Australian Nursing Journal articles from August 2004

Australian Nursing Journal archives from August 2004

Chief nursing officer makes sense.(editorial)(Column)
August 1, 2004... The ANF, along with other peak national nursing organisations, has been lobbying for the establishment of a chief nursing officer or principal nurse adviser at the Australian Government level for some time now. Recently, I have had some...

EN opportunities.(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... As a nurse educator of enrolled nurses (RN Division 2), I am disappointed when I read letters such as 'EN training farce' (ANJ, July 2004, p.3). I have had the opportunity to educate, facilitate and supervise students throughout their very...

Re-entry no guarantee.(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... I read with interest the letter regarding ENs (RN Div 2) and their difficulty in finding employment in acute care ('EN training farce', ANJ July 2004, p.3) as I have had a similar experience. In 2003, I completed a re-entry program for ENs...

Bullying still a problem.(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... Bullying and harassment in the workplace is not acceptable these days, however, I can assure you that it is alive and well in a facility where I worked recently. One would imagine that a director of nursing should be up to speed on these...

Casualty crisis.(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2004... It is said that the humanity of a society can be judged by its treatment of its most vulnerable. It is also financially sensible to invest in the health of a nation. However, the disbanding of universal health cover by eliminating...

Network.(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... Royal Hobart Hospital, PTS 8/84, reunion 5 September 2004. Contact Juliet Plumb (nee Butler) Ph: (03) 6234 5380 Email: jplumb@trump.net.au or Penny Lyne Ph: (03) 6244 6823 Mob: 0438 446 820 Email: redanpen@bigpond.net.au Modbury...

Community alarm over aged care.(Nat)
August 1, 2004... The ANF national aged care phone-in has revealed widespread community concern about staffing levels and the quality of care in the nation's aged care services. Staff in ANF branches in SA, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and NSW/ACT took...

Nurses vote to accept pay offer.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... ACT nurses have voted of accept 'in principle' the final pay offer from the ACT Government, However. ANF ACT Branch Secretary Colleen Duff cautioned the ACT Government against complacency, saying: 'They (the government) should not take comfort...

Men are not disadvantaged.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Men studying nursing were not disadvantaged, and should not constitute an equity target group, the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee (AVCC) has told a federal government higher education review. AVCC Chief Executive John Mullarvey said the...

Dean didn't agree.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Sydney University's dean of nursing claims the decision to axe undergraduate nursing courses at the university was made without her support. In an email to colleagues reported in the Sydney Morning Herald. Professor Jocalyn Lawler wrote: 'I did...

Expand nurse rebates.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... New practice nurse rebates should be expanded to include preventative and chronic care, according to a GP involved in developing RACGP guidelines. Dr John Litt, chairman of the RACGP Green Book review committee which assesses evidence based...

Debbie Freeman goes home.(WA)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... WA mental health nurse Debbie Freeman, who suffered severe head injuries after being attacked in a Perth psychiatric unit in March, has been discharged from hospital. Ms Freeman was hospitalised for four months after the attack, which left her...

Latex allergy payout.(Nat)
August 1, 2004... A NSW nurse who developed an allergy from wearing latex gloves at work has been awarded more than $400,000. The NSW District Court heard Mary Dell's allergy had become so severe through her work with the Illawarra Health Service in NSW, she...

Planning for end-of life care.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... NSW Health has developed a resource for health professionals to provide best practice advice for end-of-life care. The guide, Using Advanced Care Directives, describes how using 'living wills' can assist health professionals in supporting...

Tasmania should try funds pooling.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A report into the health system in Tasmania has recommended a trial of the funds pooling initiative proposed by the Australia Health Care Reform Alliance. Report author Professor Jeff Richardson said as one of the states most affected by health...

Nurses to perform sexual assault assessments.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A plan to train nurses in NSW in sexual assault examination has been criticised by doctors. Dr Patricia Brennan medical director of South Western Sydney Area Health Service sexual assault unit said NSW should train more doctors in forensics...

SA to get health commission.(news)(South Australian )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Legislation has been passed in the South Australian Parliament to establish a commission to deal with complaints about health and community services in public, private and non-government sectors. SA Health Minister Lea Stephens welcomed the...

Patient spending rises.(Nat)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... People are spending more out of their own pocket on health services, and this spending has increased at a rate that outstrips increases from government funding, according to the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report...

Besieged nurses call for support.(NSW)
August 1, 2004... Nurses at the beleaguered Campbelltown and Camden hospitals in NSW have taken their case to the NSW public, after months of bad publicity have undermined their efforts to provide quality patient care. NSW Nurses Association (NSWNA, ANF NSW)...

Still no offer for WA nurses.(WA)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... EBA negotiations over public sector nurses' pay and conditions have "all but ground to a halt, with the WA Government refusing to make an offer until nurses revise their claim. The Government, has told the ANF WA Branch the claim is too...

Drug costs to rise 30%.(Nat)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... New legislation passed in the Senate in June will see the co-payment for medicines increase by 30%, raising alarm among health and consumer groups that pensioners and people on low incomes or who are unemployed will be forced to forgo vital...

[N.sup.3]ET takes its first steps.(Nat)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The national nursing taskforce has announced its first priority areas and will be publishing project reports soon, taskforce chair Belinda Moyes told the ANJ. Ms Moyes said the taskforce had prioritised several recommendations and was...

kit.(news)(Human rights awareness)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The Public Interest Advocacy Centre has produced a community education kit to raise awareness about the state of human rights in Australia. The kit provides an overview of human rights in Australia through a set of fact sheets illustrating how...

Victorian midwives win managed care.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The delivery of maternity services in Victoria is set to change, with the state government endorsing a new model of midwife-managed care. The primary maternity service will enable women to access one-on-one support from the same midwife from...

Hepatitis C inquiry.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A new report has recommended the establishment of an Australian government awareness campaign to increase public awareness of Hepatitis C, its' transmission methods and advice about early treatment and detention. The Australian Hepatitis...

Hospital admissions increase.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals hospital admissions have increased 4%, with 6.7 million admissions in 2002-03. Public hospital admissions increased by 3.2%, while private hospital admissions...

NSW chief nurse resigns.(news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... NSW Chief Nursing Officer Professor Mary Chiarella has announced her intention to resign her position. Professor Chiarella took up the position early to 2003. Director General of Health, Ms Robyn Kruk, said Professor Chiarella had 'led the...

Nurses worth looking after.(Qld)(23rd Annual Queensland Nurses Union Conference)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... ANF Assistant Secretary God Cowin and Federal Professional Officer Victoria Gilmore joined QNU Secretary Gay Hawksworth and over 250 delegates at the 23rd Annual Queensland Nurses Union Conference in ffricbane in July. Ms Hawkesworth told...

ANF welcomes ALP nursing policy.(Nat)
August 1, 2004... The ANF has welcomed the new ALP nursing policy, particularly the commitments to appoint a chief nursing officer at an Australian Government level and to increase nursing education places. ANF Federal Secretary Jill Iliffe said the ANF and...

Workload measure to benefit all.(NT)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The ANF NT Branch has launched a program to help nurses identify the circumstances which affect their workloads, and to assist in policy decisions about staffing. NT ANF industrial officer, Jane Carrigan, said the POWER report, to be...

A nursing voice on medication management.(professional)
August 1, 2004... Through the ANF, nurses in Australia are involved in a consultative forum, known as the Australian Pharmaceutical Advisory Council (APAC), which advises the Australian Government on a wide range of medicine policy issues. The forum consists of...

FAIR minimum wages: the high road or the low road? The current federal government is attempting to reduce the capacity of the AIRC to focus on the needs of workers when it establishes a minimum working wage. Nick Blake explains why this is the wrong road for Australia.(industrial)
August 1, 2004... It was depressing to read recently that a number of multinational companies based in the USA had embarked on a campaign to convince the USA Government to legislate against minimum wages. The argument advanced by these companies is that...

Consent: tips for health care professionals.(issues)
August 1, 2004... The issue of consent in nursing practice The issue of consent is of vital importance to health care professionals because whenever a patient is touched, technically an assault is committed. Consent represents an intersection of the...

Can you hear us? There's a nursing shortage! The nursing workforce continues to face dramatic shortages, and nurses are struggling with ever-increasing workloads. As the federal election approaches, the ANF is calling on political parties to act to ensure the development of a sustainable rusing workforce.(Federal Election 2004)(Cover Story)
August 1, 2004... The nursing workforce in Australia is getting older, and relative to patient numbers, is also shrinking. The average age of nurses in Australia is now 42.2, (1) compared to 39.3 in 1995. (2) Hospital admissions have increased by about 44%...

Obstructive sleep apnoea and breathing retraining.(clinical update)
August 1, 2004... Introduction Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a sleep disorder where repeated upper airway obstruction during sleep leads to a decrease in blood oxygen saturation and disrupted sleep. Current treatment options include oral appliances,...

Researching cancer care: working to improve the care of people with cancer is a privilege, says Dr Meinir Krishnasamy, a nurse researcher at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Victoria.(working life)
August 1, 2004... 'Although I now work as a researcher in cancer care, by background I am a nurse, I trained in Cardiff in Wales, after first completing a degree in Welsh literature, and went straight into oncology nursing. I work predominantly with people...

Sudan conflict displaces over one million.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Over one minion people have been displaced by militia conflict in western Sudan, according to international aid workers, and the UN has called the resulting humanitarian crisis 'the worst in the world'. Queensland nurse David Overlack, an...

Nightingale suffered bipolar disorder.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Florence Nightingale suffered from bipolar disorder, causing her to experience long periods of depression and remarkable bursts of productivity, according to a USA mental health expert. Dr Kathy Wisner, professor of psychiatry at the...

Nurse-led practice popular.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A health centre run by nurses in Derby in Britain has topped five out of eight patient satisfaction surveys in the region. The practice treats more than 6,000 patients (up from 500 when it opened six years ago), with more than 70% of patients...

OECD database.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Australia spends less than half the amount the USA spends on health per person, according to figures released in the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database. The 2004 database shows the USA spent US$5,267...

Fiji nurses deliver.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Nurses were responsible for delivering 60-70% of all babies around the country, the Fiji Nurses Association said last month, General Secretary Kuini Lutua said nurses conducted normal deliveries, referring to a doctor only for complicated...

Japan considers foreign nurses.(world)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Free trade talks between Japan and other Asian countries may include nurses in labour negotiations, as nursing workforce shortages begin to have a serious effects in Japan's ageing community. The Japanese Association of Nurses are reported to...

New MS research.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Researchers from Victoria's La Trobe University have established a link between a multiple sclerosis (MS) type condition and nerve damage that could lead to new techniques for repairing spinal cord injury being used to treat MS. The...

Jaundice treated at home.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Phototherapy for neonatal jaundice can be administered safely at home and is acceptable to parents, according to a UK nurse-led research team. The team investigated the feasibility of home phototherapy in 22 infants over a seven-month...

Memory training in Alzheimer's.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Cognitive training in early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) can help people respond and process information more rapidly and become better oriented to time and place, according to new research from the USA National Institute of Ageing. ...

Concern over SSRIs for children.(research)(Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... International concerns about the safety of a group of anti depressant drugs, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), have prompted experts to consider warning prescribes to avoid the use of this group of drugs. SSRIs have...

Safety a nursing concern.(research)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Research involving staff from all disciplines in rural hospitals in the USA has found the majority of nurses, doctors, administrators and pharmacists consider patient safety is primarily a nursing responsibility. The study to assess the...

Helping families at home.(Child Health/Education)
August 1, 2004... A successful community mothers program has been developed by community child health nurses in WA to help manage potential and actual problems confronting parents. The home-based parent support program was initiated in recognition that...

Tummy pain in children.(Child Health/Education)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Abdominal pain in young people may be linked to anxiety or depression, according to a study published in Paediatrics. Early psychological assessment could be useful after ruling out physiological causes, the study authors said, after their...

Tapping into parental expertise.(Child Health/Education)
August 1, 2004... North Queensland mothers are helping a James Cook University nursing researcher uncover the early warning signs for learning and behavioural difficulties in children that can become lifelong barriers to personal and professional fulfilment if...

United front on child abuse.(Focus Briefs)(National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Eighteen organisations have joined forces with the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) in a 'whole of community' approach to fighting child abuse. Adam Foster, NAPCAN Executive Officer, said the...

Kids' health statistics online.(Focus Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Many government and nongovernment agencies already collect and publish information on specific aspects of the lives of children and young people, but 'Kids' Stats' brings this information together in one accessible online location. Developed by...

Sugar before pain.(Focus Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The customary practice of giving children sweets after they have an injection may be better in reverse, according to a USA researcher. Julie Mennella of the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia advises 'giving the lollipop before...

Baby food warning.(Focus Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A study into the best ways of preparing and storing infant formula made from powder to minimise the risk of infection has found the number of bacteria doubled with every 10 hours the made-up formula was in the fridge, and every half hour when...

Birthing in the bush.(Child Health/Education)
August 1, 2004... A website project to improve support to rural and remote practitioners attiring maternity care has been developed by midwives at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in partnership with the Council of Remote Area Nurses (CRANA). Four...

Civvies for kids.(Focus Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Following a three-month trial, nurses in the general medical ward at Sydney Children's Hospital in NSW have scrapped uniforms in order to create a more homelike environment. Nurse educator Pippa Cameron who came up with the idea said:...

Childhood immunisation update.(Focus Briefs)(Understanding Childhood Immunisation )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The ANF has endorsed the revised edition of the Understanding Childhood Immunisation (UCI) booklet published by the Australian Government. The revised edition incorporates recent changes to the National Immunisation Program, The Australian...

Aboriginal kids health study.(Focus Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The most comprehensive study of Aboriginal children's health has been completed in WA, with results confirming little progress has been made, and many problems begin in childhood. The rate of ear infections among Indigenous children...

News too violent for children.(Focus Briefs)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Health professionals should recognise the potentially harmful influence of television news and advise parents accordingly, research published in Pediatrics suggests. Traditionally, the debate about media violence and children has focused on...

Nurses develop innovative program for remote SA.(Child Health/Education)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... A community project aimed at enhancing the health of Indigenous children in a remote community in SA has won an award for its innovative approach. The project involved a collaboration between the University of South Australia, the Dunjiba...

Unborn babies need sunshine.(Child Health/Education)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Lack of sunlight for mothers during pregnancy may cause blood pressure and kidney problems in unborn babies, new research from Monash University has found. Animal studies showed insufficient vitamin D from inadequate exposure to sunlight...

Assessment and Care of the Well Newborn (2nd edition).(books)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Assessment and Care of the Well Newborn (2nd edition) Patti Thureen, Jane Deacon, Jacinto Hernandez, Daniel Hall (eds.) Elsevier Saunders, $88.00 ISBN 0-7216-0393-9 Mindful that most books on neonatology primarily focus on the needs of...

Health care and notions of risk.(books)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Health care and notions of risk Richard Clark Therapeutic Guidelines, $33.00 plus postage ISBN 0 9586198 3 2 This book discusses the nature and incidence of medical adverse events from a consumer perspective, and gives valuable clues to...

SCU program supporting nurses.(Child Health/Education)(Southern Cross University)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Southern Cross University (SCU) has received almost $20,000 to implement a new undergraduate nursing student mentoring program. Dr Tony O'Brien, regional coordinator for the Bachelor of Nursing in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie, said the...

Revised playground safety standards could help prevent broken arms.(Child Health/Education)
August 1, 2004... A combination of lower fall heights and well maintained surfacing in children's playgrounds could prevent broken arms, according to research published in The Medical Journal of Australia. Playground injuries account for about 6% of all...

Calendar.(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... Distance education courses for RNs Conducted by the College of Nursing (incorporating the NSW College of Nursing) The College of Nursing, Locked Bag 3030, Burwood, NSW 1805 Ph: (02) 9745 7500 Childbirth education training programs...

Ask us!(Ged)(Column)
August 1, 2004... Recently I was sitting in the office of my friend, Jen. Jen's office is an interesting place. On one wall are pictures of beautiful children--her niece and nephews. On another wall is an inspirational work of prose which I real right...