Australian Nursing Journal articles from August 2003

Australian Nursing Journal archives from August 2003

Our health services need reform.(editorial)(Editorial)
August 1, 2003... The 1998-2003 Australian Health Care Agreements expired on 30 June 2003. The new Agreements are yet to be agreed between the Federal Government and the States and Territories. Traditionally, the Agreements cover the provision of health and...

There's more to Woomera.(mail)
August 1, 2003... On opening the July ANJ my attention was caught by the headline 'Woomera nurses launch class action' (p.8) as I was unaware that we were. It is the Australian Correctional Management-employed nurses who accepted positions at the Detention...

Medicare: the health minister replies.(mail)
August 1, 2003... The article ('Worrying times for Medicare', ANJ, June 2003, pp.29-30) is misleading. Claims that this is the end of Medicare and the changes will cause doctors to increase their fees are wrong. The Government will provide a financial...

Microbiology blues.(mail)
August 1, 2003... I am writing in relation to the current nursing shortage and the new recruitment plan the SA Government has proposed. I am a second year nursing student currently studying at the University of South Australia. As I look around my classroom...

ANF Branch election results.(news Australian Nurses Federation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... In two recent ANF Branch elections, Denis Blackford was elected ANF NT Branch Secretary and Brett Holmes, was re-elected Secretary of the NSW Nurses' Association (NSWNA, ANF NSW). Denis has been nursing since 1982 after training at...

A prescription for nursing? ANF gives thumbs up to Labor's nursing education policy.(news Australian Nursing Federation)
August 1, 2003... The ANF welcomed the announcement by the Federal Labor Opposition, on 14 July, of a commitment to fund an additional 3125 undergraduate nursing places by 2008 and invest in the clinical training of undergraduate nurses so they have a smoother...

Healthy bones.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Most women know about osteoporosis and most care about their health and appearance. So why do they still not care for their bones as well as they should? This is the message during National healthy bones week, 3-9 August. The week will...

Tour for a cure.(news)
August 1, 2003... The Cancer Council Victoria's Tour for a cure challenges participants to raise at least $5000 for the charity by taking to trip of a lifetime, an all-inclusive tour to some of the world's most exotic and inspiring destinations. Once an...

Smoking Ban stalls.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Plans to ban smoking from all NSW hospitals, including outside areas, have stalled over fears nicotine-straved patients may become too difficult to control. There are also concern patients who refuse to quit will be driven off the hospital...

Fire forces evacuation.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Fire forced five nurses and 22 patients to flee a Shellharbour Hospital ward on 10 July, Illawarra Health mental health director Eugene McGarrell said the blaze began at 1.37am at the Mirrabrook mental health unit. Five staff and two patients...

Dial for health advice.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Tasmania will soon have a statewide telephone medical advice service, after a successful trial in the State's south. Under the $6.5 million program GPs will register with the telephone triage and medical advice service so that after-hours calls...

Prison safety fears.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Nurses distributing medication at Tasmania's Risdon Prison are in danger of being assaulted by inmates, a leaked internal report says. The prison's safety officer's report reveals nurses administer medications to maximum security prisoners by...

Nurses: vital for aged care.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Australia's nursing homes are more like hospitals than homes and Federal funding and nursing care policies need to be changed accordingly, the NSW Nurses' Association (NSWNA, ANF NSW) told the House of Representatives Inquiry on Ageing. ...

All change at the ANJ.(news)
August 1, 2003... After nearly three years as editor, Steven Harulow is leaving the ANJ to take up a new position with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in London. Steven started working on the journal in 1999 as assistant editor before...

Heaters for winter.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... ANF Federal Office staff dug deep in Jury to raise money for a heater as part of the Salvation Army/ABC Radio's Heaters for winter campaign. The campaign, launched after a series of winter house fires, aims to provide safe heating for...

Celebrating 100 years of service.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Military medical professionals from around the world helped the Royal Australian Army Nursing and Medical Corps celebrate their centenaries at a special ceremony in Canberra on 1 July. Visiting dignitaries, representing nursing and medical...

Show nurses the aged care money.(news)
August 1, 2003... The ANF is calling on the Federal Government to ensure Budget money allocated to the aged care sector is spent on nurses' wages. The 2002-2003 Federal Budget allocated $211 million to the aged care sector over four years for nurses' wages....

Private hospital nurses not second-class citizens.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Queensland Nurses' Union (QNU, ANF Qld) members at Bundaberg's Friendly Society Private Hospital began a uniform ban on 30 June as part of their campaign for pay parity with nurses in the State's public hospitals. The ban, which involved...

Violence concerns force evacuation.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Four nurses working at one of WA's largest Aboriginal communities evacuated to Broome on 2 July because of continuing security fears. An indecent assault on a nurse in her home earlier in the year and concerns about the lack of security...

Private health insurance poor value.(news)
August 1, 2003... Value for money from private health insurance has declined substantially, according to the July CHOICE magazine. The Australian Consumers Association, which publishes CHOICE, said increasing premiums and tighter conditions have eroded...

Call centre coming.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The SA Government is set to introduce a 24-hour health call centre to reduce the workload of the State's emergency departments. The call centre will become the first point of access for people seeking urgent medical attention. The move is one...

NSW suicide resource.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A new training manual will help health workers identify and respond to older people at risk of suicide. Developed by the NSW Centre for Mental Health, the manual aims to reduce the high suicide rate among older people, especially men. As well...

Indigenous initiative.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health has its first Centre of Clinical Research Excellence, following the announcement of a new five-year funding initiative. The Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia, in partnership with Flinders...

Money for research.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Nurse Board of Victoria is offering substantial research grants for 2004. In addition to grants of $5000 and $20,000, the $50,000 Mona Menzies Grant is available for postdoctoral research aimed at improving health outcomes in areas such as...

Mask shortage.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) nurses risked tuberculosis infection because of a shortage of facemasks caused by the SARS epidemic, local sources say. According to the local press, some nurses were sharing masks. 'It's all very unhealthy,' one RDH...

Health on the map.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The ABC has launched its new online Australian Health Map, a state-by-state guide to health resources, statistics and information. The site contains vital health statistics for each State and Territory, information about where to find hospital...

Nurse wins leaders award.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... RN Sally Hail has won one of two National Institute of Clinical Studies inaugural General Practice Leaders Awards. Ms Hall, who works as the Policy and Population Health Manager with the South East NSW Division of General Practical was selected...

Call for more rural midwives.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A national maternity consumers group says pregnant women could benefit from country doctors deciding to phase out of Obstetrics because of insurance concerns. The Maternity Coalition says women with private obstetricians have higher rates of...

Reform for surgeons.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Government-appointed 'honest brokers' will help select surgeons, under reforms ordered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on 30 June. The ACCC, which accuses the profession of inflating members' incomes by running...

Dementia care guide.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A new guide aims to make the job of carers of people with dementia and challenging behaviours easier. Reducing behaviours of concern, developed by the National Dementia Behaviour Advisory Service, provides suggestions on how to manage...

Working party to tackle violence.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Tasmanian Government has announced the establishment of a working party to address workplace aggression against nurses. Speaking at the ANF Tas Branch Annual Delegates Conference, held on 19-20 June in Launceston, Tasmania's Minister...

A cautious welcome for health reform plans.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... ANF SA Branch gave a cautious welcome to the release of the Generational Review of the State's health system in late June. 'We are pleased that the report has confirmed a greater focus on primary care for the future,' ANF SA Branch...

Public hospital admissions rise.(news)
August 1, 2003... Public hospital admissions are rising, despite Federal Government claims that increased private hospital activity is relieving pressure on the public sector. Australian Hospital Statistics 2001-02, released on 30 June by the Australian...

Test case push for working parents.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The ACTU launched a work-and-family test case on 24 June, seeking better rights for workers who are parents--a move welcomed lay the ANF. The case, lodged in the Australian. Industrial Relations Commission in Melbourne, calls for guaranteed...

Good time nurses?(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) emergency department is to trial 'good time nurses' to ease frustration among patients and pressure on staff. The nurses will circulate among patients, particularly children, in a further effort to make...

Breast cancer scholarships.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The National Breast Cancer Centre (NBCC) has announced the third round of the Polo Ralph Lauren Rural Nurses Scholarship Scheme. Scholarships will be awarded to nurses working in rural and remote areas of Australia who would like to undertake...

Booze blues.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The economic and social costs of alcohol misuse are enormous, with 10% of the population drinking at risky levels, a new Federal Government report suggests. The National Alcohol Strategy report says excessive drinking is blamed for liver...

Tax time again.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Did you know you can claim the cost of journals and magazines that have content connected to your employment as a nurse as a work related expense? The Australian Taxation Office's (ATO's) Occupational Ruling Summary--Nurses explains claims...

Free trade threat to PBS.(news Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The chronically ill and those receiving pensions could pay double for essential prescription drugs unless the Federal Government insists on the removal of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from the US-Australia free trade agreement, a...

Appointment honours nursing icon.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The courage and dedication of World War II nurse Vivian Bunwinkel (Mrs Vivian Statham) will live on with the appointment of the inaugural Vivian Bunwinkel Professor of Nursing (Palliative Care). Professor Margaret O'Connor was recently...

Report reveals bush challenges.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Nurses servicing Victoria's rural communities are forced to work at an advanced level without appropriate legal protection or equipment, a new research report reveals. Rural and remote nurses also require additional training, trauma and...

Wages disparity reaches record levels.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The disparity between nurses' wages in the public hospital and private aged care sectors in the ACT has reached record levels and many aged care facilities are struggling to cope because they cannot recruit qualified staff. Nurses in aged...

Window honours nurses.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... New Zealand's Christchurch Hospital has unveiled a stained glass window honouring nurses who died in World War 1 and the 1918 influenza epidemic. The $40,000 window was created by stained-glass artist Stephen Belanger-Taylor for the Nurses...

Zambian nurses dying of AIDS.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... More Zambian nurses are either dying or becoming ill with HIV/AIDS than ever before, according to the Zambia Nurses' Association (ZNA). ZNA President Tom Yung'ana said with the HIV/AIDS national prevalence rate at 16.6%, women and nurses...

Nurses say understaffing causes deaths.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Nearly a third (29%) of Massachusetts RNs say understaffing has led directly to patient deaths, a new survey reveals. The independent survey of 600 Massachusetts RNs, commissioned by the Massachusetts Nurses' Association (MNA), examined...

Birth registration.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The International Council of Nurses International Confederation of Midwives used World Refugee Day on 20 June to raise awareness of the issue of birth registration. According to the groups, an estimated 50 million babies born in different parts...

Shipman nurse weeps.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A nurse who worked with serial killer GP Harold Shipman wept as she explained why she had not reported him for stealing controlled drugs used to kill his patients. Community nurse Marion Gilchrist told a public inquiry in May she had confronted...

Wrong baby suit.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A North Carolina woman is suing the hospital where she gave birth to her daughter alter a nurse reportedly brought her the wrong infant to breastfeed. Robyn Jones is suing Western Wake Medical Center, saying the mistake might have exposed her...

Recruitment trends.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The UK and Ireland are more reliant on nurses from overseas than any other developed nation, according to a new study. The three-year study commissioned by the International Council of Nurses, the World Health Organisation and the Royal College...

Managers outpace nurses.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The number of UK public health system managers soared by three-and-a-half limes the rate that nurse numbers rose between 2001 and 2002, new official figures show. A headcount of individual nurses and managers reveals there were 17,100 more...

Tales from the 2003 ICN conference.(professional )
August 1, 2003... I have recently returned from the International Council of Nurses (ICN) conference in Geneva. The conference was planned for Marrakech in Morocco but was moved after the tragic bombing that took place in Casablanca earlier this year. ...

Coping with the legacy of war: Melbourne RN Annamaria De Pasquale has recently returned from Cambodia where she worked as a volunteer with children affected by landmines. Here, she reflects on her experiences.(working life)
August 1, 2003... 'As a result of various conflicts over the past 30 years, Cambodia is one of the most heavily land mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) contaminated countries in the world--with an estimated 10 million landmines and UXO scattered throughout the...

Education helps children with asthma.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Teaching children to self-manage their asthma improves their lung function and enhances feelings of self-control, a review suggests. The review, of 32 published trials of education programs for the self-management of asthma in children and...

Leisure activities reduce dementia risk.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Taking part in leisure activities reduces the risk of dementia development in older people, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. New York researchers looked at the relationship between leisure activities...

Preventing HIV in prison.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Treating individuals exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in prison with anti-HIV drugs after exposure can help stop them becoming infected, but preventing infection is complicated by problems identifying those at risk. Australian...

Night duty cancer link.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Nurses who work regular night shifts appear to be at increased risk fur colorectal cancer, a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds. Researchers examined the relationship between working rotating night shifts and the...

Care of the Muslim patient.(clinical update)
August 1, 2003... Introduction After Christians, Muslims form the largest religious group in the world and at some stage health care professionals may have to care for a Muslim patient. Islam is a universal religious comprising all nationalities of the...

Compassion and cultural sensitivity.
August 1, 2003... Community services are under increasing pressure to provide health care to people who have arrived in Australia seeking asylum from war, persecution or discrimination. In this feature, Fiona Armstrong looks at a number of innovative culturally...

Focusing on the future.(focus)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The latest developments in wound care and infection control will come under the microscope in October when the Infection Control Practitioners Association of Queensland and Queensland Wound Care Association hold their fourth joint annual...

Monitoring occupational exposure.(focus)
August 1, 2003... The latest version of EPINet, a software package to monitor sharp object injuries, blood and body fluid exposures, and post exposure follow up, was released earlier this year. The package, which has been in use in Australian hospitals since...

Examining Australia's SARS response.(focus)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... As the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic abated globally, Australia's key public health officials from the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia (CDNA) met on 4 July in Melbourne to examine how well Australia responded to...

Petting zoo infection risk.(focus)
August 1, 2003... Farmyard animals are very appealing to young children, but with the delight comes serious risk of Salmonella infection, according to a letter in the Medical Journal of Australia. (1) Medical epidemiologist Dr Tony Merritt said transmission...

Keeping ahead in wound care.(focus)
August 1, 2003... Health care needs in the area of wound care have undergone significant change in recent years and advances in wound dressings, growth factors and skin substitutes are the catalyst driving the development of the Master of Wound Care course...

Online learning: a 'Pacific Solution' to wound management.(focus)
August 1, 2003... A generation ago it would have seemed like science fiction. How could a group of nurses from the Pacific Island state of Tonga complete a Graduate Certificate in Wound Management through an Australian education institution more than 3000km...

A calling for critical care.(focus)
August 1, 2003... Life really does begin at 40, or 42 in the case of Brenda Bedggood. At 42 Ms Bedggood decided she would set out to do something she had always wanted to do--become a nurse. After six years of training and education, which involved...

Regional scholarships target breast cancer.(focus)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Breast cancer patients in the bush will get a boost with the introduction of special long-distance scholarships for regional nurses. The scholarships, offered by the National Breast Cancer Centre (NBCC), are designed to give nurses in...

CD ROM targets asthma device use.(focus)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... A new interactive CD ROM aims to help the estimated 80% of patients with respiratory illnesses who do not use their inhaled medication devices correctly. Produced by The Alfred Hospital's Lung Health Promotion Centre in Melbourne, the CD...

A carer's guide: helping you care for someone with Alzheimer's or other dementias.(books)(Book Review)
August 1, 2003... Rosette Teitel and Sharon Wall Finch Publishing $24,95 ISBN 1 676451 27 0 Author Rosette Teitel found herself at home without training or support when her husband, Newton, contracted vascular dementia. She nursed him throughout his illneSS...

Nursing and the law: 5th edition.(books)(Book Review)
August 1, 2003... Patricia Staunton and Mary Chiarena Elsevier ISBN 0 7295 3676 9 Visit: www.elsevier.com.au The only law text written specifically for nurses, the 5th edition of Nursing and the law is designed for nursing students studying law as part of...

Examining nursing workloads.(focus)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The NSW Government has engaged a University of Technology Sydney (UTS) research team to undertake a $1.2 million study into nursing workloads and the responsibilities of nurses. The three-year study will look at how patient care is affected...

Re-entering aged care.(focus)(La Trobe University Clinical School in Gerontic Nursing offers new re-entry program)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... La Trobe University's Clinical School in Gerontic Nursing has introduced a new re-entry program for RNs (Div 1) in aged care. Program Head Dr Susan Koch said the program is aimed at nurses whose registration has lapsed and provides flexible...

Calendar.(Calendar)
August 1, 2003... The College of Nursing (incorporating the NSW College of Nursing): Distance education courses for RNs The College of Nursing, Locked Bag 3030, Burwood NSW 1805 Ph: (02) 9745 7500 AUGUST Designing and coordinating a pulmonary...

Confidentiality is no small matter.(ged)
August 1, 2003... How lucky are we as nurses? Do you ever think about that? We hold to ourselves experiences and episodes in people's lives that very few others can claim to share. Think of the times you have successfully delivered a baby to overjoyed parents....

Carry on nursing ...(ged)
August 1, 2003... Hey Sue, are you coming to the 'Wakeup to Workplace violence' Seminar? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Yep, yep. That sounds really interesting. I'll just finish up with my patient first. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]