Australian Nursing Journal articles from November 2004

Australian Nursing Journal archives from November 2004

National action.(unity by Australian nurses)
November 1, 2004... I attended a conference recently, and was surprised and a little distressed to hear one of the speakers bemoan the fact that in her view, nurses in Australia were not united and not effectively represented at the national level. As one of...

Part of the team.(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... I was appalled by Barbara Sharp's attitude towards PCAs and AINs ('ENS before PCs', ANJ, Sept 2004). Working in a nursing home as a PCA for three years, I was treated as an inferior employee by some of the RNs and ENs (RN Div 2). These...

Lead on!(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... What an inspiring editorial by Jill Iliffe (ANJ, October 2004, p.1). She so eloquently expressed what true leaders do--set an example of how we can be involved in making the world a better place. We need more leaders who are prepared...

Bring them home.(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... Yet again I have received a phone call from a hospital informing us that one of our residents has unfortunately passed away. I am a unit manager, proudly working in aged care, and baffled by the reluctance of my colleagues in the acute...

Thank-you, Swan Hill!(mail)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... Recently I had an opportunity to experience, first hand, the public health system. I had managed to reduce my waiting time from two years to one month on the 'public list' by choosing to have elective surgery outside a city hospital. ...

Network.
November 1, 2004... Royal Hobart Hospital Revues past cast and crews' reunion 6 November 2004 at 7.00pm, New Sydney Hotel, 87 Bathurst Street, Hobart Contact: Ian Ph: (03) 6244 4564 or Lorraine Ph: (03) 6228 1008 Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria,...

Giving Howard a hand.(Nat)(Helping Hand postcards delivered to John Howard)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... More than 10,000 ANF 'Helping Hand' postcards were delivered to John Howard's office by ANF Assistant Federal Secretary Ged Cowin and ANF Federal Communications Officer Heather Witham just four days before the federal election. Signed by...

Watch out for industrial law changes.(Nat)
November 1, 2004... Experts are predicting a new wave of industrial legislation under the re-elected coalition government, with ACTU president Sharan Burrow warning it will be very difficult to protect workers under the government's plans. 'The Howard...

Step outside your zone.(news)(Australian Volunteers International )
November 1, 2004... Australian Volunteers International (AVI) is looking for nurses and other health professionals, willing to step out of their comfort zone and 'make a difference' in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. AVI CEO Ms Dimity Fifer said international...

$10,000 award for Indigenous groups.(news)(Indigenous Governance Awards)
November 1, 2004... Reconciliation Australia and BHP Billiton are calling for applications for the Indigenous Governance Awards, Recognising Excellence. The awards recognise best practice in Indigenous governance and are open to incorporated Indigenous...

Suicide huge but preventable.(news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Suicide is responsible for nearly half of the world's violent deaths, causing one million fatalities globally each year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In most European countries, the number of suicides exceeds the road toll....

Australians out of pocket over health.(news)(health care costs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The annual cost of health care in Australia rose to $72.2 billion in 2002-2003, or $3,652 per person, according to the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare figures. The $5.6 billion increase is equivalent to a rate of inflation of...

Zero tolerance for inaction.(Tas)(workplace violence against nurses)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The ANF has accused the state government in Tasmania of disregarding increasing violence against nurses, and called for the immediate adoption of a 'zero tolerance' approach. Figures released in the Tasmanian Parliament reveal aggression...

Speak out, speak loud.(NSW)(empowerment of the nursing profession)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Nurses should get politically savvy and apply the 'nuisance factor' to empower their profession and exert influence on the health agenda, according to a leading NSW magistrate. Speaking at the NSW Nurses' Association (NSWNA, ANF NSW)...

Alcohol, cannabis and heroin treatment.(news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Alcohol was the drug of concern for 52% of people seeking help at drug and alcohol treatment services across Australia in the last year. People seeking help for cannabis use constituted 22% of those seeking treatment, and heroin 18%. A...

Doctors admit midwives 'complement' birth.(news)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A new article in the Medical Journal of Australia describes how the 'medicalisation' of birth has diminished the experience Of childbirth and increased its risk for women in Australia. With one in four children now born by caesarean section,...

Get paid while you train.(news)(Illawarra Australia nursing students to be paid)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Nursing students in the Illawarra region of NSW are to be paid for working two days a week as nursing assistants while they are studying. Nursing director Narelle Gleeson from Port Kembla Hospital said the initiative was designed to beat the...

Babies a pay drain.(news)(wage statistics for women)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... While married women are more likely than their single counterparts to earn higher wages, having a baby can cost a woman 30% of her lifetime income, according to research from the Australian National University. The research by Trevor...

Diabetes educators get item numbers.(Nat)(can charge to Australian Medicare)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Under changes to Medicare, nurses who work as credentialled diabetes educators in private practice have been given access to an MBS number for the first time. These new arrangements will entitle diabetes educators to bill Medicare when...

No, Minister: blame over waiting lists.(effects of Victoria nurses' job action)
November 1, 2004... An increase in the number of people on waiting lists and those waiting more than 12 hours in emergency in the June quarter has prompted Victorian Health Minister Bronwyn Pike to blame nurses' April industrial action for the figures. The...

Gloves off in WA dispute.(WA)(nurses negotiating contract in Western Australia)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... At the time of going to print, nurses in WA were set to launch an all out industrial campaign as their enterprise bargaining dispute entered its ninth month. ANF WA Branch Secretary Mark Olson has accused the WA Health Minister Jim McGinty...

Racism in focus.(Nat)(meeting of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The 'twin evils' of racism and discrimination in academia and health care settings for Indigenous nurses were the subject of discussion at the recent meeting of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses (CATSIN) in...

To NOHSC or not to NOHSC?(professional)(National Occupational Health and Safety Commission)
November 1, 2004... A significant moment in occupational health and safety occurred in March 2004, when Australia ratified the International Labor Organisation Convention No. 155 (Occupational Health and Safety 1981). While it occurred without much fanfare,...

ACTU forces James Hardie to pay up: the sorry saga in which the James Hardie Group took extraordinary steps to avoid its responsibilities to the victims of asbestos poisoning appears to be reaching a satisfactory conclusion.(news)
November 1, 2004... Until the late 1980's, James Hardie was Australia's largest manufacturer of asbestos products, particularly asbestos cement sheets, commonly referred to as 'fibro sheets'. Australia had the highest per capita use of asbestos in the world...

Wound healing and granulation: clinical considerations.(Advertorial)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2004... Leading medical and health care company, Paul Hartmann Pry Ltd, invests considerable resources in clinical education and training on wound management for nurses around Australia. As part of its commitment, the Company has sponsored a series of...

Tissue transplant offers hope.(world)(ovarian tissue transplant after chemotherapy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In a world first, a 32-year-old Belgian woman has given birth to a healthy daughter following the reimplantation of ovarian tissue seven years after becoming infertile through chemotherapy. Slices of the woman's ovarian tissue were removed...

Malaysia faces acute shortage.(world)(shortage of nurses)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Malaysia must train 8,000 nurses each year if it is to meet community demand for ratios equivalent to other developed countries, according to Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek. With a population of 23 million, Malaysia has...

Nurses bashed in Japan.(world)(violence against nurses)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... One in three nurses have been physically abused by patients in Japan in the last twelve months, according to the Japanese Nurses Association (JNA). More than 10% of nurses have been verbally abused, and another 10% has experienced sexual...

New malaria research.(world)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Every year malaria kills almost two million people and is associated with five billion episodes of illness, prompting research scientists from around the world to compile new data on the disease to quantify its extent and examine how best to...

Nurses to perform abortions.(world)(new South African law)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... New legislation in South Africa will allow abortions to be conducted by nurses in a bid to help prevent deaths from unsafe abortions. A new UN report estimates one in ten pregnancies in developing countries ends in unsafe abortion, killing one...

Hi-tech protection.(world)(security belts worn to curb hospital violence)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... UK nurses will wear state-of-the-art security belts in a bid to crack down on violence within the NHS. More than 70 nurses in the casualty and emergency departments at Selly Oak Hospital will wear the belts which enable security guards to...

'Deadly': Indigenous health today.(health of aboriginal Australians)
November 1, 2004... It is now unusual to grow old as an Aboriginal person in Australia. Babies are born at risk, into communities of ill health, pervaded by poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse and crime. Indigenous health status in Australia now lags far...

Now the good news: there are signs of hope for improving Indigenous health, both in community-controlled and in mainstream services striving for culturally appropriate care.
November 1, 2004... Nganampa Health Service, South Australia Since becoming a community-controlled organisation in 1985, the Nganampa Health Service in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara lands in the far northwest of South Australia has had significant success in...

Domestic violence: what can nurses do? This article focusses on violence against women in a domestic situation.
November 1, 2004... Safety and security don't just happen: they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children--the most vulnerable citizens in any society--a life free from violence and fear. In order to ensure this, we must...

2004 readership survey.(survey)
November 1, 2004... 2004 Readership Survey The ANJ is a journal for all Australian nurses. Distributed to more than 55,000 nurses around Australia, the ANJ offers news, features and analysis to help Australia's nurses keep well informed. To make sure the...

A new vein for nursing: Bobby Beacock's role as the Clinical Nurse Consultant Intravascular Therapy (CNC/IVT)) at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is unique to Western Australia. Once considered a medical role, the success of the position means it is now being implemented in other major hospitals. Here, Bobby tells the ANJ how it all came about.(working life)
November 1, 2004... 'I came out from the UK in October 2000 as part of a nursing sponsorship program. Previously, my nursing experience was in acute oncology /haematology and I spent the last two years in the UK as an outpatient chemotherapy senior nurse. I...

Hospital infections killing thousands.(Infection control / Education)
November 1, 2004... Around 7,000 patients die each year from hospital-acquired infections, and around 150,000 people acquire infections in hospital, according to the Australian Council on Quality and Safety in Health Care (ACQSHC). Using extrapolations of...

Unhealthy toys.(Infection control / Education)(contamination of toys in hospitals)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... An investigation into the infection risk of children's toys brought into hospital has found they can be contaminated with potentially dangerous bacteria and should be cleaned. Researchers examined 70 toys belonging to children who were in...

Infection control in a community setting.(Infection control / Education)
November 1, 2004... RDNS in South Australia has developed an infection control program and implementation strategy to reduce the organisation's risk exposure. According to RDNS clinical nurse consultant in infection control, Linda Hayford, any community...

No more infection control.(Focus Briefs)(UK not hiring additional infection control nurses )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The UK Government has admitted it has no plans to recruit additional infection control nurses, despite a recommendation from the National Audit Office of one infection control nurse for every 250 patients. The current ratio is one nurse to...

Saved by the gel.(Focus Briefs)(efficacy of handwashing in preventing infection)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Placing hand washing gel beside the bedside of every patient, and insisting nurses use it, has the potential to be very effective in the battle against hospital-acquired infection, according to senior infection control nurses in the UK. ...

Tell your story.(Focus Briefs)
November 1, 2004... Do you have a story to tell? The USA anthology series A Cup of Comfort is compiling a special collection of stories honouring the nursing profession, and is asking nurses in Australia to contribute. Stories must be original, true, positive,...

Whoop, whoop, SA.(Focus Briefs)(whooping cough in South Australia)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... South Australia is experiencing its worst outbreak of whooping cough in three years, according to the Department of Health. Director of the communicable diseases branch, Dr Rod Givney, said while there were always some cases of whooping cough...

Clinical assessment increases confidence.(Infection control / Education)(assessing student nurses)
November 1, 2004... 'I was assessed last Friday. The assessor was extremely positive, enthusiastic and encouraging. She documented a range of areas that I am competent in and I received lots of positive feedback. She clearly identified some areas that I need to...

Stitch in time cuts infection.(Focus Briefs)(antibacterial and antifungal fibers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A new fibre stitched into nurses' uniforms could be the latest weapon in the fight against MRSA in UK hospitals. The fibre contains antibacterial and antifungal properties, and is woven in to prevent germs living in or spreading in the fabric....

Nursing goes to Ipswich.(Focus Briefs)(school of nursing at Ipswich campus of University of Queensland)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Aspiring nursing students west of Brisbane in Queensland will soon have access to another choice for their nursing education. The University of Queensland (UQ) will establish a school of nursing at their Ipswich campus in 2005, offering 100...

Midwifery degree at UTS.(Focus Briefs)(University of Technology in Sydney Australia)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Around 400 people have applied for 30 places in the new Bachelor of Midwifery to be offered for the first time at the University of Technology, Sydney, in 2005. UTS dean of nursing, midwifery and health, Professor Jill White, said the...

Medicated soap no better.(Focus Briefs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A USA study has found antibacterial soap products do not reduce infections any more than non-medicated soap products. Researchers tested claims by giving 238 households a year's worth of free cleaning and hand washing products. Half received...

Hospital infections affect long-term health.(Infection control / Education)
November 1, 2004... Bacterial infections acquired during hospitalisation are a more serious threat to a patient's health than a similar infection obtained in the community, according to Australian National University (ANU) research. The study, by PhD...

National midwifery standards on the way.(Infection control / Education)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The framework for Australia's first national standards for midwifery practice and competency will be established by new research led by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). Described by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council as...

Health in Australia: Sociological concepts and issues (3rd edition).(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... Health in Australia: Sociological concepts and issues (3rd edition) Edited by Carol Grbich Pearson Education Australia $62.95 ISBN 1740910974 This book is intended as an introduction to the field of sociology as it affects health...

Microbiology and infection control for health professionals (2nd edition).(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 1, 2004

Give patients a hand--a clean hand.(Infection control / Education)(DeBug Infection Prevention Program)
November 1, 2004... An infection control program at Austin Health in Melbourne to improve hand hygiene practices among health care workers has achieved sustained improvement in hand hygiene, coinciding with a reduction of nosocomial (hospital-acquired infections)...

ENs gain specialist skills in cancer nursing.(Infection control / Education)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A course will soon be offered by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to enable ENs (RN Div 2) to develop their skills in caring for patients with cancer. With census figures indicating people with cancer not only live longer, but more are...

Calendar.(Calendar)
November 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 Programs...

Stand out from the crowd.(nurses professional tactics)
November 1, 2004... It's amazing how nurses find each other in a crowd, isn't it? My husband says it's got something to do with what he calls 'nurses' radar'. He finds that nurses just sense things outside of other people's ranges. For example, a nurse...

Carry on nursing ...(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Nurses are becoming more confident. What makes you say that, Jim? They're making me less confident! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]