget primary care!" senior Lecturer in gerontology at Auckland University, Matthew Parsons, paid tribute to a number of initiatives enabling older...

Understanding adolescent boys better.(CONFERENCE COVERAGE)
September 1, 2007... Growing gorgeous boys into good men was the title of a pre-dinner address by former manager of Christchurch Women's Prison, now researcher and author, Celia Lashlie. He'll be ok: Growing gorgeous boys into good men is also the title of her 2005...

Director of safe staffing unit can't solve all issues: the inaugural director of the safe staffing/healthy workplaces unit knows there's a great deal riding on the work of the new unit.(NEWS FOCUS)(Vicky Brewer of District Health Boards New Zealand )(Interview)
September 1, 2007... Vicky Brewer plays golf off a 24 handicap. To get to that Level requires a good deal of commitment, patience, determination, tenacity, skill and judgement. She'll need all those attributes in her new role as the inaugural director of the safe...

How can mental health nurses prove they are culturally safe? How can mental health nurses, who sometimes have to nurse people who do not believe they need care, demonstrate they practise in a culturally safe way? Two nurses provide some suggestions.(PRACTICE)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Historically, nurses have been required to be culturally safe in their practice. (1,2) But now all registered nurses (RNs) must show competency within their scope of practice, including evidence of competence in...

Nurses assessing family violence--some hidden dangers: nurses need to tread carefully when questioning women about their experience of family violence, under the Government's expanded violence intervention programme. There are hidden dangers in this policy approach.(VIEWPOINT)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New Zealand's shocking Level of child abuse and family violence, including mistreatment of older people, is a sad indictment on our society. Family violence is endemic, appears to be increasing and there are no...

Facing up to family violence.(TE RUNANGA)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Takapuwahia Marae, the marae matua of Ngati Toa Rangatira in Porirua, was the setting for Last month's annual general hui (AGH) of Te Runanga o Aotearoa NZNO. Light rain greeted the over 80 attendees from around...

Reviving traditions to nurture children.(TE RUNANGA)
September 1, 2007... Tikanga was the theme of cultural trainer Amster Reedy's address and discussion on the hui's first afternoon. Of Te Aitanga-a-Mate, Putanga, Ngati Uepohatu, and Ngati Porou decent, Reedy is director of Nga Kete ote Matauranga Ltd, a cultural...

Bullying cited as a factor in competence reviews: bullying is a factor in a significant number of competence reviews NZNO has been involved in.(NEWS FOCUS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bullying is emerging as a significant contributing factor for nurses facing competence reviews. Of the 42 nurses NZNO has assisted during the Nursing Council's competence review process, 29 percent have cited...

Seeking Irish registration? A cautionary tale: two New Zealand nurses, who had worked in mental health all their professional lives, decided to work in Ireland. But gaining registration as psychiatric nurses in Ireland was a protracted, expensive, frustrating and ultimately futile process.(VIEWPOINT)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Like most working New Zealanders, we nurses pride ourselves on our reputation for being adaptable, versatile and hard working, and many of us, at some time or other, seem to hanker to see the world. There may be...

Be informed, inform others and vote well: this month, NZNO launches a campaign--Vote Well--to inform people about where district health board candidates stand on issues important to NZNO members, and to encourage NZNO members and all other voters to have their say in the October local body elections.(INDUSTRIAL FOCUS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation)
September 1, 2007... Everyone knows that 2008 is a general election year. Already the media and political parties are gearing up for it. Polls are being monitored more closely each day, every movement of the big players is being tracked, analysed and dissected, as...

Being clear about professional boundaries: nurses must always maintain their professional boundaries and be very aware of events or situations that may threaten them. There is plenty of information to help nurses understand this critical practice issue.(PROFESSIONAL FOCUS)
September 1, 2007... The boundaries of professional practice for nurses and midwives is the subject of a research project being undertaken by the Nursing Council here, in partnership with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council and the University of...

Recovery principles in mental health: new graduate mental health nursing programmes are giving those wanting to gain experience in mental health a valuable pathway for acquiring new clinical skills within a supportive structure.(EDUCATION)
September 1, 2007... Auckland registered nurse (RN) Lyn Kanapi's first career choice was mental health, but it took her five years following her graduation to begin working in this area. Kanapi was first attracted to mental hearth following undergraduate...

Details of New NZNO/DHB MECA.(SECTOR REPORTS)(New Zealand Nurses Organisation, District Health Board, multi-employer collective agreement )
September 1, 2007... The new NZNO/District Health Board (DHB) multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) delivers base pay increases of around 12 percent for nurses and midwives over its three-year term, improves a number of leave provisions and further...

Maori and iwi bargaining may begin next month.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Negotiations for the Maori and iwi multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) could begin next month. NZNO co-advocate Chris Wilson hopes to have confirmed bargaining dates by the end of this month, with negotiations proper starting in October....

Issue-based approach for hospice talks.(SECTOR REPORTS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Negotiations for a national hospice multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) got underway last month, with a training day for both teams on issues-based bargaining, facilitated by the Partnership Resource Centre. NZNO co-advocate Mike Years...

Nurse struck off for 'totally inappropriate' relationship with prison inmate.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)
September 1, 2007... A registered nurse (RN) who had a "totally inappropriate" relationship with a prison inmate, should have her name removed from the register, according to the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. In its decision in July last year, the...

Practice supervised after failure to act on drug overdose.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... A registered nurse who noted a patient had been inadvertently administered one gram instead of 250 milligrams (mgs) of paracetamol on three occasions but failed to act on that information, has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the...

Nurse censured over paediatric paracetamol overdose.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... A registered nurse who, on three separate occasions on March 23, 2002, administered one gram of paracetamol to a paediatric patient, when the charted dose was 250 milligrams, has been found guilty of professional misconduct and censured by The...

High court reverses tribunal decision in Lesley Martin case.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)
September 1, 2007... The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, in a July 2006 decision, determined that Lesley Jane Martin, registered nurse, had been convicted of an offence that reflected adversely on her fitness to practise as a nurse. Martin was...

Nurse not to work as sole practitioner in aged care.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal has found registered nurse (RN) Geoffrey Lionel Henry guilty of professional misconduct. In its December 2005 decision, the Tribunal found that Henry had: * failed to ensure an adequate nursing...

Competence assessment after patient safety compromised.(DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... A registered nurse (RN) who compromised patients' safety and well-being by administering medication to patients under her care, when she knew or ought to have known, the medication was not prescribed, has been found guilty of professional...

Creating safe, infection-free environment.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)
September 1, 2007... NZNO's National Division of Infection Control Nurses once again demonstrated its skills in planning and organisation by providing a high quality conference at Wellington's Te Papa last month. The organising committee, ably led by Hutt Hospital...

Mental health nurses prepare for conference.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Manukau Institute of Technology, Mason Clinic Auckland Regional Forensic Psychiatric Services)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Manukau Institute of Technology and the Mason Clinic Auckland Regional Forensic Psychiatric Services will co-host next month's NZNO mental health nurses' section conference. This will be open to all mental health...

Stomal therapy nurses gather in Wellington.(SECTION/COLLEGE NEWS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... The NZNO stomal therapy section conference, entitled "Winds of Change", was herd at Te Papa Museum in Wellington last month, attended by around 80 delegates. Our keynote speaker was executive director of the Cortege of Nurses Aotearoa...