Australian Nursing Journal articles from May 2008

Australian Nursing Journal archives from May 2008

Editorial.(Editorial)
May 1, 2008... Since the election of the Rudd Labor Government late last year, a whole new dialogue seems to have opened up in Australia that was missing for over a decade. Social justice is back on the political agenda and nurses have a greater opportunity...

Conditions hamper recruitment and retention.(mail)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Julie Cooper's letter Who will care for nurses in last month's journal prompted me to recall the late and early roster when I started nursing some 23 years ago. Nurses at that time also suffered the lack of sleep...

Should nurses be territorial?(mail)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... Sabina Knight's comment in last month's article Nurse to focus Commission on remote innovation, "We've got to not patrol the perimeters of our profession... we are still nurses and have a lot to offer, but we don't need to be territorial" is...

Time for justice in aged care sector.(mail)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... In 2004, I returned to work in residential aged care following 13 years nursing and managing health services across the acute, rehabilitation and community sectors, I felt as though I had returned to the area of nursing I was "meant to be"...

Author unknown.(mail)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... Catherine Booth's letter last month. You know you are a nurse if... was not an original piece of work. I received this poem last year and passed it on to friends. I believe that as professionals. we need to acknowledge another person's work...

Don't forget loyal nurses.(mail)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2008... I was very excited when the Rudd government was swept to power late last year. And I was even more thrilled when health, and in particular nursing, was flagged as a priority area for the new administration. The "back to nursing" initiative is...

Network.(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... Epworth Nurses Reunion, 74/2 17 May 2008 at 12 noon, Observatory Cafe at the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Melways Reference 2F/K12. The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, 1/78, 30-year reunion 6 June 2008. Please contact Kirsten Email:...

Indigenous nurse home visiting program.(NATIONAL)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Federal Government's Indigenous nurse home visiting program moved a step closer with two sites selected for the early roll out of the initiative last month. Under the program nurses will provide home visits...

Heparin alert in Australia.(news)(Baxter Healthcare Corporation recalled affected batches of heparin)
May 1, 2008... Heparin should only be used where medically essential and if patients are monitored carefully, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has advised after numerous deaths from contamination in drug supplies have been reported in the...

Social justice report: NT intervention.(NEWS)(Northern Territory )(Report)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The intervention in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory places Australia at odds with its human rights obligations, according to a recent report. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission...

Puggy Hunter memorial scholarship scheme.(NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Puggy Hunter memorial scholarship scheme was established by the Australian Government in 2002 to recognise the contribution made by Dr Arnold "Puggy" Hunter in the field of Aboriginal and Tortes Strait Islander...

New WHO collaborating centre in nursing and midwifery.(NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in Sydney launched Australia's first World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery and Health Development on World Health Day last...

World Health Day: Australia urged to act.(NEWS)
May 1, 2008... Australia is one of the highest carbon emitters in the world and is growing almost faster than any other country, Australian and international public health experts heard at a symposium in Melbourne last month. The symposium held by the...

Volunteers needed in Nepal and PNG.(NEWS)(Papua New Guinea)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Volunteer nurses are needed to assist OzQuest with the development of health programs in Nepal and Victorian based John Ward is seeking applications from nurses to assist with a health clinic in Kanabea in Papua New Guinea. OzQuest ...

ANF Branch Secretaries remember nurses who inspired them.(International Nurses Day)(Australian Nursing Federation )
May 1, 2008... ANF assistant national secretary Lee Thomas on mentor Chris Cornwell: "I have known Chris Cornwell for about 25 years. She interviewed me when I was a wide eye registered nurse trying to get a place to start my midwifery training, she was...

Overhaul of chronic disease management.(STATE AND TERRITORY: NSW)(New South Wales)
May 1, 2008... NSW Health is set to overhaul chronic disease management, with only one fifth of patients with a chronic disease currently enrolled in a chronic care collaboratives program. NSW Health deputy director general professor Katherine McGrath...

Intervention rolls on and staff at risk.(STATE AND TERRITORY: NT)
May 1, 2008... Staff working in the Northern Territory as part of the federal intervention in Aboriginal communities may have been exposed to high levels of formaldehyde. Converted containers where some staff were temporarily living have shown high...

Pap smear tests by nurses doubled.(STATE AND TERRITORY: VIC)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The number of pap smear tests taken by nurses in Victoria has doubled over the past decade, according to data released last month. Figures from the Victorian Cervical Cytology Registry show 18,651 pap tests taken by 344 credentialled nurses...

Half of nurses consider quitting.(STATE AND TERRITORY: NSW)(New South Wales )(Survey)
May 1, 2008... More than half of NSW public sector nurses have seriously considered leaving the hospital system in the past year, recent figures show. A joint survey commissioned by the NSW Nurses' Association (NSWNA, ANF NSW), Australian Medical...

New tropical health research unit launched.(STATE AND TERRITORY: QLD)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new Tropical Health Research Unit for Nursing and Midwifery Practice at James Cook University (JCU) in Queensland will promote the practice and teaching of research related to nursing in the tropics. The unit is...

ANF warns proposed cuts could breach EBA.(STATE AND TERRITORY: SA)(Australian Nursing Federation)(enterprise bargaining agreement)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The ANF (SA Branch) is concerned that a state government report recommending that nursing hours be cut in public hospitals may be in breach of nurses' enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The recommendation is...

50 years of continuous service--for the love of nursing.(STATE AND TERRITORY: VIC)
May 1, 2008... Victorian nurse Marie Major celebrated 50 years of continuous service last month with her colleagues at Mitcham Private Hospital. Marie was also an ANF workplace representative for many years. "I always wanted to be a nurse from about the age...

Emergency meeting over bed closures.(INDUSTRIAL: TAS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Launceston General Hospital nurses held an emergency meeting last month with concerns of patient safety caused by bed closures. With acute beds closed in all public hospitals in Tasmania due to inadequate funding...

Nurses walk out of Torres Strait.(INDUSTRIAL: QLD)
May 1, 2008... Nurses are being asked to send messages of support to colleagues working in the Torres Strait in the middle of a dispute with Queensland Health over a lack of security. The Queensland Nurses' Union (QNU, ANF Queensland) called for safety...

IR commissioner to review 457 visas.(INDUSTRIAL: QLD)(Industrial Relations)(Australian Industrial Relations Commission appointed Barbara Deegan )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The federal government has appointed industrial relations commissioner Barbara Deegan to examine the integrity of the temporary skilled migration program, including the controversial 457 visas. Minister for Immigration and Citizenship...

Working life: school nursing offers a zest for life and learning.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Barbara Semler began her working life as a nurse and decided early on to focus on community health. Her career changed course after she studied to teach English as a second language in the early 1990s. The...

University education imperative for nursing and midwifery.(professional)
May 1, 2008... Debate continues around the topic of whether or not an undergraduate nursing degree should be offered by a non-self accrediting provider of higher education, namely a TAFE college. In Victoria, Holmesglen TAFE has applied for accreditation to...

New awards for nurses.(industrial)
May 1, 2008... The Federal Government's proposed changes to Commonwealth industrial relations laws include the requirement that the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) make new modern awards to cover all employees when the government's proposed...

Nurse led research improves outcomes in indigenous health: Ms Lawrence says many indigenous patients were not properly informed and prepared for surgery due to language difficulties. Simple strategies to improve communicaton between the hospital and local communities mad a great contribution to improving attendace rates and successful coutcomes..(research)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A nurse led pilot project at Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) in South Australia has improved health outcomes for Indigenous patients travelling from remote areas for cardiac surgery. It is hoped the project, which is...

Nurse practitioners reduce waiting times.(research)
May 1, 2008... Nurse practitioners relieve pressure on emergency departments and should be considered as part of a long term strategy to manage increasing demand for services, a Melbourne study has recommended. A pilot project at The Alfred Hospital...

Lee Thomas is the new ANF assistant national, secretary. Lee will be contributing a monthly column in the journal to keep readers abreast of her work on behalf of ANF members around the country.(research)(Column)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many readers of the ANJ will not be familiar with me or where I come from, at least those of you who have not worked in South Australia. I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you a bit about myself and the...

Nurses feel impact of climate change: that evening the flood had recede enough for the nurse to drive hear patient along back roads to Lismore. But it was too late. The patients died three days later. Could early weather warnings to hospital staff have changed the outcome?(Cover story)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Floods are nothing unusual for the people of Coraki in northern NSW. Around 1,500 people, many on low incomes, live in the town on the banks of the Richmond River south east of the coastal town of Ballina. Local...

Pressure ulcers--prevention of pressure related damage.(CLINICAL UPDATE: 114)
May 1, 2008... Background Pressure ulcers (or pressure sores, bedsores, decubiti or decubitis ulcers) are areas of Iocalised damage or trauma to the skin and underlying tissue, caused by pressure, friction or shear. They generally occur over bony...

Judicial consideration of traditional health beliefs--a lost opportunity?(ethics & legal)
May 1, 2008... Health care delivery in a multicultural society can bring a number of underlying issues to the fore when cultural beliefs and practices come into conflict with established principles of law in the host country. Health care professionals...

Decolonising cultural awareness: for real change to occur, non-Indigenous health services and professionals need to decolonise their practices and responses to Indigenous people.(focus: Indigenous Health)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Aboriginal or Indigenous cultural awareness programs have long been identified as necessary to assist health professionals to provide safe and effective care to Aboriginal people (Thompson 2o05). However, even the...

A unique learning experience.(focus: Indigenous Health)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Spencer Gulf Rural Health School conducts Aboriginal cultural awareness field trips to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in Central Australia. The field trips provide unique opportunities to visit Aboriginal Health Services,...

Butting out at AMSWS.(focus: Indigenous Health)(Aboriginal Medical Service of Western Sydney)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The high rate (50%) of smoking among Aboriginal people (ABS 2005) coupled with limited culturally appropriate smoking cessation interventions makes addressing this important public health issue a challenge. The...

Remote realities for mental health nurses.(focus: Indigenous Health)
May 1, 2008... Nurse researchers in NSW have conducted focus groups with mental health nurses working in rural and remote areas of the state in an attempt to highlight the realities and challenges of everyday working experiences. The study is part of a larger...

Improving outcomes in cardiac care for Indigenous Australians.(focus: Indigenous Health)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Researchers at Curtin University of Technology are conducting a study into the serious impact of cardiovascular disease on Indigenous Australians. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among Indigenous Australians, with a...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION TRAINING AT THE WOMEN'S Or programs run at your hospital tailored to your needs can also be arranged. Royal Women's Hospital Melbourne Ph: (03) 9344 2244 Email: childbirth.ed@rwh.org.au MAY JELLY...

Sharing the load in primary care.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I can be pretty tough I reckon. I don't really carry on too much about pain and sickness, not that I've had it too badly. I think I can soldier on with the best of them. I've had acute salmonella poisoning and...