Australian Nursing Journal articles from March 2003

Australian Nursing Journal archives from March 2003

What has the Federal Government done? (Editorial).
March 1, 2003... In September 1999, the Federal Government held a national forum on nursing in response to concerns being raised by nurses and State and Territory Governments about the impending workforce crisis - with insufficient people being recruited into...

Offensive labels diminish health professionals. (Letters to the Editor).
March 1, 2003... At last someone else is outraged at the subjective labels used in hospitals ('Subjective labels lack medical legitimacy', ANJ, February 2003, p.3). When I see or hear the term 'acopia' I immediately think of the following possibilities:...

Liquid medications 'too expensive'. (Letters to the Editor).
March 1, 2003... In response to the article ('Altering medicines: Common and unsafe', ANJ, February 2003, p.27) and as a nurse working in an aged care public hospital I observe daily that this practice is not only confined to nursing homes but is also rampant...

A breath of fresh air. (Letters to the Editor).
March 1, 2003... I recently attended a course on the Butekyo breathing technique to reduce chronic hyperventilation and prevent acute hyperventilation. I learnt various breathing techniques to minimise and control my asthma. After only two weeks of...

A message for budget planners. (Letters to the Editor).
March 1, 2003... 'Budget' - this word seems to be the catch cry of today's hospital wards. It seems to be used more often and with more passion than the more important phrase: 'patient care'. Nurses are being influenced to make choices based on money rather...

Speaking up for private nurses. (Letters to the Editor).
March 1, 2003... I have been an ANF member for about 12 years and worked as an RN in the public and private sector. I am disappointed, to say the least, by the limited news or articles and the blatant lack of equal support that the ANF does not provide to...

Pay cut reward for better qualifications. (Letters to the Editor).
March 1, 2003... I am in my third and final year of an undergraduate nursing degree; I am also a RN Div 2 (for 17 years) being paid at pay point 7 at an acute hospital. Can anyone enlighten me as to the reason why, after three years of university, in my...

ENs invited to be involved. (Letters to the Editor).
March 1, 2003... As we stepped into 2003 I paused for a moment and reflected on 2002, a year that by all accounts was a momentous one for ENs and nursing as a whole. As a result of recommendations from the 'Review of the Nursing Education 2002: Our Duty of...

Nurses receive Australia Day honours. (News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Nurses have again featured in the 2003 Australia Day Honours list. Order of Australia Medals in the General Division were awarded to Janice Hooper from Seaton, SA, for services to nursing, and Janice West from Coolah, NSW, for services to...

Report slams private health insurance rebate. (News).
March 1, 2003... The Federal Government's $2.2 billion private health insurance rebate is wasteful, inefficient and inequitable, and does little to relieve pressure on the public health system, according to one of the architects of Medicare. Professor...

Concern over use of phenol products. (News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Thirty-six Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) patient care assistants (PCAs), whose health has been affected by exposure to Prephen Concentrate, have called for a ban on phenol products at the hospital. The PCAs used the phenol-based disinfectant...

ANF demands more undergraduate nursing courses. (News).
March 1, 2003... Nearly 3000 eligible applicants missed out on a nursing place at university this year despite the Government's own predictions that there will be a shortage of 30,000 nurses in Australia by 2006. New figures released in February by the...

Workers want hours cap. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Nearly 80% of Australian workers would like to see a European style cap on working hours to help prevent overwork and stress from ruining their lives. An ACTU survey of more than 8000 workers found 82% also want more family friendly provisions...

Defibrillators go public. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Three of Victoria's most popular public venues installed public access defibrillators on 30 January in an effort to reduce deaths from cardiac arrest Staff at Sovereign Hill, Federation Square and Healesville Sanctuary have been trained to use...

Nurses and multi-skilling. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... How are your car maintenance skills? The Queensland Nurses' Union (QNU, ANF Qld) reports that the State's Logan District has asked nurses to check the oil, tyre pressure and battery levels of the Government cars they use for home visits as part...

Brewery plan dropped. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Lion Breweires dropped plans to use women in nurses' uniforms to advertise beer at an international rugby tournament in New Zealand in early February after complaints they were portraying nurses as bimbos. Lion dropped the idea after nursing...

Palliative care support. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Queensland's palliative care health professionals can now access the Palliative Care Information Service. The free service operates during weekday office hours and uses counsellors and RNs to assist and support the public and generalist...

Taking up new challenges.(interview with nurse)
March 1, 2003... Denis Jones concludes his term as Assistant Federal Secretary on 31 March after a long and successful career representing nurses and nursing through the union movement in Australia. Heather Witham talked to Denis about his experiences as a...

Rural health costing women more. (News).
March 1, 2003... Women in rural Australia are paying more for their health care than their city counterparts and are less than half as likely to have their GP consultations bulk billed, according to new research published in the Medical Journal of Australia....

Rewarding better health and safety. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Aged care homes across Australia can enter the 2003 Better Hearth and Safety Awards and win prizes worth more than $20,000. The awards - al joint venture between the ANF; the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing; Australian Nursing...

Private hospitals for sale. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Mayne Group announced the knock down sale of six of its private hospitals on 3 February to Healthscope, one of its major competitors. The hospitals are: the National Capital Private Hospital in Canberra; Geelong Private Hospital in Victoria;...

APHEDA raffle time. (Briefs).
March 1, 2003... It's time for this year's APHEDA - Union Aid Abroad annual raffle. Prizes include a round-the-world trip sponsored by Members Equity and Member Connect or a state of the art computer donated by Virtual Communities. The money raised will help...

Code provides benchmark. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Australian Nursing Council (ANC) has released its revised Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia. ANC Chair Professor Lyn Hepburn-Brown said the Code provides a national benchmark for the conduct of nurses and outlines the...

Paul Nieuwenhoven takes on new role. (News).(adviser to the NT Health Minister Jane Aagaard)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Paul Nieuwenhoven resigned as ANF NT Branch Secretary at the end of January to take on a new role as adviser to the NT Health Minister Jane Aagaard. Paul took over as NT Branch Secretary in September 1999 and says he is proud of his...

Nurse Practitioner trial begins. (News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Queensland nurses have begun a six-month Nurse Practitioner (NP) trial that will allow them to undertake an advanced practice role. The nurses will assess patients; order tests including X-rays, scans and blood tests; initiate and supply...

Nurses: The real thing. (News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... NSW Health launched a $300,000 public awareness campaign at the end of January aimed at improving recruitment and retention of nurses throughout the State. The Nurses -- The real thing campaign ran from 27 January until 6 February and...

Bargaining in good faith. (News).(nurses unions)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Queensland Nurse's Union (QNU, ANF Qld) has joined with 19 other unions in the State and signed up to a new enterprise bargaining system. The Queensland Public Sector Protocol for Good Faith Bargaining was produced as part of a key...

Seeking your comments on health privacy. (News).
March 1, 2003... The Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing has released its draft National Health Privacy Code for public consultation. The Code is the key to the new health-specific national privacy framework, which will regulate how and when an...

US nurses oppose smallpox vaccinations. (World News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... As America prepared to inoculate half a million health care workers against smallpox, nurses across the country demanded that the US Department of Health and Human Services address key health and welfare concerns for those who are immunised....

UK unions to decide on radical pay reform. (World News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The UK Department of Health released details of its proposed radical shake up of National Health Service (NHS) pay on 28 January. Agenda for Change, described as the biggest reform since the NHS began in 1947, was first proposed over three...

Sharing is final straw. (Briefs).(Atibie-Kwahu Government Hospital in Southern Ghana )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Female nurses are leaving the Atibie-Kwahu Government Hospital in Southern Ghana because accommodation shortages are forcing them to share rooms with male colleagues. A hospital spokesperson said the situation had forced many nurses to leave...

Aid for AIDS fight. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... US President George Bush has announced the allocation of an extra US$10 billion (Aus$17.05 billion) to an emergency plan' to combat the spread of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. The Emergency plan for AIDS relief, totalling US$15 billion...

Hawaiian strike ends. (Briefs).
March 1, 2003... Hawaii Nurses' Association members voted in mid-January to accept a new pay and conditions package and end a month-long strike. More than 1400 nurses at three Honolulu hospitals began strike action in early December to secure contracts that...

Pennsylvania lockout. (Briefs).(Pennsylvania's Wilkes-Barre General Hospital)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Hundreds of striking nurses were locked out of Pennsylvania's Wilkes-Barre General Hospital in early February, after they rejected Wyoming Valley Health Care System's final contract offer. More than 400 members of the Pennsylvania Association...

Killer nurse sentenced. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A French nurse who said she helped the terminally ill die out of compassion was sentenced to 10 years in prison on 31 January, for the murder of six hospital patients. Christine Malevre faced life imprisonment for the murder of the patients at...

On a mission of mercy. (This Working Life).(nurse Maggie Mead)
March 1, 2003... RN Maggie Mead worked with missions in Papua New Guinea, the Red Cross in Afghanistan and in a burns nursing ward in India, before opting for a 'comfortable lifestyle' at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Here, Susan Wilson explains how a 'strong...

Outlining the activities of the National Nursing Organisations. (Federal Professional News).
March 1, 2003... Australia's National Nursing Organisations (NNOs) are a coalition of the national specialist professional nursing associations. The NNOs were formed in 1991 and have met twice yearly since then to provide a forum for discussion,...

More fries with that? (Research Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The size of food portions has increased markedly over the last 20 years and is an important factor in the growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes, US researchers say. The researchers surveyed the diet of 63,380 American adults and...

Central lines under scrutiny. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Almost half of hospital-acquired bacteraemia (HAB) in English hospitals is device related, with central lines being the biggest culprit, new research reveals. The UK Public Health Laboratory Service looked at 73 hospitals using data from...

Increased health risks for single parent children. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Children growing up in single-parent families have increased risks of mortality, severe morbidity and injury according to new Swedish research. Researchers assessed overall and cause-specific mortality between 1991 and 1998, and risk of...

A wee break for pregnant women. (Research Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Routine urinalysis during pregnancy is a poor predictor of pre-eclampsia in the absence of hypertension, and could be eliminated from antenatal care after initial screening without adverse outcomes for women. This is the recommendation of...

Tracheostomy: clinical practice and the formation of policy and guidelines. (Clinical Update).
March 1, 2003... Introduction An increase in the number of patients with a tracheostomy tube cared for in general wards has occurred with the increase in popularity of the percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (PDT) technique. The Alfred intensive care unit...

Alert but not alarmed: Australia's health system prepares.
March 1, 2003... There is a great deal of uncertaintly in the community about what lies ahead as Australia faces the prospect of involvement in war. In Australia the official level of risk of a terrorist attack has been upgraded from 'low' to 'medium'. As this...

Online course tackles wound care. (Nursing Focus).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... What happens when a patient with a chronic decubitus ulcer decides to treat the wound themselves with honey - now touted as an antibiotic alternative? This was one of the questions 22 nurses across Australia grappled with before...

'Warehouse' provides information on women. (Nursing Focus).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Did you know that a baby girl born in Australia in 1901 could expect to live on average 58.8 years, compared to 82 years for girls born in 2000; or that 111,000 women who were married or in a de facto relationship in 1996 experienced an...

Uncovering gastrointestinal disorders. (Nursing Focus).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Therapeutic Guidelines have released the latest edition of their pocket manual range, this time focusing on gastrointestinal disorders. Gastrointestinal - Version 3 is said to have been thoroughly revised and updated by experts in the field...

Education key to managing lymphoedema. (Nursing Focus).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Flinders Medical Centre has launched a new interactive learning program which aims to improve the diagnosis, early detection, treatment and management of lymphoedema. This debilitating and often painful condition affects around 350,000...

NPS makes nurses a priority. (Nursing Focus).(National Prescribing Service )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Nursing has recently increased its presence at the National Prescribing Service (NPS), with the joint ANF, Royal College of Nursing, Australia, (RCNA), sponsored appointment of Susan Hunt to the NPS Board. The NPS is a non-profit,...

Basic lymphoedema education. (Focus Briefs).
March 1, 2003... The Lymphoedema Practitioners Education Group of Victoria is running its Basic Lymphoedema Course on 1920 July, 2-3 and 30-31 August. The course aims to provide health professionals with the knowledge and skills to treat mild and uncomplicated...

Better communication. (Focus Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A new software program is offering health professionals a novel way to communicate with their patients. 3DClinic is a CD ROM providing over 140 animations showing major disease states and their full impacts on the body. The program offers...

Welcome back to theatre. (Focus Briefs).
March 1, 2003... Operating theatre nurses at Sydney's Westmead Hospital are running a two-day course on 8 and 15 March to welcome nurses back to perioperative nursing. The aim of the course is to attract nurses with theatre experience back into this highly...

Cochrane library now available. (Focus Briefs).
March 1, 2003... Nurses in Australia can now access Cochrane Library reviews online for free. The library is recognised as the best single source of reliable evidence about health and medical treatments and is a regularly updated collection of evidence based...

Working out what children need to know. (Nursing Focus).(a discussion of research on what children admitted for emergency hospital treatment need to know)
March 1, 2003... Children admitted for emergency hospital treatment involving painful procedures may benefit from debriefing geared to their specific needs, researchers at the Sydney Children's Hospital say. A team of nurse clinicians and researchers - led...

Communication in cancer care. (Books).(Book Review)
March 1, 2003... Kathryn Nicholson Perry and Mary Burgess pp. 164. $61.55 ISBN 1405100273 pb Visit: www.blackwellpublishing.com This practical and concise book aims to assist health professionals and general readers to understand the impact o...

Australian Medicines Handbook. (Books).(Book Review)
March 1, 2003... Australian Medicines Handbook Pty Ltd $152 + $8 postage and packing ISBN 0-9578521-2-6 Visit: www.amh.net.au The fourth edition of the Australian Medicines Handbook heralds the arrival of an annual cycle for the hard copy...

Frequent feeding clue to disrupted infant sleep. (Nursing Focus).(newborns that feed too often are at high risk of disrupted night sleep, according to a report)
March 1, 2003... Newborn infants that feed too often are at high risk of disrupted night sleep, according to a new report in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. However, these infants may benefit from a simple preventive behavioural program. Looking at...

Putting Cochrane into practice. (Nursing Focus).(the National Institute of Clinical Studies establishes an award to recognize the best use of research for enhancing patient care)
March 1, 2003... The National Institute of Clinical Studies (NICS) has recently established the NICS Cochrane Users Award, designed to recognise and reward the best use of research evidence contained in the Cochrane Library for enhancing patient care. A...

Calendar.(upcoming nursing events)(Calendar)
March 1, 2003... Graduate Certificate in Nursing (Health Services) by distance education in 2003 Nursing Services Management in Health, Financing Nursing and Health Services, Human Resources Management in Nursing Faculty of Nursing, The University of Sydney...

We're lucky there are nurses in the world. (The Federal President Reports).(Column)
March 1, 2003... I was having a lie in last Sunday morning, an event I relish each week, when my son came flying up the stairs and jumped onto the bed asking me if was I awake. I kept my eyes shut and didn't move but he wasn't fooled, not one bit. ...

Solutions, Techniques and pressure for wound cleansing. (Best Practice).
March 1, 2003... Information Source This Best Practice Information Sheet has been derived from a systematic review conducted by the New South Wales Centre for Evidence Based Nursing & Midwifery (1) a collaborating centre of The Joanna Briggs Institute. The...