Australian Nursing Journal articles from June 2003

Australian Nursing Journal archives from June 2003

The Budget and education. (Editorial).
June 1, 2003... ANF Federal Secretary The 2003/2004 Federal Budget was of particular interest to nurses because it contained measures to implement some of the recommendations from the review of higher education, Our Universities: Backing Australia's...

Guarded sympathy on violence.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... I sympathise with the author of the letter ("What is the message on violence?', ANJ, May 2003, p.3) having been through the risk of an infection from being bitten. The letter does, however, prompt some comment. 'Spat in my face on several...

Better to give.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... After reading the ANJ letters, I feel I must be one of the few nurses who actually enjoys their job. I have been an RN for 25 years. I have enjoyed every nursing position I have worked in, including coronary care, midwifery, medical, aged care...

Transition process disappointing.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... I am writing to express my disappointment with the current transition process from EN to RN. After 24 years of being an EN, I decided to do my bachelor of nursing externally while working full time in a remote hospital. What a difference...

Support on violence.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... I am replying to a letter 'What is the message on violence?' (ANJ, May 2003, p.3). It concerns me that the risk management response is negligent in advising the author not to make a complaint to the police. Their attitude shows disregard...

Mixed blessings in Budget. (News).
June 1, 2003... While there was some good news for nurses in May's 2003/2004 Federal Budget the general outlook for health and for nursing remains gloomy, the ANF says. The good news is nursing has been made a national priority area with a cap on HECS...

NPs soon for ACT. (Briefs).(nurse practitioners)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The ACT is to formalise the role of the nurse practitioner, under a Bill tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 8 May. ACT Health Minister Simon Corbell said the community would benefit from extended nursing practice, through the autonomous...

Compensation reform. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... ANF Tasmanian Branch joined six of the State's other main unions in April to demand reform of Tasmania's worker's compensation laws. The group, representing about 15,000 workers, called for a repeal of 2001 amendments to the Tasmania's Workers...

Nurse leadership in WA. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The WA Government has established a new nurse leadership program to improve working conditions for public sector nurses. The State Government will provide $150,000 for 30 eligible nurses to undertake the new course through the Curtin University...

NP ranks grow in NSW. (Briefs).(nurse practitioner)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Lesley Salem has become the first indigenous person in NSW to become an authorised nurse practitioner. Ms Salem, 42, from Adamstown, will work with patients undergoing dialysis and organ transplants and undertake research. There are now 16...

Promoting positive ageing. (Briefs).
June 1, 2003... Nearly 150 community organisations across Australia will share in half a million dollars to fund positive ageing projects, Federal Minister for Ageing Kevin Andrews announced on 6 May. The grants of up to $5000 were given to projects promoting...

Severe shortage looms. (News).(nursing shortage)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Australia's health system could have only 60% of the nurses it requires by 2006 unless action is urgently taken, a new report by the Australian Council of Deans of Nursing warns. Australia's nursing supply and demand to 2006 predicts an...

QNU wins significant benefits for public sector nurses. (News).(Queensland Nurses Union )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The Queensland Nurses Union (QNU, ANF Qld) has secured significant pay improvements for the State's 20,000 public sector nurses after the Australian Industrial Relations Commission's (AIRC) final decision on the State's public sector wages and...

Nurses call for end to State shortages. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Nursing shortages have reached crisis point across all areas of the health service in Tasmania, according to the ANF Tas Branch. ANF Tas Branch Secretary Neroli Ellis used International Nurses Day on 12 May to call on the State Government...

Nurse TV coming soon. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Nurses will feature in a groundbreaking magazine television series to be shown later in 2003. Created by RN Nick Bird, Nurse TV, will feature stories, clinical items, profiles and debate, primarily about nursing in Victoria. The series...

Critical care nursing: the early years. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The 27th Australian and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting on Intensive Care, in Perth earlier this year was the ideal venue to launch a new book about the pivotal years of Australian critical care nursing. There's a bird in my hand a bear...

Agency nurse not strictly casual. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The SA Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) awarded an agency nurse nearly $5,700 in entitlements in April after finding she was employed on a continuous contract rather than on a strictly casual basis. The Commission heard the nurse was...

More private hospitals agree to wages claim. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Another 49 NSW private hospitals have agreed to a NSW Nurses' Association (NSWNA, ANF NSW) claim to provide their nurses with a 15% pay rise this year. The latest wage offers are from 33 independent private hospitals and Ramsay Health Care...

Cancer in the bush. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Individuals living in the bush have lower cancer survival rates than those in metropolitan areas, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Dr Chris Stevenson, co-author of Cancer survival in Australia...

Bottle-feed blues. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Some mothers who bottle-feed their babies feel ostracised by midwives and hospitals that promote breastfeeding, Edith Cowan University doctoral graduate Dr Elizabeth Duffy says. According to Dr Duffy, while breastfeeding is endorsed as the best...

Medical errors common. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Medical errors are widespread in Australia, with a quarter of sick people reporting a mistake with either their treatment or medication during the last two years. This is the finding of international research undertaken by the Commonwealth Fund...

Parking win. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Nurses at Westmead Hospital have won their fight for around 200 car parking spaces for afternoon shift workers, following a 12 month lobbying campaign to improve parking at the hospital. Westmead's NSW Nurses' Association Branch President Karen...

Court orders nurses' reinstatement. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... In what is described as a victory for quality nursing care, the Federal Court on 17 April ordered the reinstatement of eight ENs (RN Div 2s) sacked from Swan Hill's Alcheringa Hostel six days before. The nurses were sacked over their...

International Nurses Day. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Nurses across Australia celebrated International Nurses Day (IND) on 12 May. In a statement to mark IND -- which was on the eve of the Federal Budget -- ANF Federal Secretary Jill Hiffe said: 'To celebrate their day, the best presents nurses...

Stories from the emotional heart. (News).(nurse Rose Rasey)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The story of Rose Rasey, a missionary nurse interned by the Japanese for four years during World War II, has been bought to life by the National Museum of Australia. Rose's is one of 50 very personal stories of ordinary and extraordinary...

The Nursing in General Practice project. (News).
June 1, 2003... The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and Royal College of Nursing, Australia, (RCNA) are undertaking a joint project for the National Steering Committee for Nurses in General Practice, funded by the Commonwealth...

Guidelines address drug and alcohol issues. (News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A new clinical guidelines package will help nurses and midwives respond effectively to a range of drug issues they face in their day-to-day work. The Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs guidelines for nurses and midwives: A framework for...

Developments in mental health. (Federal Professional News).
June 1, 2003... The ANF and the Australian and New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses (ANZCMHN) were represented at a national mental health summit held recently in Sydney. The summit discussed, among other things, the 3rd National Mental Health...

Malaria remains major killer. (World News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Malaria is killing 3000 African children every day - more than two a minute - and many who survive end up with learning impairments or brain damage. This is the chilling message delivered by a new report released on Africa Malaria Day...

UK nurses accept new pay deal. (World News).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Royal College of Nursing, UK, (RCN UK) members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the UK Government's new pay proposals. The new deal, called Agenda for change, will see nurses' salaries rise by 16% over three years, a new...

Money for prosecutions. (Briefs).(crime against medical personnel)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The UK Government plans to fund private prosecutions against people who attack National Health Service staff. Announcing the setting up of a legal protection unit in April, Health Secretary Alan Milburn said it was unacceptable for nurses and...

VRSA report. (Briefs).(vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified the first known vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) infection. The CDC said a 40-year-old Michigan woman developed foot ulcers and other skin infections last...

Florence's flowers. (Briefs).(flower conservation)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A field of wild daffodils, reportedly given to Florence Nightingale by Russian men she cared for during the Crimean War, is blooming thanks to the dedication of a northern England farmer. John Slaney says the flowers have flourished since he...

Bacon outrage. (Briefs).(hate crimes)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... British police offered a reward in April after the body of a Muslim woman was found in a London hospital mortuary, covered with rashers of bacon. The desecration was discovered when the 65-year-old grandmother's family was waiting to see her...

Mystery nurse rash. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Fifteen intensive care and telemetry nurses at California's Fountain Valley Regional Hospital were removed from duty in April after they developed a mysterious skin rash on their forearms and torsos. A hospital spokesperson said the rash was...

Blood matters. (This Working Life).
June 1, 2003... Blood Matters is a new Victorian project which aims to improve transfusion practice across the State's public hospitals. Here, Maree Ryan, one of the project's transfusion nurses, spoke to Steven Harulow about her role in the project. ...

Sweet solution to pain reduction. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Oral glucose may be more effective than anaesthetic creams at reducing pain in newborn infants, Swedish researchers suggest. The researchers studied 201 full term newborns undergoing venepuncture to compare the analgesic effects of a 30%...

Report highlights vaccination benefits. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The vaccination of older people against influenza is associated with reductions in the risk of hospitalisation for cerebrovascular and cardiac disease, and the risk of death from all causes during influenza seasons, according to a report in the...

Switch off to lose weight. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Reducing the amount of time spent in front of the TV is as important as increasing light to moderate activity in preventing obesity and diabetes. This is one of the findings of an analysis of data from the 19921998 US Nurses Health Study,...

Timely thrombolysis key to survival. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... More than a third of patients suffering myocardial infarction in Victoria are not receiving appropriate treatment in a hospital within the 90 minutes recommended by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), a new study reveals. Researchers...

Tracheostomy: your questions answered. (Clinical Update).
June 1, 2003... Introduction In 2001 a multidisciplinary working party reviewed tracheostomy care at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne as part of the hospital clinical risk management strategy. The result of this working party was the formation of policy...

Worrying times for Medicare.
June 1, 2003... The Federal Government's recent proposed reforms to primary health care and bulk billing have been presented as a measure to strengthen Australia's public health system. While the Federal Government maintains the proposed package will produce a...

Midwifery study online. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Registered nurses interested in furthering their career in midwifery practice can now enrol in the Graduate Diploma in Midwifery at RMIT and complete the program partially online. The Graduate Diploma is a one-year full time or two-year...

Bhutan graduates nurses. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... La Trobe University Vice Chancellor Professor Michael Osborne awarded Bachelor of Nursing (Post Registration) degrees to 14 nurses in the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan earlier this year. Graduating in Bhutan's capital city; Thimphu, the...

Risk management today. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Managing risk has become an integral part of good business practice today, particularly in the health care industry where the imbalance between consumer demands and health care funding has put enormous strains on the system and its workforce....

Supporting midwives. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The NSW Midwives Association (NSWMA) -- a branch of the Australian College of Midwives has devised a trio of educational packages to support midwives working in a variety of settings. The packages form part of a series of educational materials...

Nurse practitioners in mental health. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).
June 1, 2003... The University of Melbourne's Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice (CPNRP) is actively involved in promoting the nurse practitioner role for psychiatric/mental health nurses. In 2002, the CPNRP secured funding under the...

Research focuses on group skills. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... With the current nursing shortages, bigger workloads and increased patient acuity, mental health nurses often find little time or energy to devote to group work skills a traditional tool to promote their patients' positive self-esteem. To...

Musical auditions. (Focus Briefs).
June 1, 2003... Auditions are being conducted for places in next year's intake of the Graduate Diploma in Creative Music Therapy - jointly delivered by the University of Western Sydney and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. Applicants must be highly...

Clinical partnership. (Focus Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A partnership between La Trobe University and Albury Wodonga Private Hospital has led to the creation of a clinical school to provide practical experience for nursing students. The first intake at the hospital includes first, second and third...

Emergency initiative. (Focus Briefs).(Edith Cowan University's School of Nursing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Edith Cowan University's School of Nursing has created a new academic position to bridge the gap between the classroom and the hospital emergency room. Lucia Gillman is the school's first practitioner scholar in a joint initiative with Royal...

Mentors: one solution to high attrition rates. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).
June 1, 2003... Last year's Senate Inquiry into Nursing revealed mental health has one of the highest attrition rates of any nursing specialisation. With this in mind, the University of Western Sydney (UWS) has developed a program to recruit more nurses to...

Helping families ease the pain. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Edith Cowan University (ECU) doctoral graduate and RN Dr Lynn Oldham has used a Commonwealth funded study to come up with a pain management program to teach care givers how to better manage their family members' pain. Ms Oldham says that...

Approaches to ethics Nursing beyond boundaries. (Books).(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... Verena Tschudin (ed) Elsevier ISBN 0 7506 5326 4 Visit www.elsevier.com.au This new work is a collection of contributions from internationally recognised authors on different approaches to ethics. Edited by a leading UK...

There's a bird in my hand and a bear by the bed I must be in CU. (Books).(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... Valda Wiles and Kathy Daffurn copies can be ordered through Valda Wiles, ph: (02) 9382 7562 According to the authors, this book was written to provide today's critical care nurses with a succinct history of their specialty, using the...

Rural women lack of support. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).
June 1, 2003... Rural women factory workers are at increased risk of developing health problems due to decreased social support, according to a La Trobe University, Bendigo, research study. Lecturer in nursing Sarah Austin conducted the research as part of...

Depression tops GP list. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... There were an estimated 10.8 million visits to GPs for mental health-related conditions in 2000-01, especially for depression, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Mental Health Services...

Lonely days and nights in Australia. (Nursing Focus: Education/Mental Health Nursing).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... More than a third of Australians are potentially lonely, according to a survey of Central Queenslanders by Central Queensland University. The Annual Central Queensland Omnibus Survey (ACQOS) found more than a third (35.7%) of Central...

Time to get writing. (Nursing Focus).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Bendigo midwives and maternal and child health nurses are calling on colleagues around Australia to get writing and tell the world about the joys and challenges of their profession. The Midwives, Miracles and Mayhem project, announced for...

Calendar.(College of Nursing Distance Education course calendar)(Calendar)
June 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 Tailored education programs for health professionals...

In the heat of the night. (Ged's Column).
June 1, 2003... Gerardine Ged Cowin Imagine this. It is nearly midnight; flat out busy. The theatre orderly is leaning on the end of the bed, arms folded, yawning, wishing I'd hurry up and get my patient onto the trolley. I am standing there with the...